Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Cup Series
New Hampshire Media Availability
Tuesday, September 16, 2025

Ryan Blaney, driver of the No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Team Penske, opens up the Round of 12 this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway fifth in the NASCAR Cup Series playoff standings, 19 points above the cut line. He spoke about the next three races on the schedule as part of a NASCAR media call this morning.

RYAN BLANEY, No. 12 Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WAS IT PRIDE OR FRUSTRATION FOR YOU AFTER THE BRISTOL RACE, AND WHAT’S IT LIKE WHEN THE TIRES ARE SUCH AN UNKNOWN? “I was proud walking out of Bristol of our effort with a fourth. I kind of thought we were a top five car all night. I thought we had a shot to win. There were a couple other guys that I thought we were on par with. I feel like the 54, honestly I thought he was the best car, and the 20 got really good and just kind of the way that things fell, but I was proud of our night. We did what we discussed before going into the weekend of, ‘hey, let’s try and maximize the first two stages to where we lock in and then we can be aggressive to the end of the night in the final stage’ and we were able to do that and win a stage and almost win another and put together a good night. The tire thing was just kind of learning under fire type of situation. I don’t think we thought the tires were going to do what they did. We discussed it after practice and in our team meeting like, ‘I don’t think they’re gonna degrade’ like they did, but the temperature thing caught everybody off-guard to where when the track temp was low that there was just no way that the rubber goes into the racetrack. It kind of just grinds off the tire. I realized something was off around lap 25 when I saw guys pitting already and guys super slow. I’m like, ‘Man, they must be cording tires.’ I was probably running 80 percent the first 25 laps, so I think I benefitted from starting up front and just kind of able to mind my pace, just like a normal run, and then it benefitted us on the back end. Then it was a big strategy game after that. Jonathan had his work cut out for him and figuring out, ‘OK, we have x amount of tires. There are x amount of laps left. How many laps do we need to run on a set, roughly?’ And he was keeping me updated on that all night like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna have to run 60 laps on a set the way stands now, so just be mindful of that getting going and manage the best you can,’ and then trying to work on your car through the night, too. It was one of those nights to where you were trying to learn and you go and can you do it better than everybody else, and I feel like we did a good job. We did what we needed to do and ended up with a good finish and now move on to this weekend.”

HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR PHILOSOPHY ABOUT NOT BEING A NICE GUY ANYMORE ON THE TRACK? “I don’t know. There’s always this discussion about it’s been brought up specifically about me like, ‘Hey, do you think guys take advantage of you because you race a certain way and maybe they feel like they can take more of an advantage of you.’ And I don’t know. My dad taught me at a young age when I was getting going that you give respect and you hope to get it back. I’ve tried to be really respectful, no matter what it is – when I was a rookie and as I’ve been in it for awhile I try to be respectful, and it’s just not in my nature to be the rough guy. That’s just not how I was raised. That’s not how my dad taught me to race. It’s not how the guys I grew up racing late models around raced. We all respected one another. Yeah, if you just kind of get racing hard with somebody, well then you put that in your brain and maybe you run them harder. I’m not one that’s gonna go out and intentionally turn someone around or things like that. Matt Kenseth actually had a very good quote. He was on Dale Jr.’s podcast a couple years ago and he was like, ‘I don’t really like running into guys, but I really don’t like getting run into, so I would just hit you twice as hard and that’s the end of it.’ I guess I’ve just always thought that way. I talked to you Friday out at Bristol and I think the best thing you can do is, ‘OK, this guy seems to need to rough me up to get by me or beat me.’ I think the biggest statement you can make is, ‘I’m just gonna beat you clean, and I’m never gonna tough you.’ That’s a bigger statement. I don’t need to resort to that stuff to drive by you and beat you. That’s just my mindset and how I’ve always been as far as behind the wheel and how I like to race people.”

