Loudon, New Hampshire--New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted
the Crayon 301. This was the 20th the NASCAR Cup Series race of the
2023 season for The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing
(NASCAR). A day for drivers to gain
valuable points in the playoff picture, or gain that win that would snap a
winless streak to get them into the playoff picture.
7/16/2023: The day of the Crayon 301-Weather
conditions that morning proved not to be good for racing. As early as 10:00 AM,
alerts were issued for flash floods and even tornadoes. By
10:48 AM, it was announced that the Crayon 301 would not be run that day. This postponed
race was rescheduled for Monday 7/17/2023 at 12 PM (Noon). New Hampshire Motor
Speedway had a weather guarantee in place to provide an exchange for a future
race for those who were unable to return to the track for the Crayon 301.
7/17/2023: The
weather of the day before passed, leaving behind clear skies. The parking area of
the New Hampshire Motor Speedway was filling up with a decent sized crowd there
for a great race. Passing through the multiple lots leading up the race track,
one could see fans sitting outside their campers and cars enjoying the sunshine
and the atmosphere. The ground that was muddy the prior morning was dry. The
speedway’s tram passed by as those on foot were making their way over to go
through the gates to see the race.
Drivers were introduced at 11:20 AM and the anticipation for
the race led up to 12:00 PM (Noon). Here
are some news and notes from that afternoon:
*Ryan Blaney (#12) was looking toward winning another Monday
race after taking the checkered flag at the Coca-Cola 600 on May 29th,
2023 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
* Martin Truex Jr. (#19) was on his hometown track.
*Kyle Busch in the # 8 car experienced trouble towards the
final lap of Stage 1, raising one of the first caution flags of the day. Busch
would turn into Pit Row to have his car evaluated at the start of Stage 2,
which would not be enough to keep him in the race.
*Aric Almirola (#10) worked his way up to the front of the
pack of cars behind Truex Jr. Denny Hamlin (# 11) was in pursuit of Truex Jr. and
Almirola. Almirola would hold the lead for a few laps before a loose tire would
send his car scraping the wall and ending his race day.
*The action in the race was consistent as the competition
tried to figure out how to stop the momentum of the leading #19 car. Kevin
Harvick (# 4), Austin Dillon (#3) and Kyle Larson (#5) would advance in the
field of cars only to get passed by a motivated Martin Truex Jr…. Joey Logano
(#22) had laps driving along or next to the bumper of Truex Jr., and nearly
pulled ahead in some instances.
*The race was run with few cautions.
*The track speed benefitted the cars and the distance
between cars increased throughout each lap as the drivers wove in and out of
the middle of the pack to try to get within a car length to the race leader at
the time.
*The winner of the Crayon 301 was Martin Truex Jr. (#19).
Under the clear skies of Loudon, Martin celebrated his victory and saluted the
fans in attendance on his way back to the pit area. To commemorate his victory,
he received the Crayon 301 trophy as well as a lobster.
In dominant fashion , Martin Truex Jr. received the checkered flag at the same track his father raced. Truex Jr.’s may have been earned this moment a day later due to Mother Nature, but the win was worth the wait.
While the observations did come from my own notes and the
post-race interview with Martin Truex Jr., I want to thank the sources I used
for race information this blog:
For Driver Information: https://www.nascar.com/drivers/nascar-cup-series/
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#Crayon301 #NHMS #NASCAR75
