The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series heads into the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the 23rd annual 5-hour Energy 301. The race will serve as the 19th race of the season and the first of two races at Loudon. Brad Keselowski comes into the weekend as the defending race winner.
There are 44 drivers featured on the entry list. Some of these include Ryan Blaney, Eddie MacDonald, Derek White, Brett Moffitt, Reed Sorenson, Matt DiBenedetto and Timmy Hill. One car will be going home after qualifying on Friday afternoon.
Kyle Busch continues to impress after missing the first several weeks of the season after being injured in a crash at Daytona. Busch comes into the weekend riding a wave of momentum after scoring two victories in the last three races. The Las Vegas native sits 35th in driver points as he continues to gain spots. Busch has eight races left to get inside the top 30 to make the Chase.
The New Hampshire Motor Speedway has produced 11 different winners over the last 11 events. The streak is currently the longest of any track on the Sprint Cup Series circuit to date. The last 11 winners include Mark Martin, Jimmie Johnson, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman, Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Denny Hamlin, Brian Vickers, Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. The Texas Motor Speedway and New Hampshire Motor Speedway currently hold the all-time record of 13 different winners.
Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano dominated both races last season at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Keselowski led 138 laps of the afternoon last July to capture the victory at the 1.058-mile oval. Logano had his turn in September when he wheeled his No. 22 Shell/Penzoil Ford to victory lane. The Team Penske drivers will certainly be the ones to follow all weekend long.
The 5-hour Energy 301 will take place at 1:30 p.m. ET. on Sunday afternoon. You can watch the race live on NBCSN or listen to radio coverage from the Performance Racing Network.
About Me: Brett has been following the sport of NASCAR since the beginning of the 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup season. Since Brett was 13, he has had a passion of chasing a job in sports that not many get the opportunity of doing. He has been in the NASCAR media since the middle of the 2010 season. Since then, he has been a part of many racing podcast shows to improve his talents. He has written for racingonfuel.com and theracingwheel.com. Currently, Brett writes for motorsportsnat.com and TracksideChatter.com. You can find him on twitter @NASCAR_Brett.
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