WHAT DID YOU THINK WHEN YOU HEARD YOUR NEPHEW COME ON THE RADIO? “That was funny. I was laughing. The story behind that. My two nephews were at the race. They’re four and six. They were in the bus beforehand and Gianna, my wife, has a radio in the bus where she can listen. Neither of us knew that the button worked. I thought it was an obsolete button to where they have that as far as they can make the button not work if you push it, but apparently it does. The four-year-old was talking to me before the race. He’s like, ‘What’s that thing with Aunt Gianna’s name on it?’ I was like, ‘It’s a radio to where Aunt Gianna can listen to my racing.’ And he was like, ‘Oh, like a walkie-talkie.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, kind of like a walkie-talkie,’ so I guess he took that and remembered it. He’s a smart kid. He figured it out and turned it on and pushed the button and gave me a little bit of motivation. That was pretty cool. It was at a great time. It was under caution. There was not much going on and I got a real good kick out of it. We all did. All of my team got a good kick out of it, so that was funny, and I knew right away who it was. When he called me Uncle Ryan I was like, ‘Alright, that’s either Bodie or Louie, and I figured it was Bodie, the younger one, because I talked to him about this radio, so I got a good laugh out of that. It was a point in the race where there were a lot of cautions after cautions, so that was a nice moment of levity of just a little break. So, yeah, it was funny. We’ve got to get that button worked on to where no one pushed it on accident, but he’s a smart kid. I wouldn’t have known how to do that at four years old, but he figured it out.”

PHOENIX WILL HAVE INDYCAR DURING THE CUP WEEKEND NEXT YEAR. HOW WILL THAT BE FOR YOU AT PENSKE? “I love it. I was really excited that they announced that. I have a super close relationship with the IndyCar guys. We’re all under the same building and we all root each other on. McLaughlin was out in Phoenix when I won my championship. He just came out and wanted to support and it was a lot of fun. It just speaks to how much we support each other, so I’m looking forward to that. I loved when we had the doubleheader with them at Indy, just kind of being right there and going over and hanging out and watching practice in their box and stuff like that. That was cool. I think it’s gonna be fantastic, and I like that IndyCar is going back to Phoenix. It’s been a while since they’ve run in Phoenix and I think it will put on a really good show. I’m looking forward to that in the spring and it’ll be fun to watch those guys run at least six seconds faster than us around that place. I’m looking forward to going and standing in one and two as those guys are just hauling butt around there. That will be pretty amazing to see, so, yeah, I think it’s great for both series – IndyCar and on the NASCAR side.”

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU WERE SURPRISED BY SOMETHING THAT WAS SAID ON THE RADIO? “It’s been a while. The radio side it’s usually only three people on it – me, Jonathan and Timmy. If RP is there, he’ll get on it before the race or something and say good luck, but you never really expect to hear many other voices on that radio. So, yeah, that’s the first time in a while, it might be the first time I’ve been genuinely very shocked of who was on the radio and has talked. Like I said, it was a funny moment, for sure. I got a great laugh out of it. My mother was mortified because she was with them. She turned around to microwave something for two seconds and they somehow got the radio, but I think that was the first time I was genuinely shocked of hearing a certain human being’s voice on the radio.”

WHAT HAVE YOU GUYS DONE RIGHT AT NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE PAST AND WHAT DO YOU NEED TO DO BETTER TO PUT IT ALL TOGETHER AND GET THE RESULT OF HOW YOU’VE RUN? “I feel like New Hampshire has been one of those tracks to where we have run well and just not really finished where we deserved. I felt really good there last year. We were running up front before the rain. We were running second during the rain and got turned around there on one of the last restarts, but I think just trying to stay in the mix. The first part of it is trying to have a car that runs up towards the front. I am happy that New Hampshire has gotten a playoff race. It’s always been that way for a while, and I was a part of a couple New Hampshire races in the playoffs and I’m happy it’s back because they do a great job and the crowd up there is always fantastic. But I think navigating the turn three bump is always pretty big. The 22 group was able to go test there, do a tire test there about a month ago, and they thought that went really well, so hopefully we can learn some stuff from those guys – what they figured out up there and apply it in our own way and see. It’s been a good place for us. Hopefully, we can get the finish that I feel like we deserve there and just try to stay out of trouble.”

