Martin Truex Jr. Takes the Crayon 301 at New Hampshire

Updated: July 17, 2023

After a postponement due to extreme rain in New Hampshire, your favorite Cup Series racers took to the Magic Mile on a Monday. Find out what happened when NASCAR made its way to New England for the Crayon 301, the 20th race of the sport’s 75th season. 

WHO WON THE CRAYON 301 AT NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY?

It was Martin Truex Jr., No. 19, who made it to Victory Lane at Monday’s Cup Series rescheduled event. The win wasn’t a total surprise, as Truex has had a stellar 2023 season (this being his third win of the season) and he had kept the lead for much of the race. In fact, he only didn’t lead the race for 47 of the 301-lap race!

No. 19 is nicknamed Mr. Monday for a reason; He has a history of taking victories on Monday races.

With this win, Truex has once again surpassed William Byron for first place in the NASCAR Cup Series standings. 

Shortly behind the winner came Joey Logano, followed by Kyle Larson. Harvick, Keselowski and Reddick also had strong races at the Magic Mile. 

CRAYON 301 RACE HIGHLIGHTS

• Not only does Truex Jr. get another win on his roster, but he also gets the honor of winning the Loudon Lobster, the eccentric trophy given out to the winner at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• At the very end of Stage 1,Kyle Busch and Carey LoJoie both slam the wall and are taken out of the race.
• Aric Almirola got the lead after a caution at Lap 164, but quickly loses his right rear tire and spins out.
• All three stages were won by Truex Jr. 

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The race, which was supposed to take place on Sunday July 16, was postponed to the following day due to high levels of rainfall in New Hampshire. The postponed race can be viewed live on Monday July 17 at 12 pm ET with your DIRECTV subscription on USA network (channel 242). So, if you can’t catch the race live on Monday, record it to watch later with your DIRECTV DVR, so you’ll be able to catch every moment from the competition.

Until then, here’s the information you need to know about the race.

CRAYON 301 RACE OVERVIEW

On Monday, July 17 at 12pm ET, your favorite drivers will take the course at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Cup drivers will make their mid-summer visit to “the Magic Mile” for 301 laps around the 1.058-mile oval track for the chance at clinching a Cup win.

This mid-summer visit up north is an exciting race for a number of reasons, including the fact that Playoffs are just a month out. With the next round of the season in eyeline, racers have fewer opportunities to clinch a Playoff-qualifying Cup Series win.

NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY

For the last three decades, the New Hampshire Motor Speedway has been a stop on the NASCAR circuit, bringing the sport up to an area that doesn’t typically get much NASCAR love.

The oval track has hosted Cup Series races and beyond, including the motorcycle Loudon Classic, the Indy Racing League, and CART. After multiple fatal crashes on the track, modifications were made to the track design, including turning the corners into progressive banking systems and adding SAFER barriers to the corner walls.

PLAYER STANDINGS & RACING ENTRY LIST

The entry list for the Crayon 301 is as follows. The qualifying round will determine the pole position of the racers.

Number	Driver	Team
No. 1	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing
No. 2	Austin Cindric	Team Penske
No. 3	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing
No. 4	Kevin Harvick	Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 5	Kyle Larson	Hedrick Motorsports
No. 6	Brad Keselowski	RFK Racing
No. 7	Corey Lajoie	Spire Motorsports
No. 8	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing
No. 9	Chase Elliot	Hedrick Motorsports
No. 10	Aric Almirola	Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 11	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 12	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske
No. 14	Chase Briscoe	Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 15	Ryan Newman	Rick Ware Racing
No. 16	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing
No. 17	Chris Buescher	RFK Racing
No. 19	Martin Truex Jr.	Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
No. 21	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers Racing
No. 22	Joey Logano	Team Penske
No. 23	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing
No. 24	William Byron	Hendricks Motorsports
No. 31	Justin Haley	Kaulig Racing
No. 34	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports
No. 38	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports
No. 41	Ryan Preece	Stewart-Haas Racing
No. 42	Noah Gragson	Legacy Motor Club
No. 43	Erik Jones	Legacy Motor Club
No. 45	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing
No. 47	Ricky Stenhouse Jr.	JTG Daugherty Racing
No. 48	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports
No. 51	Cole Custer	Rick Ware Racing
No. 54	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Raving
No. 77	Ty Dillon	Spire Motorsports
No. 78	BJ McLeod	Live Fast Motorsport
No. 99	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing

And before the qualifiers take place, here’s a look at where the top 10 2023 drivers currently stand in the regular season. If a driver has qualified for Playoffs, their name will be marked with a *.

1. William Byron, No. 24*
2. Martin Truex Jr., No. 19*
3. Kyle Busch, No. 9*
4. Christopher Bell, No. 20*
5. Ross Chastain, No. 1*
6. Denny Hamlin, No. 11*
7. Ryan Blaney, No. 12*
8. Kyle Larson, No. 5*
9. Kevin Harvick, No. 4
10. Joey Logano, No. 22*
11. Chris Beuscher, No. 17
12. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
13. Tyler Reddick, No. 45
14. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47*
15. Daniel Suárez, No. 99
16. Michael McDowell, No 34

After Byron’s win at the Quaker State 400, he is holding his first-place position comfortably. And while not on this list, racers like Bubba Wallace and AJ Almendinger are only a few points shy (3 and 13, respectively) of breaking into the top 16. Will they be able to get the points they need at the Crayon 301?

PAST WINNERS

The last time the Cup Series was in New Hampshire, it was No. 20 Christopher Bell who took home the top prize. His first win of the 2022 season, Bell showed a strong performance in New England driving the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, beating competitor Chase Elliot with an impressive 5.767-second lead.

After winning three consecutive NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the NH Motor Speedway from 2019-2021 and falling to runner-up in the 2021 Cup Series race, Bell was more than ready to claim this victory in New Hampshire.

Behind Bell and Elliot was Bubba Wallace, who took third place. Martin Truex Jr., the current runner-up in the 2023 series, finished 4th.

WATCH NASCAR ON DIRECTV

NASCAR season is in full swing, and you don’t want to miss a moment of the action.

With every race available live or through streaming on DIRECTV, you don’t have to. To watch the races live, tune into NBC or USA, on channels 12 and 242, respectively.

And now, DIRECTV is your one-stop-shop for NASCAR, as we’re keeping you up to date on all the latest news, race results and driver stats, right here on DIRECTV Insider.

So, check back here leading up to the Crayon 301 for the pre-race info you need, and then come back after the race for the recap. 

And if you aren’t a DIRECTV customer yet, now’s the time to make the switch. Our extensive sports coverage has more games, races and matches than any other provider, for a price you’ll love.

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