USA Today 301
The NASCAR Cup Series drivers are back on another short track, as they’ll run 301 laps of just over a mile in the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Loudon was a twice-a-year stop for the Cup Series up until 2017, but it is now just a one-time destination. This is officially the midpoint of the NASCAR season, as it is the 18th race of 36 scheduled, with the finale at Phoenix Raceway for the Cup Championship on November 10.
The USA Today 301 is scheduled for a green flag start at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, June 23.
How to Watch the USA Today 301
When: Sunday, June 23, 2024
Where: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
Channel: USA
2024 NASCAR Cup Series Standings
Ryan Blaney won last week at Iowa, which means that 10 of the 16 playoff spots are now spoken for as we focus on Loudon. Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and William Byron still lead the way with three wins each, while Christopher Bell has secured two victories. Tyler Reddick, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Daniel Suarez, Austin Cindric, and Blaney are the other winners.
With that win, Blaney picked up five important bonus points and now has seven on the season. He had only won one stage up to that point. Larson still leads the field in playoff bonus points with 23. Hamlin has 18 and Byron and Bell are both tied for third with 16. Only Larson secured any points last week by winning the second stage before finishing 34th. The first playoff race is the Quaker State 400 on September 8 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
USA Today 301 Winners
There aren’t a ton of active winners here now that we’ve cut down to once a year and many of the sport’s dominant drivers have moved on to other things. Among active, regular drivers, Hamlin and Kyle Busch are tied for the most wins with three. Joey Logano and Keselowski have two each. Logano and Busch are both having rough seasons with four combined top-five finishes between them, so we’ll see if this is the track that can get them going.
As far as this race, specifically, it is back in June for the first time since 2010. Martin Truex Jr. is the reigning champ and he is winless on the season. Bell won it back in 2022, with Keselowski in Victory Lane in 2020. Aric Almirola actually won here in 2021 in a race shortened due to darkness. That serves as one of his three career wins.
USA Today 301 Predictions
For the latest odds and VSiN’s NASCAR Best Bets, head to our NASCAR Hub to see Steve Makinen’s simulation results and more stats on the drivers.