YOU’RE ON A GOOD RUN OF TOP 10S THE LAST TWO MONTHS. IS THIS YOUR BEST DRIVING AND BEST PERFORMANCE FOR YOUR TEAM? WHAT IS GOING SO MUCH BETTER NOW? “I feel like our group just keeps getting better and better every year. I pretty much have the same guys I’ve had from that championship year and just that camaraderie and working together year after year, week after week, everyone gets closer and just build that bond and I’ve been really happy with how they’ve been performing. Over-the-wall, mechanics and how they’ve been communicating. Jonathan and the engineers with myself, I feel like we’ve gotten into this good rhythm and that stuff just grows over time. I just think we’re executing the way that we need to. I feel like our mindset is just in a good place right now, where everyone is extremely confident in themselves and their ability and they believe it, and that stuff definitely helps. It’s the belief that we can do it. We’ve had the belief that we can do it the last two to three years. They’re poised to do it and it’s really fun to be part of a group like that, that has that mindset. Everyone is clicking together. Everyone has each other’s backs. If I make a mistake, they’re right there to support me. If they make a mistake, I support them. That’s just how a team works, so I just think we are a pretty well-oiled machine. I feel like all year our team has been performing really well. The string of DNFs that we had was unfortunate there in the beginning and middle part of the year, but I always felt like we were doing a good job. I never tried to let anyone stray away from that, even when things aren’t really on your side it’s how are we doing as a team and they’ve been 100 percent all year. I think they’re in a good spot. Everybody’s mindset is right and our cars are, I think, pretty close to where they need to be, so we just have to keep chipping away at it. We’re in it for the long haul. We’ve got seven more weeks of this thing and hopefully we can make another run at it. That’s all you can do, but I couldn’t be happier with the group I’ve got around me. I’m really lucky and fortunate to have a great group of guys to go to battle with every week.”

DO THE DNF’S GOING AWAY COINCIDE WITH YOU GROWING THE BEARD? “I won’t say there’s a direct link between the two, but maybe it’s something – maybe.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE TIRES FOR THIS WEEKEND, WHICH ARE NEW TO NEW HAMPSHIRE? I think this tire that Goodyear has been bringing to these places, that they’re bringing to New Hampshire, always the goal is fall off – trying to make your car last for a while. It’s a different type. At Richmond, I thought it was a really good tire. It added a lot of fall off. You could kind of make it upset and you pay the penalty for it late – different than a Bristol type situation, which that’s kind of an outlier, but I think what they’re gearing for and what they found out was just more fall off like they’ve gotten at a couple other places with this combination, and I enjoy that. I think that’s the way that it should be. Goodyear has done a good job of continuing to experiment and try to find ways to help the short track tire pay a penalty if you’re rude to it early on in a run and it really shows the flaws in your car when you get 30-plus laps on the tires – maybe less than that. I expect more fall off, more tire management to go on and I feel like that’s when you always see a little bit more of comers and goers, so that’s the mindset at least going into the weekend, and then we’ll see how it is on Saturday during practice and then as you get rolling through the race. But, fall off is always the key and I think we’re gonna get more of that.”

IS THERE ANY CONCERN ABOUT BOTTLING THE TIMING OF THIS GOOD RUN OR DO YOU JUST TAKE IT WHEN YOU CAN GET IT? “Take it when you can get it. I look back at the years that we got really good as an organization later in the year and there were reasons behind that. We had a lot of changes to the race car that it took us a while to get our arms wrapped around. In ‘23 we had a little bit different body. In ‘24 we had a different nose that it was tough for us to find the balance of the car and we finally did at the two-thirds mark of the season, and then this year there was really no changes with the race car, so we had a lot of good notes that we had from ‘24 and we were able to apply them. I feel like our speed has been really solid all year, so that I feel like plays a big factor in it. When you don’t have a big change in the offseason that you have to figure out going into next year, but you take it when you can get it. I’m happy with the way we’ve been performing and you just try piece by piece get a little bit better week to week. The Toyotas are really strong. The last three weeks you can’t take that away from them. They’ve been incredibly fast and all of the teams have been executing really well, but I think we’re really close to where we need to be. I have confidence that we can get on that level. We’ve been doing a good job of getting to where we need to be, and now it’s just a matter of executing and finding little things here and there that can continue to catapult you along.”

