As long as the weather holds off, Kurt Busch will try to punch his ticket for the NASCAR Playoffs from the best possible spot on Sunday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Where New Hampshire Motor Speedway once offered two chances for victory in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, it’s now down to just one. That one just happens to arrive on Sunday in the Foxwoods 301 … unless it takes place on Monday instead.
The issue is impending thunderstorms which could be pretty heavy, which likely would mean the race is postponed a day. NASCAR has already moved up the start time of the Foxwoods 301 to try to get the race in, but either way, Kurt Busch should be raring to go after claiming the Busch Pole award. His Ford just nipped the Toyota of Martin Truex Jr., who’s been on a hot streak as of late as he defends his NASCAR Cup Series crown.
Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney rounded out the top five in qualifying, offering few surprises. The fastest Chevrolet was driven by Alex Bowman, who will start the race eighth, with teammates Chase Elliott and William Byron rolling off 10th and 11th, respectively.
Next: Would NASCAR consider a Cup Series race at Eldora?
As of now, the green flag is scheduled to fly at 1:00 p.m. ET on NBSCN, but the weather may yet have something to say about that. Here’s a look at the full starting lineup.
2018 Foxwoods 301 starting grid for New Hampshire Motor Speedway
- Kurt Busch – No. 41 Monster Energy/Haas Automation Ford
- Martin Truex Jr. – No. 78 5-hour Energy/Bass Pro Shops Toyota
- Kyle Busch – No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota
- Denny Hamlin – No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota
- Ryan Blaney – No. 12 Menards/Sylvania Ford
- Brad Keselowski – No. 2 Autotrader Ford
- Erik Jones – No. 20 DeWalt Toyota
- Alex Bowman – No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet
- Daniel Suarez – No. 19 Arris Toyota
- Chase Elliott – No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet
- William Byron – No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet
- Paul Menard – No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center Ford
- Aric Almirola – No. 10 Smithfield Ford
- Kevin Harvick – No. 4 Busch Beer Ford
- Clint Bowyer – No. 14 Haas 30 Years of the VF1 Ford
- AJ Allmendinger – No. 47 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
- Austin Dillon – No. 3 Dow Chevrolet
- Ryan Newman – No. 31 Chevrolet Accessories Chevrolet
- Joey Logano – No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford
- Kyle Larson – No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet
- Jimmie Johnson – No. 48 Lowe’s for Pros Chevrolet
- Jamie McMurray – No. 1 McDonald’s Chevrolet
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – No. 17 Fastenal Ford
- Chris Buescher – No. 37 Kroger Click List Chevrolet
- Ty Dillon – No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet
- Kasey Kahne – No. 95 Thorne Wellness Chevrolet
- Bubba Wallace – No. 43 Medallion Bank/Petty’s Garage Chevrolet
- Matt DiBenedetto – No. 32 Weirs Motor Sales, Inc. Ford
- Michael McDowell – No. 34 Starkey Hearing Foundation Ford
- David Ragan – No. 38 Performance Plus Ford
- Matt Kenseth – No. 6 Constantine Sealing Service Ford
- Ross Chastain – No. 15 TBA Chevrolet
- Corey LaJoie – No. 72 Monarch Chevrolet
- Landon Cassill – No. 00 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- Kyle Weatherman – No. 99 StarCom Fiber Chevrolet
- BJ McLeod – No. 51 Jacob Companies Chevrolet
- Blake Jones – No. 23 Tennessee Shine Co./KBM Commerical Properties Toyota