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Daniel Hemric NCTS New Hampshire Recap

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Official Release
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Team EJP 175 – Race Results
Venue: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
FINISH: 8th
Start: 6th
Stage 1: 3rd
Stage 2: 7th
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 8th

Hemric Locks Into Chase with Top-10 Result in Loudon

Daniel Hemric clinched his second-consecutive berth into the Chase for the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) championship with an eighth-place finish on Saturday afternoon at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). The driver of the No. 19 Delphi Chevrolet Silverado RST not only secured his spot but improved his seeding by scoring 41 points on the afternoon, moving to eighth in the standings. The seven-race dash for the title will begin with Hemric 60 markers out of the lead at Bristol Motor Speedway next month after his eighth top-10 result of the season.

His second-straight top-10 effort began with a strong qualifying effort on Friday afternoon, which placed Hemric sixth on the starting grid. The Delphi Chevrolet cracked the top five in the opening laps and was seen as one of the strongest trucks in the field during the opening stage. Following two early yellows, Hemric claimed third position on lap 30 and held the podium spot to score eight points at the end of Stage 1 on lap 55.

The first pit stop of the day came under the stage caution when Hemric received four tires, fuel, and minor air pressure adjustments to aid his loose condition on corner entry. After restarting eighth on lap 64, Hemric bolted back into fifth but faded to eighth after a restart on lap 83. His long run speed showed up at the end of the segment and was able to notch four points in seventh position at the end of Stage 2 on lap 110.

A hiccup on the team’s second pit stop of the day sent Hemric back to 24th for the ensuing restart. He made methodical progress back to 15th by lap 153 before a caution five laps from the scheduled distance changed the event’s complexion. He took the opportunity to put on two tires and restarted 17th for the first overtime restart. Hemric narrowly avoided a multi-truck accident in Turn 2 and climbed to 14th. On the final restart of the day, 13 laps past the advertised distance, Hemric vaulted from 14th to eighth to notch consecutive top-10 finishes.

Daniel Hemric Quote:

“It feels great to lock into the Chase. Starting the year off, this is the first goal to get to this point of the year and have a chance to rerack and have a chance to compete for a championship. Thanks to this No. 19 team, [crew chief] Kevin Bellicourt, everyone at MHR to put three trucks in the Chase. We pulled the alarm a few weeks ago to make bigger gains to improve, and we’ve had a lot of speed the last two weeks. The Delphi Chevrolet was really good to start the day, just weren’t able to keep our track position, but it’s encouraging to see the pace we had this weekend. There’s plenty to look forward to now and we’ll work hard to start strong at Bristol.”

Christian Eckes NCTS New Hampshire Recap

By
Official Release
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Team EJP 175 – Race Results
Venue: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
FINISH: 28th
Start: 19th
Laps Led: 0
Points Position: 4th

Eckes Protects Fourth Position in Points at NHMS

Christian Eckes protected the fourth position in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series (NCTS) standings on Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) despite a trying day that resulted in a 28th-place finish. The driver of the No. 91 CRC Brakleen Chevrolet Silverado RST closed out the regular season fourth in the drivers’ point standings and will begin the seven-race Chase for the NCTS title 40 points out of the lead at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 17th.

Eckes’ weekend started strong with tremendous pace in Friday’s practice session. After a 19th-place qualifying run, Eckes made progress in the opening laps under Saturday’s overcast skies. However, the early progress was met with a severely loose balance and necessitated Eckes to make an early pit stop under the event’s second caution on lap 13. Following the stop, Eckes restarted outside the top-30 and drove back to 21st by the end of Stage 1 on lap 55.

Quick work by the CRC Brakleen pit crew gained Eckes six positions on pit road and allowed him to restart 15th on lap 63. However, the balance continued to pose a hindrance to Eckes during the second segment as his progress paused in 15th for the remainder of Stage 2.

He lined up 14th on lap 119 but battled the balance that began to deteriorate in the waning laps. A late caution on lap 170 bunched up the field with Eckes running in 20th position and allowed him to pit for two right side tires. A multi-truck accident on the first overtime restart collected Eckes’ Chevrolet and ultimately forced him to finish 28th.

Christian Eckes Quote:

“Trying day, for sure. Certainly not how we wanted to finish the regular season. Our CRC Brakleen, NAPA Chevy was really good in practice yesterday. Felt like we had capability to be one of the trucks to contend today. We’ll go back and diagnose it to get better. We’ll get prepared for Bristol and start the Chase off the right way.”

Palou Punishes Rivals With Sensational Pole Lap in D.C.

By
Official Release
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WASHINGTON (Saturday, Aug. 22, 2026) – On a weekend full of iconic moments, sights and sounds for global motorsports and America’s capital city, Alex Palou continued his relentless march toward the INDYCAR SERIES history Saturday.

Palou zeroed in on his record-tying fourth consecutive NTT INDYCAR SERIES championship and fifth overall by winning the NTT P1 Award on Saturday for the historic Freedom 250 Grand Prix of Washington, D.C., the first-ever motor race on the streets of the District of Columbia.

The Spaniard earned his seventh pole of 2026 – his career best for a season – and 19th of his career with a lap of 56.8993 seconds in the No. 10 OpenAI Chip Ganassi Racing Honda during the single-car, one-lap format of the Firestone Fast Six. He leads the series standings by 133 points – a gap of more than two races – over Kyle Kirkwood with just four races to go this season.

“Incredible,” Palou said. “Such a privilege to be racing here. Spectacular place, spectacular fans, as well. My car was on rails. Super-fun lap, super-fun car to drive. Couldn’t be happier. Looking forward to tomorrow. Tomorrow is going to be a long day, man, 250 miles.”

The 250-mile race – the second-longest street race in INDYCAR SERIES history – will cover 147 laps on the seven-turn, 1.7-mile temporary circuit that winds around the National Mall and past many historic buildings and monuments in one of the most stunning backdrops in motorsports history. Live coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. ET Sunday on FOX and FOX One, with INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls also broadcasting live.

Palou has won three of the five previous street races this season, but Arlington street race winner Kirkwood kept his faint title hopes flickering by earning the second spot at 57.4661 in the No. 27 Sam’s Club Honda of Andretti Global after leading the first two rounds of qualifying and setting the new circuit’s qualifying record in round one with a lap of 56.7729. Kirkwood locked his front Firestone Firehawk tire under braking in Turn 1 of his Firestone Fast Six hot lap, but even without that small bobble admitted it would have been tough to top Palou.

“P1 both first and second group, and the last one Alex Palou is just a legend and goes faster on his one-lap dash than he did the whole rest of the run, I think,” Kirkwood said. “He made us look silly out there.

“But I’m telling you what: It wasn’t that easy. I thought I put a stellar lap in, and he just went six-tenths clear. So, hat’s off to them. But we’ll race them hard tomorrow.”

Scott McLaughlin was the quickest Chevrolet-powered driver in qualifying, third at 57.6200 in the No. 3 PPG Team Penske Chevy sporting a patriotic, stars-and-stripes livery for this race. Christian Rasmussen produced one of the most impressive performances of the three-round qualifying session, ending up a career-best fourth at 57.8892 in the No. 21 Splenda Stevia Chevrolet of ECR.

Marcus Armstrong qualified fifth at 58.8145 in the No. 66 REMAX Honda of Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian, snapping a qualifying drought that saw him line up 20th or worse in three of the last four races this season.

David Malukas, third in points, rounded out the Firestone Fast Six at 1 minute, 10.6709 seconds in the No. 12 Verizon Team Penske Chevrolet. Malukas locked his front tires under braking in Turn 1 and clipped the concrete wall with his right rear wheel, damaging his car’s alignment.

Andretti Global’s Marcus Ericsson, last weekend’s winner in Markham, Ontario, didn’t advance past the first round and qualified 15th in the No. 28 Acura Honda. Three multiple series champions – Andretti Global’s Will Power (qualified 13th), Chip Ganassi Racing’s Scott Dixon (14th) and Team Penske’s Josef Newgarden (16th) each also were eliminated in the first round.

A 30-minute warmup session at 9:15 a.m. ET will precede the historic race, with FS1, FOX One and INDYCAR Radio powered by OnlyBulls starting coverage at 9 a.m.