THERE WAS A NOTE THAT OF THE 12 REMAINING PLAYOFF DRIVERS, SIX CAME THROUGH THE BRAD KESELOWSKI FAMILY RACING TREE. WHAT DOES THIS SAY ABOUT THAT TEAM’S LEGACY? “I saw that also this week and I think it just speaks a lot on Brad’s knowledge of finding drivers that he thinks have potential to have a solid Cup career. I’ll never forget when Brad asked me to drive his trucks for him in 2012, the second part of 2012, and eventually at the same time led to the Penske opportunity running some Nationwide stuff, and led to this today. Here we are 13 years later. It’s pretty amazing, honestly, when I sit back and look at it, but I think it speaks a lot to Brad and the opportunities that he gave a lot of great young kids that, hey, you never know where they’re gonna end up. You take a chance on somebody and it’s pretty cool when it works out, so Brad has a huge part of a lot of our careers and that was a lot of fun. I loved my years at BKR. I loved winning races for them and loved the success that they had when I wasn’t driving those trucks anymore – a lot of good drivers have come from there, so that’s all Brad. That’s all Brad’s eye for who he wants to give a shot to and it’s pretty cool that a lot of drivers today that are winning races and in the playoffs came from that stable. It speaks a lot to the people that were there, mainly Brad Keselowski.”

IS PRACTICE SOMETHING YOU WOULD LIKE TO SEE MORE OF ON A GIVE WEEKEND, LONGER THAN 20 MINUTES OR ARE YOU OK WITH IT THE WAY IT IS? “If I’m gonna pick, I like the extended practice – the 50 minutes. You get a couple sets of tires. You’re able to go to the garage and try a few different things. They do that Champ Weekend, and then if they have a new track that’s what they have. That’s what I like, personally. I think it just gives people a better chance to understand where their cars are at and play with some more stuff than you normally could with a 20-minute practice. That would be my vote. I don’t know where it’s gonna go, but that is my favorite form of practice. Before COVID there was always Friday practice for an hour, qualifying and then you had two practice sessions on Saturday. Then you raced Sunday and that changed a lot during COVID. That was a lot of practice – three sessions of an hour, let’s say – and then I think what we have now is pennies on the dollar, so I think a little happy medium ground is the 50-minute, two sets of tires, can go in the garage, that would be my vote.”

IS YOUR DAY-TO-DAY SCHEDULE THE SAME DURING THE PLAYOFFS AS THE REGULAR SEASON? “I wouldn’t say my schedule is entirely different as far as my routine of going to the shop, meetings, prepping. My at-home life is very similar. I try to keep it the same. I don’t do a ton of extra curricular activities during the regular season. If there is something here or there, go catch a concert or something, I try and keep that. I think that’s important. I’ve always spoken on how it’s important, to me at least, to separate the two and times. I try to keep one day off a week, like Thursdays are usually my day off to where I don’t really think about racing. I try to do all my work Monday to Wednesday, have a Thursday day off, and then Friday morning the main focus is on the race weekend. That doesn’t change for me. I try to keep all of that pretty similar and find a routine that I enjoy, it works, this is a good schedule and then I go. There are a lot more doctor appointments nowadays, but that’s been all year, so it’s very similar.”

CAN YOU ELABORATE ON WHAT YOU ARE FOCUSING ON THIS NEXT ROUND? “Just business as usual, just trying to do all of the work that you can and trying to be as prepared as possible through the week and try to just do our job on the weekends and try to worry about yourself. I feel it’s easy to get focused on other people, where they’re at, and you have to be mindful of that a little bit in a sense, but can you just focus on your group of people and maximize your weekend. I think we do a good job of that of just blinders and figuring out how do we do the best job that we can, whether that’s through the week or on the race weekend or race day. I think that’s just what it is. How can you go put together 10 good weeks and worry about yourself. If you worry about yourself, everything else will fall in place, so just try to execute the best we can.”

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO GET AROUND THE ROVAL AND HAVE A GOOD RUN? “That race has turned into more of a normal road course now because everyone is a little bit more used to it. You kind of understand what to expect. That race is pretty interesting being a cutoff race because you’re gonna have teams that need to go win, that have had one or two bad races and they’re way below the cut line. You’re probably gonna have a couple guys that have already won that are in, that are just focused on winning the race. And then you’re gonna have a group of guys that have to gather a lot of points for the cushion about the cut line, or they have to gather a lot of points to get above the cut line. That seems to always be the trend, so it’s always interesting how that race plays out with the stages and things like that, and then trying to stay out of some messes. I feel like, honestly, that place has put on a pretty good show since it started in 2018 and it’s just turned into a normal road course race again. It’s just like everything, you try to go execute through the weekend, try to stay out of trouble, try to gain as many points as you can, and just race it to where you’re currently at in the playoff standings, but it does get pretty wild. The restarts into one are always pretty crazy. That new corner that they added last year, I think it’s seven, that goes onto the turn one banking, that got pretty chaotic last year, so it’s like, ‘How do you navigate through that?’ I’ve enjoyed that race a lot and I’ve always had decent runs there. Hopefully, we can go and be in a good spot to where we don’t have to throw a Hail Mary in that race, but if you do, then that’s what you’ve got to go do.”

