The 2022 Ambetter 301 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 17, 2022, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 301 laps, on the speedway. It was the 20th race of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
This race was the last start for 2004 champion Kurt Busch, as Busch suffered a concussion during the second qualifying round for the next race, and the injuries from that crash ended up being career-ending; he announced on August 26, 2023 that he was officially retiring.
Report
Background
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire, which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as the longest-running motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a road course, which includes much of the oval.
The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team ChevroletOfficial entry list
Practice William Byron was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.877 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.877 127.483 2 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.903 127.372 3 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.938 127.223Official practice results
Qualifying Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.964 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.739 29.964 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.898 30.009 3 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 29.669 30.032 4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 30.070 30.106 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.968 30.127 6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.945 30.136 7 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.135 30.219 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.748 30.224 9 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 30.276 30.409 10 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 29.945 0.000 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 29.997 — 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 30.056 — 13 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.186 — 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.187 — 15 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.267 — 16 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 30.293 — 17 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 30.312 — 18 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 30.332 — 19 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 30.364 — 20 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 30.391 — 21 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 30.410 — 22 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 30.422 — 23 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.455 — 24 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 30.461 — 25 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 30.476 — 26 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 30.523 — 27 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 30.584 — 28 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 30.601 — 29 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 30.675 — 30 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 30.759 — 31 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 30.785 — 32 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 30.885 — 33 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 31.064 — 34 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 31.101 — 35 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 31.288 — 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 31.359 — Official qualifying results
Race
Stage Results
Stage One Laps: 70
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 93 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 75 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 66 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 57 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 48 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 39 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 210 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 1Official stage one results
Stage Two Laps: 115
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 102 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 93 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 75 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 57 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 48 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 39 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 1Official stage two results
Final Stage Results
Stage Three Laps: 116
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 5 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 301 472 2 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 301 503 4 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 301 444 1 19 Martin Truex Jr. Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 301 535 10 4 Kevin Harvick Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 301 476 14 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 301 327 9 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 301 308 18 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 301 339 19 99 Daniel Suárez Trackhouse Racing Team Chevrolet 301 2810 3 45 Kurt Busch 23XI Racing Toyota 301 3611 6 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 301 3112 17 18 Kyle Busch Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 301 2513 28 2 Austin Cindric (R) Team Penske Ford 301 2414 8 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 301 3715 29 14 Chase Briscoe Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 300 2216 20 16 A. J. Allmendinger (i) Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 300 017 16 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 300 2018 11 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 300 1919 23 43 Erik Jones Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 300 1820 25 31 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 300 1721 13 8 Tyler Reddick Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 300 1622 24 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet 300 1523 30 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 300 1424 12 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 300 2025 31 21 Harrison Burton (R) Wood Brothers Racing Ford 300 1226 26 38 Todd Gilliland (R) Front Row Motorsports Ford 300 1127 23 41 Cole Custer Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 300 1028 15 34 Michael McDowell Front Row Motorsports Ford 299 929 33 15 J. J. Yeley (i) Rick Ware Racing Ford 299 030 36 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Ford 297 731 7 10 Aric Almirola Stewart-Haas Racing Ford 282 932 21 7 Corey LaJoie Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 533 34 77 Josh Bilicki (i) Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 5 034 35 42 Ty Dillon Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet 5 335 27 48 Alex Bowman Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 4 236 32 78 B. J. McLeod (i) Live Fast Motorsports Ford 4 0Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 8 among 7 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 9 for 52 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 14 minutes and 45 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television USA covered the race on the television side. Dale Earnhardt Jr., four-time and all-time Loudon winner Jeff Burton and Steve Letarte called the race from the broadcast booth. Kim Coon, Parker Kligerman and Marty Snider handled the pit road duties from pit lane.
USABooth announcersPit reporters Lap-by-lap: Dale Earnhardt Jr.Color-commentator: Jeff BurtonColor-commentator: Steve Letarte Kim CoonParker KligermanMarty Snider
Radio PRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio. Doug Rice and Mark Garrow called the race from the booth when the field races down the frontstretch. Rob Albright called the race from turns 1 & 2 and Doug Turnbull called the race from turns 3 & 4. Brad Gillie, Brett McMillan and Wendy Venturini handled the duties on pit lane.
PRNBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Doug RiceAnnouncer: Mark Garrow Turns 1 & 2: Rob AlbrightTurns 3 & 4: Doug Turnbull Brad GillieBrett McMillanWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Chase Elliott 734 1 2 Ross Chastain 667 (–67) 1 3 Ryan Blaney 656 (–78) 2 4 Martin Truex Jr. 619 (–115) 1 5 Kyle Larson 616 (–118) 1 6 Kyle Busch 594 (–140) 7 Joey Logano 582 (–152) 8 Christopher Bell 570 (–164) 2 9 Kevin Harvick 551 (–183) 10 William Byron 536 (–198) 2 11 Alex Bowman 510 (–224) 12 Aric Almirola 490 (–244) 13 Austin Cindric 489 (–245) 2 14 Kurt Busch 485 (–249) 15 Daniel Suárez 479 (–255) 2 16 Tyler Reddick 474 (–260)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 737 2 Ford 672 (–65) 3 Toyota 665 (–72)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.
References