2018 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301

The 2018 Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 is a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on July 22, 2018 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 301 laps on the 1.058 mi speedway, it was the 20th race of the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.

Report
The Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway looked to be a washout. Rain is forecast for the next 10 days in the New England area. Then a window in the weather opened and NASCAR quickly dried the track. Racing began just before 4:30 pm, 2 hours later than the original starting time.

Background
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058 mi 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 1.6 mi 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.

First practice
Kyle Busch was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.362 seconds and a speed of 134.292 mph.

Qualifying
Kurt Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.511 and a speed of 133.591 mph.

Second practice
Denny Hamlin was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.650 seconds and a speed of 132.942 mph.

Final practice
Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of .028937 seconds and a speed of 131,624 mph.

Stage 1
Kurt Busch drove to the lead on the start. Only 13 laps went on the board until Landon Cassill(00) hit the wall on the backstretch. Bringing out the first caution of the day. After the restart, the field put 2 more laps up and A J Allmendinger(47) did the same thing. Hitting the wall on lap 20. Both cars retired to the garage, out of the race.

Through all the on-track action Busch maintained the top spot. Until NASCAR displayed a competition caution on lap 36 to allow teams to inspect tires after the rain washed down the track. Several cars stayed on the track having pitted during the accident cautions. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.(17) held off a charge by Jimmie Johnson(48) to take the lead on the restart. Staying out is a smart move for Stenhouse Jr. A stage win and the 10 points that go with it would be huge. Stenhouse Jr. started the race 9 points out of the final Playoff spot.

However, on Lap 52, Truex Jr. took the lead. He held the top spot to the end of Stage 1.

Stenhouse Jr. did not earn a point in Stage 1 and neither did Paul Menard(21). He started the day 23 points below the Playoff cut line. Alex Bowman(88) holds the final Playoff spot currently. But, he is struggling on the tough New Hampshire oval.

Stage 2
After Stage ending pit stops Chase Elliott(9) beat Truex Jr. off pit road. The Busch brothers and Johnson make up the remainder of the top 5. Elliott surrendered the lead as the race went back to green with Truex Jr. again moving to the front.

With 20 laps to go in Stage 2, Elliott drove to the front. He had to hold off the pole sitter, Kurt Busch, to earn his first Stage win of the year.

The Final Stage
The race off pit road after the Stage ending caution was close. Kurt Busch just nipped Elliott at the line. The rest of the top 5 remained unchanged for the start of the Final Stage. Joey Logano(22) made the big move exiting in the 6th spot.

On Lap 212, Aric Almirola(10) drove past teammate Kurt Busch for the lead. The first time Almirola led a lap at New Hampshire. With 75 laps to go Stenhouse Jr. hit the wall. He was able to make it to pit road without the caution coming out. The damage to the car likely will cost Stenhouse Jr. in his battle with Bowman for the final playoff spot.

Clint Bowyer spun out in Turn 3 bringing out the caution with 45 laps to go. The field pitted for new tires and fuel. Kyle Busch(18) exited first, jumbling the front of the field. Kevin Harvick(4) came out 2nd with Almirola 3rd. Truex Jr. 4th and Kurt Busch 5th.

When the green flag waves, the “Big Three” Kyle Busch, Harvick, and Truex Jr. run in the top 3 spots. Harvick ran down Kyle Busch and with 7 laps to go they were nose to tail. He gave Busch a bump moving him up out of the groove. Harvick drove past and took the victory to move ahead of Bush 6 victories to 5. The win also moved Harvick ahead of Kyle in Playoff Points 32-30.

Playoff Battle
Stenhouse Jr. lost 19 points in the battle for the final Playoff spot. He is now 28 points behind Bowman. Menard also lost 3 points and sits 29 points out of the final position. Ahead of Bowman, Elliott, in 15th position, is 48 points clear. Johnson sits 58 points up on Bowman’s 16th and final qualifying position.

Stage Results
Stage 1 Laps: 75

Stage 2 Laps: 75

Final Stage Results
Stage 3 Laps: 151

Race statistics

 * Lead changes: 7 among different drivers
 * Cautions/Laps: 7 for 31
 * Red flags: 0
 * Time of race: 2 hours, 52 minutes and 56 seconds
 * Average speed: 110.490 mph

Television
NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Steve Letarte, four-time and all-time Loudon winner Jeff Burton and Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the call in the booth for the race as part of a NBC Special Analyst Broadcast. Rick Allen, Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio
PRN had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Manufacturers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
 * . – Driver has clinched a position in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.