WHAT IS ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT NEW HAMPSHIRE? “I love the area itself. I feel it’s really pretty and there’s something about the northeast that I really enjoy. Now you get into September and the leaves are changing, so I always enjoy the looks of it driving to the racetrack from the airport. And then I feel like the track itself just puts on a good race. It’s pretty wide, especially for whatever reason now like the last two or three years we’ve been up in that fourth lane a good bit, so that adds another lane of racing, which is always good. I feel like it’s wide enough to where the cars there have places to go and that’s what this car is really good at, like when there are multiple lanes, like three or four lanes, this car will put on really good races. And then the crowd atmosphere there is always fantastic. We have tons of fans in the northeast. You see it when we go there. You see it when we go to Dover, Watkins Glen, there are a lot of great fans that love motorsports and love NASCAR. That definitely makes the atmosphere pretty fun, and then you throw a playoff race in there and it’s even more ramped up – everyone’s weekend – so just everything about the area, the racetrack I’ve always enjoyed it and the people there have always been really great to me. That definitely adds an element to it.”

WHAT IS YOUR TEAM’S APPROACH WHEN THE WEATHER IN NEW HAMPSHIRE CAN CHANGE SO QUICKLY? “You just monitor the weather throughout the week. I think it’s gonna be low to mid-seventies out there this weekend, which is fantastic, but you never know what’s gonna happen and never know how it’s gonna change, but I think last year with that race there was a rain storm. I can’t remember if it popped up out of nowhere, but we knew it was coming. I think when we started the day it was like, ‘No rain,’ but it can change dramatically. You’re just always monitoring that. That’s one thing we can’t control is the weather and things like that, so you just kind of take it in stride and knowing that in that part of the country it can change, so you just always keep a little bit closer of an eye on it than what you would maybe if you were out in Phoenix or Vegas, where you’ve kind of got what you’ve got.”

WHICH OF THE NEXT THREE RACES TO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE BEST CHANCE OF WINNING? “New Hampshire. That would be ideal. I feel like we’ve run good enough there to where we can contend for one. I would say New Hampshire and then we’ll go from there. We’ll see what we can do this weekend, but that would be obviously a nice one to win.”

NEW HAMPSHIRE

Saturday, September 20 – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Noon ET (FS1)
Sunday, September 21 – NASCAR Cup Series, 2 p.m. ET (USA)

The Round of 12 kicks off in the NASCAR Cup Series this weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway while the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series will see its 10-driver postseason field cut to eight after the checkered flag. Ford still has seven drivers alive in the two series combined, including three champions in Joey Logano (Cup 2018, ’22, ’24), Ryan Blaney (Cup 2023) and Ty Majeski (NCTS 2024).

TEAM PENSKE MOVING ON

All three Team Penske drivers advanced to the Round of 12 after last weekend’s race at Bristol Motor Speedway. This marks the third time in the last four years the trio of Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric have all advanced out of the Round of 16. As the organization continues on its goal for a fourth straight series championship, Blaney begins this three-race stretch 19 points above the cut line while Cindric and Logano are one and two points below, respectively.

HOME SWEET HOME

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is the home track for New England native Joey Logano and he’s definitely had his share of success with two NASCAR Cup Series victories, including the first of his career in 2009. Logano added another win in 2014 with Ford and in 26 starts has an average finishing position of 14.8. He’s been particularly consistent in recent years, entering Sunday’s race with six top-10 runs in the last eight Loudon events.

FORD DRIVERS IN THE CUP PLAYOFFS

DRIVER – POINTS POSITION

Ryan Blaney – 5th (+19 above the cut line)
Austin Cindric – 9th (-1 below the cut line)
Joey Logano – 10th (-2)

Note: Top 8 advance after Charlotte

FORD PLAYOFF DRIVERS AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

Joey Logano: 26 starts, 2 wins, 9 top-5, 14 top-10
Ryan Blaney: 12 starts, 0 wins, 2 top-5, 4 top-10
Austin Cindric: 3 starts, 0 wins, 0 top-5, 0 top-10

AUSTIN CINDRIC: HAS JOEY TOLD YOU ANYTHING ABOUT HIS TIRE TEST AT NEW HAMPSHIRE? “I think the team definitely got some good data from being able to go to the tire test. It’s obviously a similar tire to what we raced at Richmond and have some good notes from there and Martinsville, where we’ve run that tire, so I think from a notebook standpoint we should be in really good shape. Doing that and being able to go out and execute the weekend is a whole other thing.”