2026 Niece Motorsports NCTS Race Recap: New Hampshire Motor Speedway

By
Official Release
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NCTS RACE RECAP: NEW HAMPSHIRE MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Event: Team EJP 175 (175 laps / 185.15 miles)
Round: 18 of 25 (Regular Season Finale)
Track: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Location: Loudon, NH
Date & Time: Saturday, August 22 | 1:30 PM ET

No. 42 Operator Standard Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Parker Eatmon | Crew Chief: Landon Polinski

Start: 18th | Stage 1: 25th | Stage 2: 25th
Finish: 10th | Driver Points: 30th | Owner Points: 23rd

Read Parker’s Bio

  • Key Takeaway: Parker Eatmon and the Operator Standard team earned their first top-10 finish together at New Hampshire. Eatmon qualified the best out of his Niece Motorsports teammates in 18th-place, but slid back to 25th in the opening two stages. The No. 42 team made adjustments in the final stage which brought Eatmon up the running order, and Eatmon made great moves in the closing restarts to gain track position. The rookie picked up his first-career top-10 finish in 10th-place.
  • Parker Eatmon’s Post-Race Thoughts: “We struggled to fire off on the short-run in stage one and two, but Landon [Polinski] made some good adjustments at the end of the second stage. In the final stage, we made a little bit of track position up and caught a lucky break at the end to put some fresh tires on. We had a good restart on the green-white-checkered and were able to make it up to 10th. Overall, it was a good day and a great learning experience for sure. I got better on the restarts and came out with a top-10 with our Operator Standard Chevy, so I am pretty happy with our finish.”

About Operator Standard: Operator Standard is the first daily operating system for your life. A full-life execution system that builds discipline, identity, and consistency through pressure, structure, accountability, and community. Not a habit tracker, not a mastermind, not a coaching group, not a motivation app. It’s a daily operating system, powered by ARCANE, the AI brain inside the app, designed to turn you into someone who follows through every single day. Nothing on the market works like this. Join 15,000+ Operators who use The Operator Standard to execute, win the day, and become someone they actually respect.

No. 4 DQS Solutions & Staffing Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Connor Hall | Crew Chief: Mike Shiplett

Start: 27th | Stage 1: 24th | Stage 2: 24th
Finish: 22nd | Driver Points: 43rd | Owner Points: 31st

Read Connor’s Bio

  • Key Takeaway: Connor Hall and the DQS Solutions & Staffing team made gains in New Hampshire. After starting 27th, Hall passed a handful of trucks and maintained 24th in both opening stages. The No. 4 team remained on the lead lap throughout the entire race and made solid improvements to the truck balance on pit road. Hall crossed the line in 22nd-place in his fourth-career NCTS start.
  • Connor Hall’s Post-Race Thoughts: “I learned a ton today and had fun with our No. 4 team. I felt like I really got to race hard out there, and our truck was good enough to battle with some of the other guys around us. I got to drive through the field a few times and experienced a tighter pit road with small pit boxes, so that was something new. I feel like I get to learn something new every time I get behind the wheel of one of these trucks, which is awesome. I thought it was a cool race for me to experience because this track reminded me of my home track at Langley Speedway. Huge thanks to Cody Efaw, Greg Fowler, Josh Morris, and everyone at Niece Motorsports for the opportunity.”

About DQS Solutions & Staffing: Guided by a mission to achieve excellence and adaptability, DQS partners with clients to create custom solutions that address unique business challenges. Recognized as Michigan’s fastest-growing company and #22 in the nation on the Inc. 5000 list, DQS drives industry growth while giving back through its nonprofit, Foundation for Pops, and partnerships like the River Rouge School District.

No. 44 Telcel Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Andrés Perez de Lara | Crew Chief: Wally Rogers

Start: 29th | Stage 1: 17th | Stage 2: 11th
Finish: 27th | Driver Points: 14th | Owner Points: 20th

Read Andrés’ Bio

  • Key Takeaway: Andrés Pérez de Lara and the Telcel team had a fast truck in New Hampshire, but were unfortunately swept away in a late-race incident. Pérez de Lara started deep in the field in 29th, but made a lot of ground in the first stage up to 17th. In the second stage, the No. 44 climbed even further up to 11th. The team was in contention for a top-10 finish late in the going, but a spinning truck bounced off the right side door and forced a late pit stop. They were credited with a 27th-place result.
  • Andrés Pérez de Lara’s Post-Race Thoughts: “I feel like today was a really solid race for us as a team. We were up there fighting for a top-10 throughout the last run and it was going to be a really solid result for us. The end of the race was just the story of our year with bad luck striking again. I got involved in an overtime restart wreck by just a couple of inches and it ruined our day. It’s really frustrating, but our Telcel Silverado was fast today. We’ll move onto Bristol with our heads held high.”

About Telcel: Telcel is Mexico’s leading telecommunications company, providing nationwide coverage, cutting-edge mobile connectivity, and high-speed internet services to millions of users. With over 30 years of experience, Telcel continues to innovate in digital communication, offering solutions that keep people connected anytime, anywhere.

No. 45 J.F. Electric Chevrolet Silverado RST
Driver: Landen Lewis | Crew Chief: Phil Gould

Start: 22nd | Stage 1: 36th | Stage 2: 35th
Finish: 32nd | Driver Points: 23rd | Owner Points: 9th

Read Landen’s Bio

  • Key Takeaway: Landen Lewis and the J.F. Electric team had their race ruined by an early crash due to contact from the No. 5 truck on lap 14. Lewis, with heavy damage to the right side and rear end of his truck, was able to remain on track despite being several laps down. The No. 45 team came home with a 32nd-place finish, but most importantly, were able to clinch their spot in the owner Chase. Lewis will lead the team to a bid for the owner’s championship beginning next race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
  • Landen Lewis’ Post-Race Thoughts: “Today was obviously not the day we wanted, that’s fore sure. We just put ourselves in a hole early on, but honestly still had a pretty good truck even with all the damage. I’m really proud of the truck we brought this weekend. I thought we made a lot of swings that were in the right direction this week. The biggest thing I can take away after talking with Phil [Gould] is that we’ll start over with a clean slate at Bristol and show up with a clear head to try and run after an owner’s championship. Luckily, Bristol is a place that I’ve had really good runs at before, so I’m looking forward to going there next and starting fresh for the Chase.”

About J.F. Electric: J.F. Electric is an electrical contractor that provides engineering expertise, backed by construction and installation know-how in a diverse range of service offerings, from utilities and commercial projects, to industrial and telecommunications customers. When having a long family history in an industry, a company not only builds on its knowledge and experience, it takes pride in cultivating a solid understanding of client needs, all the while nurturing strong relationships with its employees. Evolving through five generations of the Fowler family, J.F. Electric has matured into a well-managed and thoughtfully diversified electrical contractor which is poised to continue its growth and expansion into the future.

About Niece Motorsports: Niece Motorsports is a professional auto racing team that has competed in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series since 2016. The team is owned by Josh Morris of DQS Solutions and Staffing and the Fowler Family of J.F. Electric and Utilitra, and was founded by United States Marine Corps Veteran Al Niece. At its 80,000 sq. ft. headquarters in Salisbury, NC, Niece Motorsports is a full-service race vehicle build shop as well as a customizable fabrication shop for any manufacturing needs.

Follow the Team: To keep up to date with the latest team news, visit niecemotorsports.com or connect on Facebook and Instagram (@NieceMotorsports) as well as X (@NieceMotorsport).

Layne Riggs wins Truck regular-season finale amid double overtime shootouts at New Hampshire

By
Andrew Kim
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LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE - AUGUST 22: Layne Riggs, driver of the #34 BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Ford, celebrates in victory lane after winning the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 22, 2026 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images).

Layne Riggs capped off the 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series’ regular-season stretch on a dominant note by winning the Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Saturday, August 22, amid two overtime attempts.

The 24-year-old Riggs from Bahama, North Carolina, led twice for a race-high 106 of 189 over-scheduled laps in an event where he led the field from pole position and led the first 35 laps before he was overtaken by Connor Zilisch and settled in the runner-up spot when the first stage period concluded. After navigating his way to finish third when the second stage period concluded, Riggs outdueled Stewart Friesen in the opening laps of the third and final stage period.

Despite the final stage period being mired with four caution periods, with the last two extending the event into two overtime shootouts, Riggs was not to be denied more additional momentum towards his championship hopes as he fended off teammate Chandler Smith and Kaden Honeycutt during the final overtime shootout to notch his sixth Truck victory of the 2026 campaign prior to his seven-race Chase entrance.

