NASCAR Race Recap: New Hampshire to Gateway | Race Day Outfitters

Catch up on NASCAR Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, and Craftsman Truck Series action from New Hampshire through Darlington, plus a look ahead to Gateway.

The NASCAR season has officially hit the point where every race starts to feel a little heavier.

Since the series rolled through New Hampshire, we’ve seen a first-time Cup winner at Daytona, championship fields locked in, the Chase open at Darlington, and now the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series head to World Wide Technology Raceway for another important weekend.

Meanwhile, the Craftsman Truck Series is sitting through a short break before beginning its own championship run at Bristol.

Here’s where everything stands heading into the weekend.

Cup Series: Blaney Rules Loudon

Ryan Blaney continued his strong run at New Hampshire Motor Speedway by winning the Dollar Tree 301 on August 23.

Blaney led 115 of the 301 laps and held off Bubba Wallace by 0.586 seconds for his third victory of the season. It was also Blaney’s second consecutive Cup victory at the 1.058-mile track.

The race also helped settle the top of the championship picture. Denny Hamlin left New Hampshire having secured the No. 1 seed for the upcoming Cup Series Chase, carrying a 25-point advantage into the postseason reset.

But there was still one race left before the field was final.

And Daytona delivered exactly the kind of chaos everyone expected.

Daytona: Ryan Preece Picks the Perfect Night for His First Cup Win

The regular-season finale at Daytona became one of the biggest nights of Ryan Preece’s Cup career.

Preece stretched his fuel late, survived overtime, and scored his first career Cup Series points victory in the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

More importantly, the win pushed him into The Chase.

Preece entered Daytona 31 points behind Shane van Gisbergen for the final postseason position, but the victory completely changed the championship picture and ultimately left van Gisbergen outside the field.

That’s Daytona.

One race can change an entire season.

Darlington Opens the Cup Series Chase

From the unpredictability of Daytona, the Cup Series headed directly into one of NASCAR’s toughest tests: the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Christopher Bell could not have picked a better time to break through.

After going 33 races without a victory and finishing runner-up seven times during the season, Bell finally returned to Victory Lane in the Chase opener.

Bell beat Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Ty Gibbs by 1.038 seconds and jumped from sixth to second in the championship standings. He left Darlington just 12 points behind points leader Denny Hamlin.

Winning the Southern 500 is significant on its own.

Doing it in the opening race of a championship run makes it even bigger.

O’Reilly Auto Parts Series: No New Hampshire Race, Then Daytona Drama

While Cup and Trucks competed at New Hampshire, the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series did not race that weekend.

Its next stop came at Daytona on August 28 for the regular-season finale.

And that night produced one of the best stories of the season.

After 424 starts, Ryan Sieg finally became a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series winner.

Sieg survived an overtime finish to beat Austin Hill by just 0.149 seconds and earn his first career series victory.

At the same time, the final Chase positions were being decided.

Justin Allgaier entered the postseason as the No. 1 seed after a dominant regular season featuring six victories. Taylor Gray and Rajah Caruth grabbed the final two positions in the 12-driver Chase field, with Caruth making up a 15-point deficit entering Daytona.

Sheldon Creed Strikes First at Darlington

The O’Reilly Series opened its Chase one night before the Cup Series at Darlington, and Sheldon Creed immediately made his presence known.

Creed took control following a strong late pit stop and led the final 49 laps to win the Fleetio 200.

He beat rookie Corey Day by 2.961 seconds for his second victory of the season and second career series win.

Justin Allgaier, who entered the night with a 25-point championship advantage, struggled late and finished 17th.

That allowed Creed to close the gap dramatically.

Heading out of Darlington, Allgaier’s championship lead over Creed was down to only seven points.

That’s exactly what NASCAR wants from a postseason opener.

Pressure immediately.

Craftsman Truck Series: Riggs Ends the Regular Season on Top

The Craftsman Truck Series wrapped up its regular season at New Hampshire on August 22.

Layne Riggs dominated much of the afternoon and survived a double-overtime finish to win the Team EJP 175.

Riggs led 106 of 189 laps and beat Front Row Motorsports teammate Chandler Smith by 0.293 seconds.

It was Riggs’ sixth victory of the season and 11th of his Truck Series career.

New Hampshire also finalized the 10-driver Truck Series Chase field.

Riggs, Corey Heim, Chandler Smith, Christian Eckes, Gio Ruggiero, Ty Majeski, Grant Enfinger, Daniel Hemric, Ben Rhodes and Tyler Ankrum advanced into the championship fight.

The Truck Series has not raced since New Hampshire and remains off this weekend.

Its seven-race Chase begins Thursday, September 17 at Bristol Motor Speedway.

This Weekend: NASCAR Heads to Gateway

Next up for the Cup and O’Reilly Auto Parts Series is World Wide Technology Raceway outside St. Louis.

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series runs the Nu Way 225 Powered by Bobcat and Sauced by Blues Hog on Saturday, September 12 at 7:30 p.m. ET on The CW.

The Cup Series follows Sunday with the Enjoy Illinois 300, scheduled for 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.

For both series, there is very little room to relax.

Bell enters Gateway with momentum from his Southern 500 victory, but Hamlin still controls the top of the Cup standings.

On the O’Reilly side, Sheldon Creed suddenly finds himself within striking distance of Justin Allgaier after only one postseason race.

And while the Truck teams get one more weekend to prepare, Bristol is waiting.

The Season Just Changed Gears

New Hampshire feels like it happened a long time ago already.

Since then, Ryan Blaney won again at Loudon, Ryan Preece completely changed his season at Daytona, Ryan Sieg finally broke through after 424 starts, and Christopher Bell and Sheldon Creed opened their respective Chase runs with Darlington victories.

Now comes Gateway.

Different track.

Different challenge.

Same pressure.

From here on out, every point matters a little more, every mistake gets a little more expensive, and every trip to Victory Lane could change the championship.

We’ll be watching.

Written by Lindy Williams

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