JOEY LOGANO: HOW BIG OF A GAUGE IS NEW HAMPSHIRE FOR PHOENIX? “Loudon has those big bumps and transitions. It’s kind of a unique track and more fall off as well, so Loudon is a unique one, similar, like setup-wise you’re probably not that different, but just the way you drive the track for a driver is quite a bit different. But just because you’re good at those tracks, you’ve got to get there still. Just because we’re good at Phoenix most of the time we’ve got to still get there. I look forward to Loudon. I love that place. It’s home and it’s a great track for us. I always look forward to getting up there for many reasons.”

RYAN BLANEY: HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT GOING BACK TO THE LOUDON TRACK? “We’ll see. I don’t know. It was a pretty decent track for us before. There’s a new tire, so we’ll figure out what happens there as well. There’s only one way to find out.”

WEEKEND SWEEP

Brad Keselowski had a weekend to remember as he became the first driver to sweep a NASCAR Xfinity and NASCAR Cup Series race weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, achieving the feat on July 12-13, 2014. Keselowski led 138-of-305 laps, including the final two under a green-white-checkered finish to beat Kyle Busch to the finish line. The win was Ford’s fourth straight series win, marking the first time that had happened since 2001.

BURTON LEADS EVERY LAP

Jeff Burton is the last driver to lead every lap of a NASCAR Cup Series race when he did it on Sept. 17, 2000 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Bobby Labonte started from the pole, but Burton grabbed the lead after starting on the outside of the front row. Even though Labonte and Dale Earnhardt challenged him throughout the day, Burton never gave up the lead, becoming the first driver to lead every lap of a series race since Cale Yarborough did it in the Music City USA 420 at Nashville Speedway on June 3, 1978. The race, which was run with the use of restrictor plates, ended under caution after Sterling Marlin was involved in an accident with three laps remaining. It was Burton’s fourth win at the speedway and concluded a stretch that saw him win four consecutive seasons at the Magic Mile.

OWNER/DRIVER FIRST

Ford’s first NASCAR Cup Series win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway came in the track’s second year of hosting events in 1994. That’s when Ricky Rudd outdueled Dale Earnhardt in the closing laps to post his 15th career win. Rudd led 55 laps on the day, but won it after a memorable side-by-side battle with seven laps to go in which he passed Earnhardt on the inside, only to see the black No. 3 crossover and pull alongside for the next lap. Rudd eventually pulled in front and held on to take the Slick 50 300 on July 10, 1994. Rudd went on to post 23 NCS wins in his career and had at least one victory in 16 consecutive seasons (1983-98), but none may have been as satisfying as this one because it marked his first triumph as an owner/driver.

RIGGS TO MAKE 50TH CAREER TRUCK SERIES START

Fresh off his third win of the season and fifth of his NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career, Layne Riggs heads to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for his 50th career start with a spot in the Round of 8 secure. Riggs has been on a roll of late, winning three times in the last seven events while also registering two poles. The North Carolina native has led 446 laps this season, compared to 161 a year ago in his rookie season, and has an average finishing position of 9.6 through the first 20 races.

FIRST TRUCK RACE AT NHMS SINCE 2017

This weekend will mark the return of the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first time since 2017. As a result, many current Ford drivers have never competed on the flat one-mile oval. That includes all four of Ford’s playoff drivers – Layne Riggs, Ty Majeski, Jack Garcia and Chandler Smith. In fact, the only two current F-150 drivers with experience at NHMS are Matt Crafton (15 starts) and Ben Rhodes (2 starts). Ford has won three times in the series at NHMS with Kurt Busch (2000), Terry Cook (2002) and Rick Crawford (2005).