With on-track qualifying that determined the starting lineup occurring on Friday, August 21, Layne Riggs secured the pole position with a pole-winning lap at 129.789 mph in 29.346 seconds. Kaden Honeycutt qualified in second place with a lap at 128.811 mph in 29.569 seconds.

Prior to the event, Dawson Sutton and Luke Baldwin dropped to the rear of the field due to driver changes as they replaced Toni Breidinger and Frankie Muniz, respectively. Spencer Boyd and Kris Wright also dropped to the rear of the field due to unapproved adjustments that were made to their respective entries.

When the green flag waved and the event commenced, Layne Riggs, who started on the outside lane, fended off Kaden Honeycutt, Connor Zilisch and the field through the first two turns before the event’s first caution flew. The caution was due to the front-runners checking up at the event’s launch, which caused the rest of the oncoming field to stack up, and Jake Garcia running into the rear of Gavan Boscehele. In addition, Luke Baldwin also spun through the frontstretch when he ran into the rear of Dawson Sutton and sustained front nose damage.

The event’s next restart on the fifth lap featured Riggs fending off Zilisch from the outside lane through the first two turns. As the field fanned out and jostled for early spots through the backstretch, Riggs cycled back to the frontstretch and led the next lap under green flag conditions. As Riggs proceeded to lead to the Lap 10 mark, Zilisch retained the runner-up spot over Honeycutt, Daniel Hemric and Giovanni Ruggiero while Tristan McKee, Grant Enfinger, Gavan Boschele, Chandler Smith and Jake Garcia were scored in the top 10, respectively.

On Lap 13, the event’s second caution flew when John Hunter Nemechek, who was battling Christian Eckes and Landen Lewis inside the top-20 mark, bumped and sent Lewis sliding through the first two turns before the latter made contact with the outside wall on the rear end and backed up his damaged truck against the wall, thus sustaining more contact.

The event’s next restart on Lap 18 featured Riggs receiving a push from Honeycutt and using the outside lane to his advantage as he fended off Zilisch through the first two turns. As Honeycutt battled Zilisch for the runner-up spot, Riggs led the next lap, and he stabilized his advantage to within four-tenths of a second by Lap 25 while Zilisch, Honeycutt, Hemric and Ruggiero pursued in the top five, respectively.

On Lap 35, Zilisch reeled in, dueled and overtook Riggs for the lead through the fronstretch and entering the first two turns. Zilisch proceeded to extend his advantage by more than a second on Lap 40 before his lead grew to one-and-a-half seconds by Lap 45. Behind, Riggs maintained the runner-up spot over Hemric, Chandler Smith and Ruggiero while McKee, Christopher Bell, Grant Enfinger, Jake Garcia and Boschele were in the top 10, respectively.

When the first stage period concluded on Lap 55, Zilisch, who was leading by two-and-a-half seconds, captured the stage victory over Riggs, Hemric, Chandler Smith and Bell while Ruggiero, McKee, Enfinger, Garcia and Boschele were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Stewart Friesen, who was trailing the top-10 cutline to make the Chase by 20 points, was mired in 14th place while Tyler Ankrum, who occupies the 10th and final vacant spot to the Chase, was in 16th place behind Justin Haley.

Under the event’s first stage break period, the field led by Zilisch pitted. Following the pit stops, Jake Garcia, who is trailing the top-10 cutline within reach, exited pit road first following a two-tire pit stop. Riggs, Chandler Smith, Zilisch and Ruggiero followed suit, respectively.

The second stage period started on Lap 63 as Garcia and Riggs occupied the front row. At the start, Garcia barely fended off Riggs with his two fresh tires and from the outside lane while Bell briefly got loose while trying to go beneath Zilisch within the top-five mark. Garcia maintained the lead by three-tenths of a second both just past the Lap 65 mark and on Lap 70 before Chandler Smith, who outdueled teammate Riggs for the runner-up spot, reeled in and rocketed past Garcia through the frontstretch on Lap 73.

Following a Lap 76 caution that flew when Spencer Boyd wrecked backward against the Turn 4 outside wall, the next restart on Lap 82 featured Smith motoring ahead from the outside lane when Garcia stumbled from the inside lane. Zilisch then wasted no time dueling Smith for a full lap before he motored ahead and led, beginning on Lap 84. Despite having Smith reel in from behind, Zilisch maintained the top spot by a tenth of a second on Lap 90 before the latter slightly grew his advantage by three-tenths of a second at the Lap 100 mark.

When the second stage period concluded on Lap 110, Zilisch captured his second consecutive Truck stage victory of the event. Smith, who trailed by a second, settled in second place ahead of Riggs, Bell and Garcia while Ruggiero, Hemric, Boschele, Mosack and Friesen were scored in the top 10, respectively. By then, Ankrum, who was battling braking issues, was mired in 28th place.

During the event’s second stage break period, the field led by Zilisch returned to pit road for service. After the pit stops and mixed strategies in the field, Friesen, who opted for a two-tire stop, exited pit road first, followed by Michael Christopher Jr., Riggs, McKee, and Tanner Gray. During the pit stops, Garcia, who endured a slow pit service, was also penalized for pitting outside his pit box, with his right front area being outside of the pit boundaries within his pit box.

With 57 laps remaining, the final stage period commenced as Friesen and Christopher Jr. occupied the front row. At the start, the field fanned out as Friesen led through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs then battled against Friesen during the following lap and just overtook him for the top spot before the caution returned due to Timmy Hill, John Hunter Nemechek and Kris Wright wrecking in Turn 3.

As the event restarted with 47 laps remaining, Riggs motored ahead of Friesen, Gray, Ruggiero and a stacked field through the first two turns and the backstretch. Riggs proceeded to lead the next two laps under green before the caution returned due to Smith tapping and sending Christopher Bell for a spin through the first two turns while battling for ninth place.

During the next restart with 40 laps remaining, Riggs fended off Ruggiero, Friesen and the field from the outside lane to retain the lead for a full cycle. Amid the battles within the field, Riggs continued to lead by half a second with 35 laps remaining, seven-tenths of a second with 30 laps remaining and by a second with 25 laps remaining. Behind, Ruggiero retained the runner-up spot over Friesen, McKee and Chandler Smith while Honeycutt, Zilisch, Connor Mosack, Christopher Jr. and Ty Majeski trailed in the top 10, respectively. Meanwhile, Ankrum was mired in 28th place while Garcia was racing in 15th place behind Corey LaJoie.

Down to the final 10 laps, Riggs stabilized his late lead by more than a second over Ruggiero as Smith, Friesen and Honeycutt trailed in the top five, followed by McKee, Zilisch, Majeski, Mosack and Boschele. Four laps later, the caution flew when Boschele spun and wrecked hard while going backward against the Turn 1 wall. Boschele’s incident sent the event into overtime.

The event’s first overtime attempt did not last long when Ruggiero, who tried to duke it out with Riggs for the lead, slipped up, made contact with Riggs and spun through the second turn in front of oncoming traffic. As the field scattered, Mosack, Andres Perez De Lara, Dawson Sutton and Christian Eckes wrecked while Ankrum barely dodged the carnage.

During the event’s second overtime start, the field fanned out as Riggs motored away through the first two turns. Chandler Smith and Honeycutt followed suit in second and third through the backstretch while Frisen, who was currently scored below the cutline by a mere margin, was fending off Zilisch for fourth place.

When the white flag waved and the final lap started, Riggs remained in the lead by two-tenths of a second over Smith. As a variety of on-track battles and shuffling ensued within the field, Riggs had enough momentum to fend off Smith and Honeycutt for a final cycle before he returned to the frontstretch and claimed the checkered flag by two-tenths of a second.

With the victory, Riggs, who locked up the 2026 regular-season championship, notched his 11th NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series career win in his 72nd start, his first at New Hampshire and his sixth of the 2026 campaign. Riggs, who enters the Chase with the top seed, will now embark on a seven-race Chase stretch with his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford F-150 team as they pursue the 2026 championship.

NO. 34
LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – AUGUST 22: Layne Riggs, driver of the #34 BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Ford, drives during the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Team EJP 175 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on August 22, 2026 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Meg Oliphant/Getty Images).

