2024 USA Today 301
The 2024 USA Today 301 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on June 23, 2024, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 305 laps -- extended from 301 laps due to an overtime finish, on the 1.058-mile (1.703 km) speedway, it was the 18th race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. Christopher Bell won the race, his 9th career win, and his 3rd of the 2024 season. Chase Briscoe finished 2nd, and Josh Berry finished 3rd, matching his career-best finish. Kyle Larson and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five, and Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr., and Ross Chastain rounded out the top ten.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 18 of 36 in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series | |||
| Date | June 23, 2024 | ||
| Location | New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.058 mi (1.703 km) | ||
| Distance | 305 laps, 322.69 mi (519.415 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 301 laps, 318.458 mi (512.603 km) | ||
| Average speed | 84.832 miles per hour (136.524 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Hendrick Motorsports | ||
| Time | 3.250 (Pandemic Formula) | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 149 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte | ||
| Nielsen Ratings | 1.511 Million | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | PRN | ||
| Booth Announcers | Doug Rice and Mark Garrow | ||
| Turn Announcers | Rob Albright (1 & 2) and Pat Patterson (3 & 4) | ||
Report
Background
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval.
The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Entry list
- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
Carson Hocevar was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.865 seconds and a speed of 127.534 mph (205.246 km/h).[10]
Practice results
| Pos | No. | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.865 | 127.534 |
| 2 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 29.917 | 127.312 |
| 3 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 29.940 | 127.214 |
| Official practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
Qualifying for the race was cancelled due to inclement weather. Chase Elliott will start on the pole was awarded the pole for the race as a result of NASCAR's pandemic formula with a score of 3.250[11]
Starting lineup
Race
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 70
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 9 |
| 3 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 7 |
| 5 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 5 |
| 7 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 4 |
| 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 2 |
| 10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage one results | |||||
Stage Two Laps: 115
| Pos | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 9 |
| 3 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 8 |
| 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 7 |
| 5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 6 |
| 6 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 2 |
| 10 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Official stage two results | |||||
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 116
| Pos | Grid | No | Driver | Team | Manufacturer | Laps | Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 57 |
| 2 | 23 | 14 | Chase Briscoe | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 305 | 35 |
| 3 | 10 | 4 | Josh Berry (R) | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 305 | 43 |
| 4 | 19 | 5 | Kyle Larson | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 37 |
| 5 | 15 | 17 | Chris Buescher | RFK Racing | Ford | 305 | 32 |
| 6 | 12 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 305 | 33 |
| 7 | 13 | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | JTG Daugherty Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 30 |
| 8 | 28 | 42 | John Hunter Nemechek | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 305 | 29 |
| 9 | 7 | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 42 |
| 10 | 8 | 1 | Ross Chastain | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 31 |
| 11 | 31 | 41 | Ryan Preece | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 305 | 26 |
| 12 | 16 | 38 | Todd Gilliland | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 305 | 30 |
| 13 | 32 | 43 | Erik Jones | Legacy Motor Club | Toyota | 305 | 24 |
| 14 | 27 | 21 | Harrison Burton | Wood Brothers Racing | Ford | 305 | 23 |
| 15 | 25 | 34 | Michael McDowell | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 305 | 22 |
| 16 | 18 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 21 |
| 17 | 20 | 77 | Carson Hocevar (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 20 |
| 18 | 1 | 9 | Chase Elliott | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 29 |
| 19 | 29 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford | 305 | 18 |
| 20 | 36 | 16 | Ty Dillon (i) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 0 |
| 21 | 11 | 99 | Daniel Suárez | Trackhouse Racing | Chevrolet | 305 | 16 |
| 22 | 35 | 15 | Kaz Grala (R) | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 305 | 15 |
| 23 | 26 | 7 | Corey LaJoie | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 14 |
| 24 | 14 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 305 | 27 |
| 25 | 2 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford | 305 | 25 |
| 26 | 3 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 305 | 11 |
| 27 | 21 | 10 | Noah Gragson | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 305 | 10 |
| 28 | 9 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | RFK Racing | Ford | 305 | 9 |
| 29 | 24 | 51 | Justin Haley | Rick Ware Racing | Ford | 305 | 8 |
| 30 | 35 | 71 | Zane Smith (R) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 304 | 7 |
| 31 | 33 | 31 | Daniel Hemric | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 303 | 6 |
| 32 | 6 | 22 | Joey Logano | Team Penske | Ford | 305 | 22 |
| 33 | 22 | 3 | Austin Dillon | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 268 | 4 |
| 34 | 17 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota | 265 | 3 |
| 35 | 30 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 222 | 2 |
| 36 | 5 | 48 | Alex Bowman | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 142 | 2 |
| Official race results | |||||||
Race statistics
- Lead changes: 6 among 5 different drivers
- Cautions/Laps: 14 for 85
- Red flags: 1 for 2 hours, 14 minutes, and 49 seconds
- Time of race: 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 14 seconds
- Average speed: 84.832 miles per hour (136.524 km/h)
Media
Television
USA covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, four-time and all-time Loudon winner Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman, and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
| USA | |
|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lap-by-lap: Rick Allen Color-commentator: Jeff Burton Color-commentator: Steve Letarte | Kim Coon Parker Kligerman Marty Snider |
Radio
PRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field races down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race from turns 1 & 2 and Pat Patterson called the race from turns 3 & 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Alan Cavanna handled the duties on pit lane.
| PRN | ||
|---|---|---|
| Booth announcers | Turn announcers | Pit reporters |
| Lead announcer: Doug Rice Announcer: Mark Garrow | Turns 1 & 2: Rob Albright Turns 3 & 4: Pat Patterson | Brad Gillie Brett McMillan Alan Cavanna |
Standings after the race
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References
- "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved October 3, 2023.
- "New Hampshire Motor Speedway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. January 3, 2013. Archived from the original on May 2, 2017. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
- Taranto, Steven (October 4, 2023). "NASCAR Cup Series 2024 schedule announcement: New additions, race dates, plus the complete calendar". CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- "NASCAR unveils 2024 Cup schedule as Atlanta, Watkins Glen move to playoffs". National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC. October 4, 2023. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
- "Entry List" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 17, 2024. Retrieved June 17, 2024.
- "Practice Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- "Starting Lineup". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 22, 2024. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- "USA TODAY 301 Results". NASCAR.com. NASCAR. June 23, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. June 23, 2024. Retrieved June 23, 2024.
- Utter, Jim (June 22, 2024). "NASCAR Cup NHMS: Hocevar leads brief practice; Sunday start time changed". Motorsport.com. Loudon, New Hampshire: Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 22, 2024.
- Utter, Jim (June 22, 2024). "NASCAR Cup NHMS: Qualifying rained out; Chase Elliott on pole". Motorsport.com. Loudon, New Hampshire: Motorsport Network. Retrieved June 22, 2024.