FORD DRIVERS IN THE NCTS PLAYOFFS

DRIVER – POINTS POSITION

Layne Riggs – Bristol Winner (Clinched Round of 8)
Ty Majeski – 4th (+46)
Jake Garcia – 9th (-14 below cut line)
Chandler Smith – 9th (-24)

Note: Top 8 advance after New Hampshire

FORD’S NASCAR CUP SERIES WINNERS AT NHMS

1994 – Ricky Rudd

1996 – Ernie Irvan

1997 – Jeff Burton (1)

1998 – Jeff Burton (1)

1999 – Jeff Burton (1)

2000 – Jeff Burton (2)

2001 – Dale Jarrett (1)

2002 – Ryan Newman (2)

2004 – Kurt Busch (Sweep)

2008 – Greg Biffle (2)

2014 – Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano

2018 – Kevin Harvick

2019 – Kevin Harvick

2020 – Brad Keselowski

2021 – Aric Almirola

FORD’S NASCAR CRAFTSMAN TRUCK SERIES WINNERS AT NHMS

2000 – Kurt Busch

2002 – Terry Cook

2005 – Rick Crawford

The Ford Mustang, celebrating its 61st anniversary in 2025, is the world’s best selling sports car. It is also one of the planet’s most popular race cars. With Mustang-based race cars competing in international sports car competition (GT3 and GT4), NASCAR, NHRA, Formula Drift, in Australian Supercars, at the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb and in its own bespoke one-make series – Mustang Cup and Mustang Challenge – the platform has an unprecedented global reach. This weekend, 20 Mustang race cars are scheduled to race across all disciplines. Learn more at FordPerformance.com.

Loudon Event Info:
Date: Sunday, September 21
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Loudon, New Hampshire
Format: 301 Laps, 318.46 Miles, Stages: 70-185-301
TV: USA
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 3 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 4:10 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosts the first race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the circuit’s annual stop in New England.
• Loudon is the site of seven wins all-time for Jack Roush in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Chris Buescher holds the third highest average starting position (12.1) in the Cup Series this season, anchored by 11 starts inside the top 10.
• Buescher is also one of seven drivers with 15+ top-10 results this season, and has an average finish of 13.7 which is the fourth highest among Cup drivers.
• Brad Keselowski has posted five top-10 finishes over his last nine races, including three in the top five, with an average finish of 12.2 dating back to Dover.
• Loudon also stands as Keselowski’s best track of any on the circuit as he’s finished 10th or better in nine of the last 11 races.
• Ryan Preece has set Cup Series career highs this season in top-fives (3) and top-10s (10), and has finished inside the top-20 in 13 of his last 15 starts.

6 Team Info:
Driver: Brad Keselowski
Crew Chief: Jeremy Bullins
Partner: BuildSubmarines.com

17 Team Info:
Driver: Chris Buescher
Crew Chief: Scott Graves
Partner: Kroger Health / Flublok

60 Team Info:
Driver: Ryan Preece
Crew Chief: Derrick Finley
Partner: Mohawk Northeast

Keselowski at NHMS
Starts: 24
Wins: 2 (2014, 2020)
Top-10s: 16
Poles: 4 (2010, 2013, 2014, 2019)

• NHMS stands as Keselowski’s best track statistically with an average finish of 10.5 and 16 top-10s, the most of any track on the circuit. He’s won in Loudon twice – first in 2014 and most recently in 2020.
• He’s finished top-7 in six of the last seven Loudon events, and has led laps in 15 of his 24 NHMS starts.
• Keselowski is coming off three straight P9 starting spots and has four poles all-time, the last coming in 2019. He carries a 10.2 average starting position into the weekend, the best of any track on the circuit.
• He also has two NXS wins in Loudon winning consecutive races in 2012 and 2014. He earned the pole in five of his 10 NXS starts and finished top-10 in every start with an average result of 3.8.

Buescher at NHMS
Starts: 11
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

• Buescher makes his 12th Cup start at NHMS this weekend where he’s coming off a fifth-place result last season, his first top-10 finish at the track.
• He carries a 23.1 average starting position into the weekend with a best effort of 15th (2024).
• Buescher also made two Xfinity Series starts with a best finish of fifth back in 2014.

Preece at NHMS
Starts: 6
Wins: —
Top-10s: —
Poles: —

• Preece is set for his seventh Cup start at New Hampshire this weekend, where he earned a career-best 11th-place finish last season.
• He holds a 28.7 average starting position at Loudon across his six starts, with a best of 21st in 2023.
• Preece has also made five NXS starts at NHMS with a pair of top-10s in 2017 and 2018.