“Statement win,” Riggs said on the frontstretch on FS1. “This is awesome. I’m ready for some lobster! I thought I was off a little bit. I thought I was in some trouble. [Connor] Zilisch got by me, Chandler [Smith] got by me. I was just really, really tight. I couldn’t get it right where I needed it, but my crew chief Dylan Cappello, engineer Jonathan Coates, they made some excellent, excellent adjustments there at the end. Thank you to my teammate, Chandler, for racing me clean there at the end. One, two [for] Front Row Motorsports. It’s in the name. Super excited. I love this place. I love this type of racetrack. Let’s bring on the Chase. We only got seven [races] left. Just no mercy.”

Amid Riggs’ victory, Tyler Ankrum emerged victorious in his own fashion. By finishing in 16th place, Ankrum sealed the 10th and final berth to the 2026 Chase by seven points over Stewart Friesen, who finished fourth, and by 11 points over Jake Garcia, who finished 14th.

Ankrum joins Layne Riggs, Kaden Honeycutt, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Giovanni Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Daniel Hemric and Ben Rhodes as the 10 competitors who have qualified for the 2026 Truck Series’ Chase. Meanwhile, Stewart Friesen and Jake Garcia join Brenden Queen, Andres Perez De Lara, Justin Haley, Tanner Gray, Dawson Sutton, Cole Butcher and Mini Tyrrell as additional full-time notables who did not make the Chase.

Chandler Smith, Honeycutt, Friesen, Connor Zilisch, Tristan McKee, Christopher Bell, Hemric, Haley and Parker Eatmon finished in the top 10 behind Riggs on the track at New Hampshire.

This event featured six lead changes for five different leaders, and nine cautions for 56 laps. In addition, 28 of 36 starters finished on the lead lap.

Results:

  1. Layne Riggs, 106 laps led
  2. Chandler Smith, 10 laps led
  3. Kaden Honeycutt
  4. Stewart Friesen, four laps led
  5. Connor Zilisch, 55 laps led, Stages 1 & 2 winner
  6. Tristan McKee
  7. Christopher Bell
  8. Daniel Hemric
  9. Justin Haley
  10. Parker Eatmon
  11. Ty Majeski
  12. Michael Christopher Jr.
  13. Grant Enfinger
  14. Jake Garcia, 14 laps led
  15. Corey LaJoie
  16. Tyler Ankrum
  17. Cole Butcher
  18. Ben Rhodes
  19. John Hunter Nemechek
  20. Brenden Queen
  21. Tanner Gray
  22. Connor Hall
  23. Mini Tyrrell
  24. Colin Braun
  25. Dawson Sutton
  26. Giovanni Ruggiero
  27. Andres Perez De Lara
  28. Christian Eckes
  29. Timmy Hill, two laps down
  30. Connor Mosack – OUT, Accident
  31. Luke Baldwin, 12 laps down
  32. Landen Lewis, 12 laps down
  33. Gavan Boschele – OUT, Accident
  34. Kris Wright – OUT, Vibration
  35. Patrick Emerling – OUT, Suspension
  36. Spencer Boyd – OUT, Accident

The 2026 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series Chase commences on September 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee, for the UNOH 250. The Chase opener’s broadcast time commences at 8 p.m. ET on FS1, the NASCAR Racing Network and SiriusXM.

KALITTA, TODD & G. ANDERSON GET MISSION #2FAST2TASTY CHALLENGE WINS AT NHRA BRAINERD NATIONALS

By
Official Release
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Kalitta, Jordan Vandergriff and Dallas Glenn power to No. 1 qualifying spots at Brainerd International Raceway

BRAINERD, Minn. (Aug. 22, 2026) – It’s been a perfect weekend at Brainerd International Raceway through two days for Top Fuel’s Doug Kalitta, as the reigning world champion won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge in front of a huge crowd on Saturday and also clinched the No. 1 qualifier for the 70th time in his career at this weekend’s NHRA Brainerd Nationals.

J.R. Todd (Funny Car) and Greg Anderson (Pro Stock) also won the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, while Jordan Vandergriff (Funny Car) and Dallas Glenn (Pro Stock) qualified No. 1 in Brainerd at the 13th of 20 races during the 2026 NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series season.

Kalitta made the quickest run in all four qualifying sessions, including a blistering pass of 3.673-seconds at 332.26 mph in his 12,000-horsepower Mac Tools dragster to open Saturday and qualify No. 1 for the fourth time in 2026. He finished the day with his fifth victory of 2026 in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge, defeating Josh Hart in the final round of the bonus race with an impressive run of 3.726 at 329.50.

Following back-to-back wins in Sonoma and Seattle, Kalitta, the defending event winner in Brainerd, has stayed red-hot at a key point, earning all the bonus qualifying points in Brainerd and slipping past teammate Shawn Langdon to move into the Top Fuel points lead. He’ll start eliminations against Cam Ferre, looking to keep up this incredible pace at the perfect point in the season.

“The guys got me running well and I couldn’t be prouder,” Kalitta said. “We’re digging hard. This place is really special. My family has done really well here over the years and I’d definitely like to keep it going.

“Getting the win here last year, the expectations are high to try to do it again. With the momentum we’ve got going, hopefully we can just keep it rolling. Brainerd’s been good to us so far. Alan (Johnson, crew chief) has got my car running well, and all my guys are working their tails off. We’re hungry to do as well as we can, and I’m definitely looking forward to tomorrow.”

Rookie Maddi Gordon qualified second with a 3.695 at 336.99, and Langdon took third with a 3.730 at 331.20.

In Funny Car, J.R. Todd ensured a Kalitta Motorsports double-up in the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge on Saturday in Brainerd, defeating back-to-back world champion Austin Prock on a holeshot and a run of 3.938 at 321.88 in his 12,000-horsepower DHL Toyota GR Supra.

That comes just weeks after Todd and Kalitta both won in Seattle, as both continued to roll in Brainerd. Prock, the defending event winner, went 3.933 at 323.81, but Todd used a strong .051 reaction time to his advantage, winning the specialty race for the second time this season. With the regular season championship still in play for the past world champion, Todd is thrilled with how his team is performing at a key juncture of the year.

“I always say my mindset is different on Saturday than Sunday, but clearly I need to take that mindset into race day,” Todd said. “I just went up there and tried to hit the Tree as hard as I could. “I don’t want to let my guys down. I say it all the time: They bust their butts and work really hard, and the only way you can pay them back is by turning on win lights.

“Hopefully I can do that again tomorrow when it really counts.”

Jordan Vandergriff made a huge move to close out qualifying, powering all the way to the No. 1 spot with a stout 3.879 at 323.50 in his 12,000-horsepower Cornwell Tools Chevrolet SS. Vandergriff continues to flourish in his first year in Funny and his debut season with John Force Racing, with Saturday’s run giving the rising star his third No. 1 qualifier of the season.

“I stepped on the gas and thought, ‘This thing is going pretty good.’ When I got to the finish line, I knew it felt quicker than anything I’d run all weekend. Turns out it was quicker than everybody,” Vandergriff said.

“That’s a credit to my guys — Chris Cunningham, Jason Bunker and this Cornwell Quality Tools team. They worked hard last night. I don’t know what changes they made because I just drive it, but whatever they did worked, and now we’ve got this yellow hat.”

Prock qualified second with a 3.881 at 327.19 and Matt Hagan took the third position after going 3.899 at 326.40.

Pro Stock’s Greg Anderson squeaked past Dallas Glenn in the final round of the Mission #2Fast2Tasty Challenge thanks to a 6.555 at 209.04 in his HendrickCars.com

Chevrolet Camaro. That gives the six-time world champion three wins in the bonus race this year and one more thing to celebrate at the facility where he grew up racing. Next up is trying to defend last year’s Brainerd victory.

“I definitely felt like the underdog going up there. He’d been just a tick faster all weekend and I figured he was going to outrun me,” Anderson said. “I thought I was going to have to make the best run I’d made all weekend and I probably made the worst run I’d made all weekend. I did not expect that win light to come on.

“Anytime you get around Dallas Glenn, that just makes you better. I know what he is. I know what that guy is capable of every time he goes to the starting line. We’re very proud of the day we had today.”

Glenn finished in the No. 1 spot in qualifying for the second time in 2026, going 6.535 at 208.10 in his RAD Torque Systems Camaro to open Saturday. Anderson took second and Greg Stanfield qualified third with a 6.550 at 208.55. Glenn will open eliminations against Jeg Coughlin Jr. and the reigning world champion is after his third Brainerd win in the past four years.

