When it comes to locking down a fourth straight NASCAR Cup Series title, Team Penske still has three bullets remaining in the chamber, and following Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, those hopes will remain alive for another five weeks.
Ryan Blaney, who two seasons ago picked up his first championship with a strong run in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, has once again turned up the heat, earning his third victory of the season and his second in the last four weeks — also winning the regular-season finale at Daytona.
The driver of the No. 12 Menards Ford Mustang Dark Horse was able to put together a strong performance on Sunday afternoon, as did the entirety of Team Penske, leading 116 of 301 laps en route to his 16th win in the NASCAR Cup Series.
While none of the organization’s drivers (including Josh Berry, an affiliate teammate through Wood Brothers Racing) were ‘dominant’, per se, as a four-car unit, Team Penske was untouchable — leading 273 of 301 laps.
In all of the hard racing happening around the 1.018-mile short track, Blaney was a central theme — at first, fighting against Joey Logano and taking over on the long run, and then eventually, battling Josh Berry for the victory.
RACE RESULTS: 2025 NCS Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
With an interestingly timed caution, Berry was able to stay on the racetrack and take over the lead at Lap 256, but with nine-lap fresher tires, Blaney was able to return to the point at Lap 363, holding on for the final 39 laps — despite a hard charge — to win the event.
“Yeah, that was probably the hardest 20 laps that I drove. I was trying to kind of bide my stuff and kind of pull Josh a little bit. Then he really started coming, and I started to get super free. It was all I could do to hold him off, trying new lanes,” Blaney said post-race. “That was good racing and clean racing. I appreciate Josh for not throwing me the bumper when he could have.”
Despite an absolutely chaotic afternoon at New Hampshire, Josh Berry was able to record a runner-up finish in the No. 21 for Wood Brothers Racing — his first top-five since winning at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in March.
While the result seems rather straightforward, the Hendersonville, Tennessee-native’s afternoon (and, honestly, the last month in the NASCAR Cup Series) has been anything but that. Coming off three consecutive last-place finishes, Berry was turned around at Lap 82 by Shane Van Gisbergen and forced to drive back through the pack.
Berry, who also finished inside the top five in his last start at New Hampshire with Stewart-Haas Racing, had an extremely fast car and was running down the eventual race-winner, Blaney, on slightly older tires before a late-race bobble cost him an insurmountable quantity of time.
“It was definitely an awesome day. Had a really good car. Hat’s off to Ryan at the end. All of our cars were really strong, and Ryan did a great job there,” said Berry. “I was honestly surprised. I was a little worried when he got around me as quick as he did, but it seemed like it leveled out, and I was able to keep him honest at least at the end.”
William Byron finished third, and despite having no real match for the Team Penske Ford Mustang Dark Horses at the end, was able to bank a solid points day and put himself in a great position heading to the final two races of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs ‘Round of 12’.
Polesitter Joey Logano led a race-high 147 of 301 laps on the afternoon, but came home in the fourth position. The Middletown, Connecticut-native thrived on shorter runs, but was no match for Blaney, or Berry on the long runs.
After starting outside the top-25, Chase Elliott was able to drive through the pack and collect a fifth-place finish — helping to boost his status in the post-season standings heading to Kansas Speedway next weekend.
Christopher Bell took four tires on the final caution with 42 laps remaining, and drove from outside the top-10 to finish a respectable sixth-place. Kyle Larson came home seventh, with Michael McDowell, Ross Chastain, and Chase Briscoe inside the top-10.
Denny Hamlin (P12), Austin Cindric (P17), Tyler Reddick (P21), and Bubba Wallace (P26) were the four postseason-eligible drivers who failed to finish inside the top-10 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Of those four drivers, three of them just lacked overall speed. However, the other, Denny Hamlin, got caught up in a bit of an incident at Lap 111, spinning out his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs, after the two raced hard for several laps in a battle on track.
