Blaney Wins NHMS

Ryan Blaney celebrates his win in Sunday's Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Mobil 1 301: Ryan Blaney won his third race of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series campaign on Sunday afternoon, taking the checkered flag in the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was his first win in the Granite State, and it moves him onto the Round of 8 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs. Many are also speculating that this sets up the driver of the number 12 Penske Ford as the title favorite due to his success at flat tracks and the head start he and his team have to prepare for the Round of 8 races.

I thought this was one of the better races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in recent years. This race had a little bit of everything that I want in NASCAR Cup Series races, and it was dramatic from start to finish. We had a great tire for Sunday's race that, coupled with the aging surface and multigroove racing, allowed for comers and goers throughout the day. It also meant that tires did matter, and you could, at least at times, gain a lot of speed and positions with fresher tires. However, tire wear wasn't so dramatic that it was "let's take four tires each stop." We saw teams play around with tire strategy and shift from taking two or four tires, and a few ballsy competitors decided to stay off (arguably, not a good idea). We also saw some drivers banging doors and fenders with a few being successful of knocking their competition out of the way. Namely, Ty Gibbs getting (deservedly so) shipped by teammate Denny Hamlin and Austin Dillon booting Cody Ware out of the way. Neither was able to get revenge as Gibbs fell out of the race shortly after being wrecked by Hamlin, and Ware failed to get retribution against Dillon. All of this also played into the strategy of the day and led us to a competitive and intense Stage Three. While Blaney was surely going to drive away to victory, the last 20 or so laps did have me thinking "what happens if a caution (or multiple) come out from here until the end?" Although that did not happen, it did keep me glued to the TV as I watched Ryan Blaney pull away from the field in the waning laps after Josh Berry's attempts to catch him failed when Berry slipped too high with a handful of laps to go in the race. From there, Blaney was on cruise control to the checkered flag.

Next up, NASCAR heads to Kansas Speedway with the Xfinity Series and Cup Series. The Craftsman Truck Series has the weekend off and will return the following weekend at the Charlotte ROVAL. The Xfinity Series kicks off the weekend on Saturday at 4 p.m. EST on The CW with the Kansas Lottery 300. The Cup Series hits the track on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. EST on USA with the Hollywood Casino 400.

Kansas Picks:

Trucks = Off

Xfinity = Connor Zilisch

Cup = William Byron