“The Q3 run was a really, really nice run. It felt fantastic all the way through,” Glenn said. “I definitely wanted Q4 to feel like that, too, but I think they were trying some stuff and probably need to go back the other direction. I’m sure they’ll look at everything and we’ll make a good run tomorrow.”

Eliminations for the NHRA Brainerd Nationals begin at 11 a.m. CT on Sunday at Brainerd International Raceway.

BRAINERD, Minn. — Sunday’s first-round pairings for eliminations for the 44th annual NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway, the 13th of 20 events in the NHRA Mission Foods Drag Racing Series.

Pairings based on results in qualifying, which ended Saturday. DNQs listed below pairings.

Top Fuel — 1. Doug Kalitta, 3.673 seconds, 340.30 mph vs. 16. Cameron Ferre, 4.118, 289.69; 2. Maddi Gordon, 3.695, 336.99 vs. 15. Scott Palmer, 3.994, 249.49; 3. Shawn Langdon, 3.730, 334.57 vs. 14. Keith Murt, 3.915, 314.31; 4. Billy Torrence, 3.741, 330.96 vs. 13. Clay Millican, 3.818, 326.00; 5. Justin Ashley, 3.743, 333.99 vs. 12. Shawn Reed, 3.778, 326.48; 6. Leah Pruett, 3.756, 331.04 vs. 11. Will Smith, 3.777, 328.30; 7. Tony Stewart, 3.758, 332.34 vs. 10. Josh Hart, 3.774, 327.35; 8. Antron Brown, 3.763,

330.55 vs. 9. Tony Schumacher, 3.768, 330.07.

Funny Car — 1. Jordan Vandergriff, Chevy Camaro, 3.879, 323.50 vs. Bye; 2. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.881, 329.91 vs. 15. Jack Wyatt, Dodge Charger, 4.831, 168.16; 3. Matt Hagan, Charger, 3.899, 326.40 vs. 14. Jim Campbell, Mustang, 4.297, 215.93; 4. Daniel Wilkerson, Mustang, 3.902, 322.81 vs. 13. Bobby Bode, Mustang, 3.994, 308.14; 5. J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.903, 327.66 vs. 12. Spencer Hyde, Mustang,

3.988, 284.93; 6. Jack Beckman, Camaro, 3.903, 324.67 vs. 11. Chad Green, Mustang, 3.972, 322.50; 7. Cruz Pedregon, Charger, 3.906, 322.04 vs. 10. Ron Capps, GR Supra, 3.930, 322.27; 8. Alexis DeJoria, Camaro, 3.915, 326.08 vs. 9. Dave Richards, Mustang, 3.924, 327.66.

Pro Stock — 1. Dallas Glenn, Chevy Camaro, 6.535, 208.26 vs. 16. Jeg Coughlin, Camaro, 6.598, 208.20; 2. Greg Anderson, Camaro, 6.549, 209.04 vs. 15. Mason McGaha, Camaro, 6.587, 209.36; 3. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.550, 208.55 vs. 14. Eric Latino, Camaro, 6.584, 207.59; 4. Matt Hartford, Camaro, 6.550, 209.10 vs. 13. Deric Kramer, Camaro, 6.583, 208.62; 5. Cody Anderson, Camaro, 6.550, 207.46 vs. 12. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.567, 209.14; 6. Aaron Stanfield, Camaro, 6.558, 207.88 vs. 11. Jerry Tucker, Camaro, 6.566, 208.36; 7. Troy Coughlin Jr., Camaro, 6.562, 207.98 vs. 10. Kenny Delco, Camaro, 6.564, 206.76; 8. Chris Vang, Camaro, 6.563,

207.27 vs. 9. Matt Latino, Camaro, 6.564, 208.81.

Did Not Qualify: 17. Alan Prusiensky, 6.721, 203.98; 18. Joe Wilczek, 6.944, 198.41.

BRAINERD, Minn. — Saturday’s Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final results from the 44th annual NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

Top Fuel Challenge — Doug Kalitta, 3.726 seconds, 329.50 mph def. Josh Hart, 4.348 seconds, 191.16 mph.

Funny Car Challenge — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.938, 321.88 def. Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.933, 323.81.

Pro Stock Challenge — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.555, 209.04 def. Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.566, 208.26.

BRAINERD, Minn. — Mission #2Fast2Tasty NHRA Challenge final round-by-round results from the 44th annual NHRA Brainerd Nationals at Brainerd International Raceway.

TOP FUEL CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Josh Hart, 3.774, 327.35 def. Leah Pruett, 4.786, 151.58; Doug Kalitta, 3.673, 332.26 def. Antron Brown, 5.910, 114.23;

FINAL — D. Kalitta, 3.726, 329.50 def. J. Hart, 4.348, 191.16.

FUNNY CAR CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — J.R. Todd, Toyota GR Supra, 3.903, 327.66 def. Matt Hagan, Dodge Charger, 3.899, 326.40; Austin Prock, Ford Mustang, 3.881, 327.19 def. Jack Beckman, Chevy Camaro, 3.926, 323.81;

FINAL — J. Todd, 3.938, 321.88 def. A. Prock, 3.933, 323.81.

PRO STOCK CHALLENGE:

ROUND ONE — Greg Anderson, Chevy Camaro, 6.549, 208.68 def. Erica Enders, Camaro, 6.567, 209.14; Dallas Glenn, Camaro, 6.535, 208.10 def. Greg Stanfield, Camaro, 6.550, 208.55;

FINAL — G. Anderson, 6.555, 209.04 def. D. Glenn, 6.566, 208.26.

HONEYCUTT AND FRIESEN NOTCH TOP FIVE FINISHES FOR TOYOTA AT NEW HAMPSHIRE

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Despite Strong Finish, Friesen Misses Chase by Just Seven Points

LOUDON, NH. (August 22, 2026) Kaden Honeycutt battled back from an early-race tire issue and fought for the win over the course of two green-white-checkered restarts to lead Team Toyota with a third-place finish in Saturday afternoon’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Stewart Friesen, who was battling for the final transfer spot into the Chase, used a sharp two-tire call by crew chief Bruce Cook to gain track position on his last pit stop of the day and finished one spot behind fellow Toyota driver Honeycutt in fourth place. Despite the valiant effort, Friesen finished just seven points below the 10th-place cutline, barely missing out on battling for this year’s Truck Series championship.

In addition to Friesen, Cup Series regular and Halmar Friesen Racing teammate Christopher Bell rounded out the Toyota Tundra TRD Pros inside the top 10 with a seventh-place finish.

TRICON GARAGE teammates Honeycutt and Gio Ruggerio will represent Team Toyota in this year’s Truck Series Chase as the duo will be seeded second and fifth, respectively, when the Chase gets underway at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 17.

TOYOTA RACING Post-Race Recap
NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS)
New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Race 19 of 23 – 185.15 Miles, 175 Laps

TOYOTA FINISHING POSITIONS

1st, Layne Riggs*
2nd, Chandler Smith*
3rd, KADEN HONEYCUTT
4th, STEWART FRIESEN
5th, Connor Zilisch*
7th, CHRISTOPHER BELL
12th, MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER JR.
19th, JOHN HUNTER NEMECHEK
21st, TANNER GRAY
26th, GIO RUGGIERO
29th, TIMMY HILL
33rd, GAVAN BOSCHELE
*non-Toyota driver

TOYOTA QUOTES

KADEN HONEYCUTT, No. 11 Safelite Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, TRICON Garage

Finishing Position: 3rd

How were you able to battle back from having a tire go down early in the race to finish second today?

“Definitely stings for sure, I thought we had a really good truck today. We never really go to see what we had when we were out front. I guess it just happened when we ran something over. I’m not really sure what I ran over, but you know it happens. When I told the team when we were a lap down, I was like man, this is a good testament to see how we would handle this if it happened in the Chase when it really mattered. Just a really good comeback today. Can’t thank Safelite, TRICON Garage No. 11 crew. We gained good adjustments when we needed to. Just the last restart, I think if I could have got to Layne’s (Riggs) left rear and not been top of (turn) three on that last restart, I think I probably could have got there. But ultimately, that maximized our day for sure. Thanks to everybody that made today possible. Sucks we didn’t get the win, but we’ll fight to live another day and bring it around in the playoffs.”

