Frontstretch

After a midday wash and rinse, Ryan Blaney hit repeat at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with another dominant performance. Blaney held off a hard-charging Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry to win the Dollar Tree 301 Sunday (Aug. 23) afternoon. Christopher Bell and Kyle Larson completed the top five. BLANEY GOES BACK-TO-BACK!!! 🦞🏆 pic.twitter.com/eS7R2ARnIl — NASCAR on USA (@NASCARonUSA) August 23, 2026 The No. 12 team took an unconventional route to defend their win from a year ago.

Tyler Reddick started on the pole at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (Aug. 23), but a lap 1 spin saw his lead instantly evaporate. Reddick didn’t suffer much damage, but it was enough to cost him a chance at the win. Meanwhile, defending race winner Ryan Blaney started the day in eighth but quickly made his way forward, winning the second stage after a fierce back-and-forth battle with Josh Berry. Blaney had trouble on a pit stop, falling back after a miscue forced him to back up to finish his stop.

Another short flat track and another Team Penske win as Ryan Blaney scored his third victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series, winning Sunday’s (Aug. 23) running of the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Stock Car Scoop host Eric Schneck breaks down the action from New Hampshire, starting with the wet weather tires on lap 1 to Blaney crossing the finish line on lap 301.

It is a strange (yet common) phenomenon in racing that drivers do better when they are free agents. Whether it is due to heightened pressure or being more aggressive, drivers without a ride for the next season often run better. This has been noticeably true for Josh Berry. The 35-year-old announced in June that he would depart Wood Brothers Racing at the end of the 2026 season. After a tough start to the summer, on the track and off, Berry has had an excellent stretch of races.

Lando Norris sent those fans wearing the papaya shade of orange into delirium after taking victory in Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix at Zandvoort (Aug. 23). Having won convincingly in Budapest, Norris bided his time to pass Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli to win for the second time in 2026. George Russell finished a distant third ahead of the Ferraris of Lewis Hamilton and Charles Leclerc, respectively, while Oscar Piastri completed the top six.

2026 has been a trying year for Josh Berry. The No. 21 team struggled to find speed and consistency. Then, in the middle of its disappointing season, the Wood Brothers announced Berry will be replaced in 2027 by Jesse Love, the defending NASCAR O’Reilly Series champion. Berry, a late-model standout before moving to the O’Reilly Series full-time with JR Motorsports in 2022, entered the Cup Series in 2024, a rookie at 34. He scored his first NASCAR Cup Series win at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in 2025.

LOUDON, N.H. — It was do or die for the No. 60 team this weekend as Ryan Preece returned to his home track to try and close the gap between him and Shane van Gisbergen, the current holder of the final Chase spot. Preece entered Sunday’s (Aug. 23) Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway down 50 driver points and 25 owner points in the standings and qualified for the race in 18th.

As Kyle Kirkwood crossed the finish line to win Sunday’s (Aug. 23) Freedom 250 Grand Prix at Washington, the seven other American drivers in the 25-car NTT IndyCar Series field had varying degrees of success in the 250-mile street race. The No. 27 Andretti Global Honda completed 147 laps around the 1.7-mile street circuit as the only American driver in the top five finishers. California’s Nolan Siegel finished sixth in the No. 6 Arrow McLaren Chevrolet after starting 18th.

Up Next: The Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday, Aug. 29. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC. Up Next: The Winn-Dixie 250 at Daytona International Speedway on Friday, Aug. 28. Coverage will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW. NOTE: Part-time drivers who are ineligible for the championship are excluded from this list. Up Next: The UNOH 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway on Thursday, Sept. 17. Coverage will begin at 8 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1.

Ryan Blaney won Sunday’s (Aug. 23) Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, holding off Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry on two tires in the closing laps to claim his second straight win at the Magic Mile and his third of 2026 Blaney cleared Chase Briscoe for the lead with 61 laps to go and drove away, only allowing Wallace to get close while the two were embroiled in lapped traffic.