NASCAR Cup Series

Roush Fenway Racing heads to northern New England and the land of “chowdah” and the Red Sox as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) returns to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for 301-miles of racing action. A Roush Fenway Ford has earned nine victories at the 1.058-mile oval. Also, it is pronounced ‘Cahncahd,’ not ‘Concord.’

After scoring his third win of the season in Kentucky last Saturday, an elated Martin Truex Jr. mentioned that his Furniture Row Racing team is overdue at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, site of Sunday’s Overton’s 301 NASCAR Cup Series race.

If I may ask, why do we have an owners championship in NASCAR?

Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) driver Aric Almirola, who suffered an acute compression fracture to his T5 Vertebra after a multi-car accident at Kansas Speedway in May, will return to Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Richard Childress Racing at New Hampshire Motor Speedway ... Richard Childress has four victories as a team owner at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with Robby Gordon (2001), Kevin Harvick (2006) and Clint Bowyer (2007 and 2010). In 118 starts at the 1.058-mile oval, Childress also has two pole awards, 16 top-five and 40 top-10 finishes with 10 different drivers including Dave Blaney, Jeff Burton, Bowyer, Austin Dillon, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Green, Gordon, Harvick, Ryan Newman, Steve Park and Mike Skinner.

Richard Petty was already "The King" in 1984. Beyond being the sport's most approachable and popular driver, Petty's 198 wins was the most of any driver, by 93 over David Pearson. He was already "The King", but he wanted more. In July of 1984, Petty scored his 200th, most historic, and final, NASCAR victory at Daytona International Speedway.

Four-time Talladega Superspeedway Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) winner Brad Keselowski, along with Chase Elliott, who captured the pole position in his first career start in NASCAR’s premier series at Talladega just over a year ago, will headline the Fan Question & Answer Session prior to the start of the Alabama 500 on Sunday, Oct. 15.

Ryan Blaney and the Motorcraft/Quick Lane Racing team come to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Overton’s 301 with two missions in mind. One is to improve on their 11th- and 12th-place finishes last season in Loudon. The second is to further solidify their position in the NASCAR Playoff standings.

Grammy-nominated and multi-platinum band Smash Mouth, who is celebrating the 20th anniversary of their debut smash-hit album “Fush Yu Mang,” will perform prior to the Hollywood Casino 400 on Oct. 22. This year, the band is also releasing a new album of all-original material.

AT NHMS: While Dale Earnhardt Jr. has yet to win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, he has racked up some solid stats at the 1.058-mile oval. In 33 starts, he has eight top-five finishes, four of which have come since his transition to Hendrick Motorsports.