STEWART FRIESEN, No. 52 Halmar International Toyota Tundra TRD Pro, Halmar-Friesen Racing

Finishing Position: 4th

How difficult was it to try and fight for that last Chase spot on two tires over the last run?
“It was what it was. Proud of the Halmar team. We just didn’t bring enough speed all year. We battled today, Bruce (Cook, Crew Chief) made a good call to get two tires and up in the front we got the balance pretty close and found a lane I could work with. It’s a bummer, I think we’re definitely at top 10 team, we just had some misfortune at Richmond last week and some other times throughout the season. It is what it is, we’ll just go back to work and keep building this team up and get better and better, I promise you that. Proud of that fight and all our guys at HFR (Halmar Friesen Racing. Thanks to my wife Jess for always fighting along with me, Chris Larsen, everyone at Toyota. We’ll go back to work and finish the year as strong as we can and bring better stuff for next year.”

About Toyota

Toyota (NYSE:TM) has been a part of the cultural fabric in North America for nearly 70 years, and is committed to advancing sustainable, next-generation mobility through our Toyota and Lexus brands, plus our more than 1,800 dealerships.

Toyota directly employs nearly 64,000 people in North America who have contributed to the design, engineering, and assembly of over 50 million cars and trucks at our 14 manufacturing plants. In 2025, Toyota’s plant in North Carolina began to assemble automotive batteries for electrified vehicles.

For more information about Toyota, visit www.ToyotaNewsroom.com.

Ford Racing NASCAR: Layne Riggs Wins Sixth NCTS Race of 2026

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Ford Racing Notes and Quotes
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series
Team EJP 175 – New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Saturday, August 22, 2026

LAYNE RIGGS WINS SIXTH RACE OF 2026 AND EARNS TOP SEED FOR NCTS CHASE

  • Layne Riggs won his sixth race of the season, a career-best, and is the top seed for the Chase.
  • Ford has eight wins this season and has won six of the last nine events overall.
  • Riggs has 11 career series victories, which is second on the all-time Ford list. Greg Biffle is Ford’s all-time leader with 16.
  • Riggs has won five of the last nine series events, including back-to-back triumphs at Charlotte and Nashville.
  • The win is FRM’s 23rd all-time and eighth in 2026, which is the most for the organization in one season.
  • Riggs has six wins to go with Chandler Smith’s two.
  • Overall, Ford has won 137 series races.

LAYNE RIGGS, No. 34 BKB Bare Knuckle Boxing Ford F-150 – VICTORY LANE INTERVIEW – YOU SAID THE PIT CREW WON THIS RACE FOR YOU. “They were on it today. Richmond, we had to have some hard conversations and we really just had to get it all together and understand we’re gonna have to pick this up if we’re gonna win this championship, but, man, they came out today and did an excellent job. I’m really proud of my pit crew and everybody that trains them as well. Thank you to everybody that’s here. I love this racetrack. We had a good crowd today. I thought I was in trouble there for a little while. I got back to third or fourth-place and just really couldn’t do anything with the truck. I was just really, really tight, and we just couldn’t get the right adjustment, but that last adjustment that my crew chief and engineer made – Dylan Cappello and Jonathan Coates – was excellent all the way to the end. Thank you to Chandler Smith for running me really clean. It’s in the name – Front Row Motorsports – one-two. It’s really awesome to finish one-two with Chandler. They bring us great trucks. Thank you to Ford Racing for all their help. We’ve got Bare Knuckle Boxing on the truck. We got them another win. I think that’s three with them now, so I’m just super, super excited. This is awesome. I love this racetrack, love the fans here, the atmosphere. This is one I had circled on the calendar that I feel like I missed myself and we missed on setup last year. We came back swinging and no mercy.”

YOU CLINCHED THE TOP SEED, SO WHAT KIND OF STATEMENT DOES THAT MAKE? “A statement win. Everybody wants to go into the Chase with positive momentum. This is about as positive as it gets with a pole and a win. I think that everybody else, they’re definitely gonna try to go to work. We’re gonna work just as hard or harder than them guys and be ready for them. We’ve got seven really great tracks in the Chase that I’m really excited about. Six wins on the year. That’s an excellent statistic for us and this team and myself. Like I said, bring it on. I’m ready to win this championship.”

Ford Finishing Results:

1st – Layne Riggs
2nd – Chandler Smith
11th – Ty Majeski
14th – Jake Garcia
17th – Cole Butcher
18th – Ben Rhodes
31st – Luke Baldwin
35th – Patrick Emerling

CHANDLER SMITH, No. 38 The Pete Store Ford F-150 – “Our No. 38 Pete Store Ford F-150 was good today. It was really good, just that last stop it felt like we went the wrong direction on our change. Between me not executing on pit road and maybe not making the right adjustment just put us back in the swamp. It wasn’t in the Lord’s Will for us to win this one. We’ll learn from it and move on.” THE CHASE STARTS NOW. HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE YOUR TEAM IS GOING IN? “I’m excited about it. I’m very excited about the opportunity to race for a championship, especially with this race team. I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else.” TAKE US THROUGH YOUR DAY AND YOUR OUTLOOK FOR THE CHASE? “We were really, really good today. Our No. 38 Ford F-150 Pete Store was on a rail and then obviously Zilisch got around us there at the end of stage two and just racing each other, but was still really solid, just racing against a Cup driver. They’re used to aero blocking, so that’s all he was doing, so I was just learning that and probably needed a little change there for stage three and went the wrong direction on our change. The driver didn’t execute all that well getting in the pit box and ended up in the swamp. We just had to scratch and claw and get back up to getting a solid top three. I’m proud of the guys, proud of the effort and proud of the fast truck. It wasn’t in the Lord’s Will for us to win today, but, nevertheless, just super thankful at the end of the day to still be racing a truck for a living.”

JAKE GARCIA, No. 98 Quanta Services/Curb Records Ford F-150 – “We did a good job the first two stages getting stage points. I’m proud of our group. We brought a really fast truck. I think we were definitely a fifth-place truck, which is good. I feel like we made the most of it through the first two stages and in the third stage we made some mistakes. I got stuck in the back and it got hard to come through the field. We got close there and then I guess when those cautions started coming out the 18 gained some ground and we didn’t have much of a shot at the end.”

LAYNE RIGGS POST-RACE PRESS CONFERENCE

LAYNE RIGGS: HOW WAS YOUR RACE TODAY? “Qualifying on the pole and track position here is so important like I talked about and led a lot of the majority of the first half, but I just got really, really tight and couldn’t really do anything. When you get tight at this racetrack you’re just stuck and you can’t go anywhere no matter how hard you try. Zilisch got by me. Chandler got by me. A couple guys got by me and we got back to fourth or fifth and I knew we needed some work. We made that first adjustment to start stage two and it didn’t really do anything for me. It kind of stayed the same, so we took a pretty big swing there at the end of the second stage to start the final. Those were the adjustments I needed. My pit crew did an amazing job today. We had some adversity leaving Richmond. We had some hard conversations with everybody to make sure that we’re on track to be championship worthy and they showed up and showed out today. We made spots on pit road every stop, so I’m just proud of those guys and everybody involved. Front Row Motorsports is putting quality content on the racetrack every single weekend. One-two with me and Chandler. It’s in the name, right? Front Row Motorsports. It’s an excellent day for the company. Another win for us and positive momentum going into the playoffs. A statement win.”

YOU HAVE TO BE THE FAVORITE. IS THERE PRESSURE TO PERFORM WHEN YOU KNOW EVERYONE IS LOOKING AT YOU GOING INTO THIS THING? “I wouldn’t say pressure to perform. I like it. We obviously have a points lead still. It’s crazy. We won the race today and we lost a lot of points after the reset. A good day for us, but not good for the reset. We’re still 25 up right now, so that’s good going in there. I feel like all year long we’ve been a really strong truck. Obviously, the statistics are there for us and the team. I like the feeling of being the best. It makes everybody else know that you’re the guy to beat. They really look at you hard and try to study you, so it’s a great feeling and a position every race car driver wants to be in.”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE FACT YOU’RE GOING TO HAVE A BREAK GOING INTO THE CHASE? “I feel good. I think for truck teams having a little break before that pretty quick stretch is good for us. We don’t have as many shop guys. Our road crew guys work on the trucks during the week. It’s a little bit different than the Cup teams that race every single weekend, so we need those weeks off to prepare at the shop to get better. And then it’s pretty hard and tough with back-to-back weekends a lot in the Chase, so having a break, I love winning going into breaks. You get two or three weeks to enjoy it and be the most recent winner for a while and then usually by that point I’m ready to get back to the racetrack and do it again. It’s good for all of us. It’s good morale for the team and one-two for the team is amazing. Chandler did an excellent job today. It made me feel good when I knew I had a teammate behind me there at the end and it wasn’t somebody that was gonna try to screw me over. He did a really good job of being a good teammate. I tried to help him get cleared to get second as well since he didn’t have the track position that we had. I’m just happy for the whole organization.”

