Ryan Blaney Secures Back-to-Back Wins at New Hampshire

Following Stage 2 of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Ryan Blaney came down pit road with the lead and then lost it. The No. 12’s pit crew woes continued, this instance saw a left front tire issue.

Despite that, due to both a somewhat bold two-tire call from crew chief Jonathan Hassler and a strong late race run defending against lapped traffic and a hard charging Bubba Wallace and Josh Berry, Blaney secured his third victory of the season.

“That (lapped traffic) made it difficult,” Blaney said. “(Two tires) was a good call after our issue on pit road. It was a long run at the end there, the longest run we had. I just tried to manage my stuff knowing those four tire guys would probably pressure me eventually, Bubba came on pretty hard there. Just trying to manage the lapped traffic while also trying to manage tires and not make a mistake.”

Both Wallace and Berry ran down the No. 12 in the final laps of the race. A lock up from the No. 23 proved costly, while the No. 21 just ran out of time.

“A big vibration on the left front was kinda it,” Wallace said postrace. “(I) didn’t need to make our great day go to crap, (I) just salvaged what we had.”

Rest of the Race

The race started under damp conditions with Tyler Reddick leading the field to green. Despite keeping the lead on the restart, Reddick spun out before the second lap started. William Byron took the lead on the Lap 7 restart, but surrendered the first spot to Shane van Gisbergen on Lap 26. The caution flag waved on Lap 40 so the field could put slick tires on, with the Kiwi maintaining the lead on the restart 10 laps later.

Shortly after, the race returned to yellow following a spin from Ricky Stenhouse Jr., which resulted in a restart that allowed Kyle Larson to take the lead and the stage win. Christopher Bell, Carson Hocevar, Byron, Berry, Blaney, Ty Gibbs, Ryan Preece, van Gisbergen, and Chase Briscoe would also earn stage points.

Larson won the race off pit road, but would restart seventh since six cars stayed out. Two of them, Preece and Zane Smith, led the field to green. The yellow flag waved again on Lap 84 after an incident with the No. 77. Berry took the lead on the restart and kept it through the pit cycle, but surrendered it to Blaney on Lap 149. The driver of the No. 12 would win the stage. Berry, Wallace, Preece, Larson, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher, Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, and Bell also earned stage points.

Wallace and Berry won the race off pit road after the No. 12’s previously mentioned issues. The two drivers battled for the lead for several laps after the restart, with Berry getting the better of Wallace and leading until the caution waved for the seventh time Lap 203, again for Carson Hocevar. This caution allowed for split strategy, with several drivers (such as Blaney) coming to pit road. The No. 21 and No. 23 once again led the field to green, with the No. 23 taking the lead.

With 80 laps to go, Berry retook the lead breifly before Wallace retook it. The duo, as well as Preece, battled for the lead until the caution waved three laps later for Riley Herbst. Blaney and Byron, both drivers who pit under the Lap 203 caution, won the race off pit road. Berry did not have a great stop.

“We slid a little long that last stop and it was kinda just ‘get everything I could’,” Berry said. “We just gave up too much track position.”

The No. 12 took the lead on the restart, before the ninth caution of the race came out due to Byron’s left rear tire coming off. Briscoe battled Blaney on the restart, but Blaney kept the lead. Despite late charges from Wallace and Berry, Blaney captured the victory.

Results