RFK Historically at New Hampshire
Cup Wins: 7 (Jeff Burton, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000; Kurt Busch, 2004 (twice); Greg Biffle, 2008

• Patriot’s Day: This weekend’s NCS event at New Hampshire is in the home territory of RFK’s co-owners, the Fenway Sports Group. FSG is based out of Boston, Massachusetts, and is located just 82 miles from New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
• Niner Niner: RFK has won in all three of NASCAR’s major touring series at New Hampshire, including seven times in the NCS and once each in Xfinity and the Truck Series. Jeff Burton drove the No. 99 to RFK’s first NCS win at Loudon back in 1997, while Greg Biffle earned the most recent win in 2008. Kurt Busch went to victory lane in 2000 in the trucks while Carl Edwards picked up the win in 2006 in Xfinity series action.
• Four in a Row: RFK won at least one NCS race at New Hampshire in four consecutive seasons from 1997-2000, with former driver Burton taking the checkered flag on each occasion. In addition, RFK swept both races at New Hampshire in 2004 with former driver Busch.
• Wicked Good Domination: Former RFK driver Burton posted one of the most dominating wins in NASCAR history at New Hampshire on Sept. 17, 2000, with Burton qualifying on the front row (second) and leading all 300 laps of the event en route to his fourth victory at the New England track. RFK has led over 100 laps in NCS action at New Hampshire on six different occasions, including leading over 150 laps four times and over 190 laps three times. All-in-all, RFK has led 1,557 laps at New Hampshire in the NCS.

RFK Loudon Wins

1997-1 Burton Cup

1998-1 Burton Cup

1999-1 Burton Cup

2000-2 Burton Cup

2004-1 Busch Cup

2004-2 Busch Cup

2008-2 Biffle Cup

2006 Edwards NXS

2000 Busch Truck

Last Time Out & Where They Stand
Bristol: Keselowski 2nd; Buescher 11th; Preece 21st.

Points Standings (17: 17th, 60: 18th, 6: 20th): Buescher and Preece sit 17th and 18th in points, respectively, while Keselowski moved up two spots to 20th in the standings, earning 10 stage points and a runner-up finish at Bristol.

Loudon Event Info:
Date: Sunday, September 21
Time: 2 p.m. ET
Series: NASCAR Cup Series (NCS)
Location: Loudon, New Hampshire
Format: 301 Laps, 318.46 Miles, Stages: 70-185-301
TV: USA
Radio: PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90)

Weekend Schedule:
Saturday: 3 p.m. ET, Cup Practice (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Saturday: 4:10 p.m. ET, Cup Qualifying (TruTV, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Sunday: 2 p.m. ET, Cup Race (USA, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)

Pace Laps:

• New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosts the first race of the Round of 12 in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs for the circuit’s annual stop in New England.
• The NASCAR Xfinity Series takes the weekend off after the opening race in the Round of 12 last Friday night at Bristol.
• Sam Mayer sits third in the playoff standings with 2066 points, +35 points to the cutline, while Sheldon Creed is in seventh place with 2038 points, +7 above the cutline.
• Mayer (10.3) holds the second highest average finish among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind only Connor Zilisch (8.3).
• Mayer has finished inside the top five in five of his previous seven and has tied his career-high with 13 top-five finishes this season (also: 2023).
• Mayer (7.2) also has the third highest average starting position among full-time NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers this season, behind Zilisch (6.2) Justin Allgaier (6.9).
• He has started inside the top five in each of his last seven starts dating back to his lone pole of the season at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in July.

Cole Custer Team Info:
Crew Chief: Aaron Kramer
Partner: HaasTooling.com

Custer at Loudon (Cup)
Starts: 4
Wins: —
Top-10s: 1
Poles: —

• Custer is set to make his fifth Cup start at Loudon this weekend, where he has a 21.0 average finish. His lone top-10 finish came in 2020 when he finished eighth.
• He started inside the top 20 once, a career-best P14 in 2020. He boasts a 23.0 average starting position.
• Custer finished top-10 in four of five career NXS starts at Loudon, including a runner-up finish in 2019. He also has two career poles in the Xfinity Series coming in 2019 and 2024.

Where They Stand
Cup Points Standings (41: 33rd): Custer is 33rd in the Cup Series points standings with 367 points heading into Loudon this Sunday.