WAS SIX WINS AN EXPECTATION FOR WHAT YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD DO AT THE START OF THE YEAR? “I mean, my standard was what Corey did last year. Versus his stats, so far I’ve underperformed. I think right now we’re pretty close on stats. I think he had two more wins right now at this point in the season, but I feel like we can do what he did through last year’s playoffs now the Chase, so I’m excited about it. I’m excited about the tracks coming up. I’m excited about where our team is at because I think it’s all positive momentum and all positivity within our group to do that. Like I said, I think that everybody that’s surrounding me in my circle is more than pleased, including myself.”

HOW MUCH CONFIDENCE DO YOU HAVE AND HOW DO YOU KEEP FROM SAYING WE’RE OK AND GETTING COMPLACENT? “I wouldn’t say it added more confidence. I was very confident before this race. Like I said, Richmond we kind of stubbed our toe and looking back I’m glad that happened. We had a little bit of a wake-up call. We had a time that we had those tough conversations. We had a come to Jesus meeting with everybody and said we had to pick it up in all aspects with no errors. I can promise you that the champion this year will not be a team that makes mistakes. All seven of those races are equally weighted. When we go to Bristol, it has the exact same weighting as it does when we go to Homestead, so we have to treat all seven of them like they are the championship race and everybody is on that page now. Like I said, a pole and a win. You can’t do any better than that. I’m confident. My team is confident. They’re pumped up. They’re excited. We’re in the best position you could possibly ask for right now.”

WHICH TRACKS OF THE SEVEN ARE THE MOST WORRISOME IN THE CHASE? “Talladega, 100 percent. Talladega. It’s 100 percent out of your control. If I just finish the race, I will be very happy. Martinsville is second on the list because it’s 50 percent out of your control because the guy four rows back hits that guy and dominoes into you and you’re spun around backwards. Our goal is to be fast enough where we can’t get wrecked. That’s all we can do.”

HOW WAS THE PRESSURE AT THE END OF THE RACE KNOWING YOU HAD EVERYONE BEHIND YOU, ESPECIALLY WITH THE 17 UNDER YOU? “Yeah, that was pretty scary. I knew that Gio is very hungry as a race car driver to win. He had a really good truck today, and I knew he was gonna go deep into the corner pretty hard. I did as well and I made sure to give him plenty of room on the bottom so he couldn’t at least try not to spin into me. My spotter, Josh Williams, did a good job. He’s like, ‘He’s spinning. He’s spinning.’ So I made sure to turn right and give him the room even if that possibly made us lose the lead for it. It wasn’t worth getting turned around for it, so I hated that happened to him. I know he’s trying his all to get another win. He’s a really talented race car driver, but besides that it’s all about restart prep, all my short track racing, all my experience coming into this. It’s just cleaning your tires up, how to manage older tires on restarts and wheel spin. I mean, here you spin the tires even in the trucks all the way down the frontstretch pretty much until you upshift to high gear. So it’s just managing that wheel spin, not getting excited. It’s really easy to get excited and spin the tires because you want to go faster than the guy next to you, but just running your race. I feel like my experience and my calmness definitely paid off today. I felt like a veteran.”

TOYOTA RACING – NCS New Hampshire Quotes – Tyler Reddick – 08.22.26

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TOYOTA RACING – Tyler Reddick
NASCAR Cup Series Quotes

LOUDON, NH. (Aug. 22, 2026) – Joe Gibbs Racing driver Tyler Reddick was made available to the media on Saturday after winning the pole for the NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Reddick recorded his fourth pole of 2026 and the 15th pole of his career. The pole was also Toyota’s 10th pole position of the season.

TYLER REDDICK, No. 45 Chumba Casino Toyota Camry XSE, 23XI Racing

How tough is it to go for where you were kind of out to lunch in practice to winning the pool an hour later?

“I wasn’t how you think things through and how you want it to go. I was thinking, like, qualifying went good, maybe top 10, whatever. I didn’t have this thought that we’re going to go lay a lap down here and I’ll be talking to you guys again in a little bit. The thought was you want to get the most out of the car, most out of the lap and I just tried to understand what didn’t like out of my car and practice and make sure I don’t tap into that at all and just tried to make the most of what I thought our strengths were in practice, and I was just kind of able to kind of tie it all together and run a really good laugh in qualifying. From my perspective the tracks seemed a little different than normal, but this is the first time we’ve come here and done the 50-minute practice and then go qualify. I just felt like my mindset was in a good place for what I needed to do on the lap. I didn’t make any major mistakes. Concerning practice, that was not good for sure. We went out there and Billy (Scott, Crew Chief) told me if I’m not happy by lap 15, let’s pit and work on it. I didn’t get to lap 10 and I was like we got to get to work. Run two and run three weren’t exactly what we wanted. But as much as it may not be fun out during the moment trying to sort it all out and run the laps, it’s good to acquire the knowledge, run the laps, and see what the tires are doing. Then for us to be able to go to work on it tonight, figure out what direction we want to go. We will lean on our teammates, see what they had gains with, things of that nature. We put it all together and have what’s the car capable of in one lap, right? We were able to do this, so it tells me if we hit it we should be pretty good on speed, that’s going to be the tough part, right? It’s just making sure that we make the right changes between today and tomorrow.”

Is winning the pole a big boost for you and your team right now?

“Going to some of these tracks when I have been on more typical days, when I’m sitting here talking to you guys about sitting on a pole, we went out there in practice and been fast. The fire off and are good on the mid run and the long run speed, all that’s good, you know? This one is really, really fun and cool because practice was not like that for us. We had things that we were unhappy with, things we wanted to work on. It wasn’t like we walked away from practice, let’s make a little adjustment here and there and we were good to go for the race. We knew we’ve got things we need to really work on. So for us to take that, put it over here, and then start to focus on what we need to do in qualifying and then go lay a lap down like we did, that’s a big deal because it’s very easy after a practice like that to just have a mediocre qualifying effort and then your day just continues to not be great. So, I’ve been able to get the bullet a few places over the years it’s really fun and special, but the fashion that we did it today was really, really awesome.”

What will you do between now and tomorrow for the race in terms of figuring things out since it seems like you guys were way off in practice for long run speed?

“Going back to debriefing my teammates, going back for your notes, obviously the tire combination is a little bit different. It’s more what we ran a lot of short tracks this year. You look at those notes from those weekends too, it’s why you take notes. You document what’s going on, so you can go back through and understand what we need to do. Billy’s really good at that. My team’s really good at that to begin with. So, let’s have some good discussions about it. And then, I’ll lean in and kind of say which direction I want to go, but Billy does a really good job of understanding, there this is good, but we need to ignore this. And so, we’ll just have some big-time decisions to make between now and Sunday morning. But we’ll do our best to get them right. We’ll lean on our teammates and see how we get going in the race.”

Is where you were at in practice perplexing at all?

“I would say the feeling would be worse if we qualified 30th, you know? Because now you don’t have the track position and you don’t have pit selection. It’s like, man, I don’t know, is there speed even there? After Richmond, it was kind of a way for us like, okay, where are we at? Like, we didn’t even see anything out of it in the qualifying session. We were able to turn that around and we had good speed in the race. You know, if anything, be able to put this lab together and go that fast, especially against the Penske cars who’ve showed a lot of speed here. It’s more promising than anything. It’s like, okay, you know, I think we can get this right. So, we’ll just work on it.”

Your teammate Bubba Wallace was second in average speed. Is this something you’ll look at later with him and his team?

“I’d say so. We’ll start with our teammates and lean on other Toyota teammates as well. Like I said, notes from years past, notes from other times we ran this tire. We have to do a really good job of going through that stuff. We’ll lean on others and see what their opinions and perspectives were for practice, they’re going to hear what mine was. That’s what having teammates is all about working together, helping each other out. It’s probably going to sound crazy but the guy who’s starting first is going to be really leaning on these teammates to figure out what to do.

You could see some wet racing in the rain tomorrow, what are you expecting if that happens?

“Funny enough, last, you know, when we when we did this here a couple years ago, I was the first one in turn one to figure it out. I have some good experience with it. That was the day I was really hoping it was ending under rain, but I understand what we did. But it was a lot of fun. When you race in damp conditions here, it’s very tricky. The grip is limited, and there’s cracks, so different levels of age with the asphalt, the paint, all the things that go into it. It makes it really tricky and fun, but we’ll just be ready for whatever. Got some good experience over the years at a couple other tracks with those conditions and I feel like everyone’s level just continues to raise up every opportunity we have with those wet conditions.”

How confident were you in your entry speed in turns one and three? And did you let the car attack the flat corners the way that you wanted?

“It’s tricky, I think in the qualifying scenario, you have a totally wide open, clean track. When you get running in the race you’re dealing with traffic, you have to adjust your line, you have to readjust your marks. And it’s tough here without flat this track is. The car needs to be stuck to the track and when you get in traffic and scenarios change your marks change. It’s easy for the car to not drive like you want it. Just in general, this is a really difficult track to keep the car working, but that’s what makes it so rewarding and fun when you get it right. You’ll see that in the race tomorrow, drivers will be having to move their marks around trying to keep the car working under the corner entries with that traffic. But, that’s racing.”

When you have a turnaround like that between practice and qualifying, how much confidence does that give you?

“When we get done here, we got plenty of things to discuss and figure out. It’s a confidence boost, right? It’s like, okay, well, we know we can at least get it, right? We didn’t really have a sign or a showing of that in one lap or the averages in practice. We were kind of in a bit of traffic. I love the single group practice session, the track evolves more like the race. I think it’s helpful in trying to understand what your car is going to do, what new tires are going to do, on the more rubbered in surface. But there are things that come with it, right? Like there’s just less holes on the racetrack to get a clean hole and figure out what he got. But it’s just one of those things that’s funny, right? Everyone hunts so hard to have clean air in practice but only one guy is going to have it a second of the race. Tt’s just one of those things you try and try and manage, but for us, we got it right on qualifying, so we know that the speed is there. We just got to figure out how to keep it, keep it coming over the run and find a happy spot where I’m good with the balance and I can get the most out of it like I did in qualifying.”

If it stays dry and we have a long run tomorrow, how sketchy are the cars going to be feeling?

“That’s always kind of a game that’s played everywhere you go. When you’re in traffic, people are trying to undercut. We’ve seen others go the opposite way when they know they’re getting undercut. They’ll just say, all right, well, we’ll go past our window, go long, and have try to have a tire advantage. It’s just one of the fun things about racing in general, stock car racing in general, when the cycle does start, and it’s a track where the balance fades away, the tires fall away, the pace slows down. So, it’s just one of those things that kind of happens everywhere. I think it’s kind of a product of the difference in left side tire even more so than the than the horsepower, just the snappy sketchiness on the exits. Richmond felt like it took a step in that direction too, this last time. But again, my opinion, more from the tire change than even the power. It’s kind of the direction they’re going with the tires and the left side being a little different this year. It’s making it more of a handful for us, which is good. It means more mistakes will happen, more lap time variation and more passing.”

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Tyler Reddick rallies for Cup pole at New Hampshire

By
Andrew Kim
-
Photo by Logan Allen for SpeedwayMedia.com.

Tyler Reddick turned his fortunes around from being slow in practice by storming back atop the leaderboard and winning the Busch Light Pole Award for the Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, on Saturday, August 22.

The event’s starting lineup was determined through an on-track qualifying session that consisted of a single-car, single-lap qualifying format. During the session, each of the 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots cycled around New Hampshire Motor Speedway a single time to post the fastest lap amongst one another. The competitor who posted the fastest lap earned pole position.

During the session, Reddick, who was the 31st-fastest competitor in practice on Saturday prior to qualifying, utilized his single-lap session to post a lap at 131.094 mph in 29.054 seconds. The lap was enough for Reddick and his No. 45 Chumba Casino/23XI Racing Toyota Camry XSE team to achieve the top-starting spot for Sunday’s main event.

With the pole, Reddick notched his 15th NASCAR Cup Series career pole for his 243rd series start, his first at New Hampshire, his fourth of the 2026 season and his first since Kansas Speedway in mid-April.

Amid his practice run that left Reddick unhappy, the 2026 Daytona 500 champion from Corning, California, was left pleased with his qualifying result as he strives to cap off the New Hampshire weekend with the race victory and momentum for his 2026 Chase run.

“Oh man, I was really unhappy,” Reddick, who is ranked in fourth place in the 2026 standings, said. “I can’t recall a practice I’ve complained like that. I think we just figured out what we needed to try and work on. Obviously, we have our things that we want to work on for Sunday’s race, but yeah, just looking at qualifying and what we need to do. We just didn’t get a great opportunity in practice to lay down a lap in clean air…I don’t want to do it like we did at Richmond, start in the 30s. I had a little bit of a better metric this time around, so just had to commit and just really proud of this Chumba Casino Toyota Camry team.”

Reddick will share the front row with Josh Berry, the latter of whom posted the second-fastest lap at 131.026 mph in 29.069 seconds. Berry, who is coming off three consecutive top-10 results, also notched his second consecutive top-three starting spot for an upcoming Cup event as he remains in pursuit of a ride for the 2027 season. 

William Byron, Denny Hamlin and Shane van Gisbergen will start in the top five, respectively. Christopher Bell, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Alex Bowman completed the top-10 starting grid, respectively.

With 36 competitors vying for 36 starting spots, all made the main event.

New Hampshire – Qualifying Position, Best Speed, Best Time:

  1. Tyler Reddick, 131.094 mph, 29.054 seconds
  2. Josh Berry, 131.026 mph, 29.069 seconds
  3. William Byron, 130.981 mph, 29.079 seconds
  4. Denny Hamlin, 130.972 mph, 29.081 seconds
  5. Shane van Gisbergen, 130.860 mph, 29.106 seconds
  6. Christopher Bell, 130.555 mph, 29.174 seconds
  7. Ty Gibbs, 130.496 mph, 29.187 seconds
  8. Ryan Blaney, 130.447 mph, 29.198 seconds
  9. Kyle Larson, 130.443 mph, 29.199 seconds
  10. Alex Bowman, 130.420 mph, 29.204 seconds
  11. Erik Jones, 130.354 mph, 29.219 seconds
  12. Ross Chastain, 130.309 mph, 29.229 seconds
  13. Todd Gilliland, 130.278 mph, 29.236 seconds
  14. Zane Smith, 130.278 mph, 29.236 seconds
  15. Michael McDowell, 130.184 mph, 29.257 seconds
  16. Chris Buescher, 130.131 mph, 29.269 seconds
  17. Chase Briscoe, 130.126 mph, 29.270 seconds
  18. Ryan Preece, 130.104 mph, 29.275 seconds
  19. Noah Gragson, 130.011 mph, 29.296 seconds
  20. Connor Zilisch, 129.993 mph, 29.300 seconds
  21. Joey Logano, 129.949 mph, 29.310 seconds
  22. Carson Hocevar, 129.873 mph, 29.327 seconds
  23. Bubba Wallace, 129.843 mph, 29.334 seconds
  24. AJ Allmendinger, 129.789 mph, 29.346 seconds
  25. Brad Keselowski, 129.683 mph, 29.370 seconds
  26. Austin Cindric, 129.661 mph, 29.375 seconds
  27. Riley Herbst, 129.648 mph, 29.378 seconds
  28. Austin Hill, 129.366 mph, 29.442 seconds
  29. Chase Elliott, 128.937 ph, 29.540 seconds
  30. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., 128.867 mph, 29.556 seconds
  31. John Hunter Nemechek, 128.589 mph, 29.620 seconds
  32. Cole Custer, 128.299 mph, 29.687 seconds
  33. Ty Dillon, 128.273 mph, 29.693 seconds
  34. Austin Dillon, 128.234 mph, 29.702 seconds
  35. Daniel Suarez, 127.743 mph, 29.816 seconds
  36. Cody Ware, 127.718 mph, 29.822 seconds

The 2026 Dollar Tree 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway is scheduled to occur on Sunday, August 23, at 2 p.m. ET on USA Network, PRN Radio, SiriusXM and HBO MAX.

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