New Hampshire
After starting P15, Parker Kligerman, a New Englander and fan favorite, was collected in a 12-car accident during a restart only 71 laps into the event and had to settle for a 31st place finish.
“Unfortunate,” said a frustrated Kligerman. “I was giving a lot of space on the re-start. Guys were spinning tires and struggling. We’re not down, we’re not out. We’ve got a lot of great tracks ahead of us. We’ll fight back. It’s all about the journey and the process.”
And despite being in the multi-car accident, the race claimed enough caution casualties that Kligerman leaves his “hometown” track now ranked 12th with 439 points– 16 points up on 13th place Jeb Burton, just 18 behind Riley Herbst and 45 behind 10th place Sheldon Creed.
John Hunter Nemechek completed the first back-to-back victory effort of his career surviving 10 caution periods including the last lap in overtime– when a pair of his closest challengers on the day Cole Custer and Sheldon Creed crashed behind him competing for third place. The incident ended the race.
Up next, Pocono Raceway Saturday at 5:30 p.m. eastern on USA Network and streaming on the NBC Sports App. Listen to the radio broadcast on SiriusXM Channel 90 and MRN. Find the station near you, here.
Overview
Event: Ambetter Health 200
Date: Saturday July 15, 2023
Time: 3:00 pm eastern
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway 1122 NH-106, Loudon, NH
Layout: 1.058 mile asphalt and granite oval “The Magic Mile”
Laps: 200
Miles: 211.6 miles
Stage Lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 200.
TV: USA Network
Radio: Sirius XM Channel 90 and PRN. For the station near you, click here.
Driver Points: 434, ranked #12
News and notes:
Meet the Driver: Parker will be at the New England Racing Museum Friday at 3p.
“We are in the thick of the summer stretch and it feels like our whole Big Machine Racing team is really gelling,” says Parker Kligerman. “Multiple top 10’s and more often than not, knocking on the door of the top 5… this is exactly the consistency and improvement we need to build a nice buffer into the playoffs. In Atlanta we had a top 5 car, and were one moment away from even better. As we enter New Hampshire, this is cool for me because we have two northeast races in a row which are close to my home. For the first time all year, I will get to go home to Connecticut and head to the track from there. I love New Hampshire and think we can have a really good day to continue this awesome summer momentum!
“This is a process. It’s a process, it’s a process. Okay?” - Moneyball
“A season signifies different things to different people,” adds Parker. “But when you stake your livelihood on one, amidst the tension of competition, you understand that it's all about management - of energy, strength, focus, and processes. These are the vital components, not just for surviving a season, but for truly succeeding in one.
We are half way in our season. 17 of 33 races complete and only 6 points outside the playoffs. Five short weeks ago we were almost one whole race out (40+ points), after a mechanical failure.
From that moment it’s been a point-by-point grind: correcting mistakes, seizing opportunities and most importantly refining our processes. Long days, frustration & work external and internal. A stage point here, a stage point there. A narrowly missed top 10. A lunge for the lead. A quiet top5.
All equally matter when you’re fighting for a single prize, over a single season, against groups who all equally want you to fail.
Now in the midst of what historically can be the toughest stretch. The hot summer months with a relentless series of races across almost every track type. This is where teams breakdown, figuratively and literally. A variety of factors usually the culprit.
But for this very reason, it’s my favorite time of the year and therefore it’s no surprise to me that we are starting to gel. I feel it in the shop, in our sim sessions & communication.
As a young team, we are creating the building blocks for quiet confidence.
Most of all this comes from seeing the processes work, the results compound and our small successes providing the fuel to keep growing. Pro sports? It’s all about the process.”
New Hampshire Motor Speedway sets the stage for the NASCAR Xfinity Series…
After an eventful race on Atlanta Motor Speedway’s 1.54-mile track that saw John Hunter Nemechek snag his third win of the season in an impressive overtime finish, the NASCAR Xfinity Series is heading to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Ambetter Health 200 on Saturday, July 15 at 3 p.m. ET (USA Network, PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR radio) – the 18th event of the 26-race regular season.
There have been 35 NASCAR Xfinity Series races on New Hampshire’s “Magic Mile”, producing 27 different race winners and 20 different pole winners. Nine races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Kyle Busch in 2017.
Two-time NASCAR Cup Series champion, Kyle Busch, set quite a few records at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in his stints in the Xfinity Series. He has posted the most wins (six), led the most laps (740) and is tied with Kevin Harvick for most top fives with nine each. He also set the track’s race record in 2009 with his speed of 111.925 mph and the qualifying record with his 2013 speed of 131.916 mph.
Cup Series regular Christopher Bell was on a winning streak at the track, snagging the checkered flag in three consecutive races (2018, 2019, 2021). Bell didn’t race in last year’s Xfinity Series, leaving space for JR Motorsports’ Justin Allgaier to post his first New Hampshire Motor Speedway win. He is the only previous winner entered in this weekend’s Ambetter Health 200.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers will take to the grid for practice at 5:05 p.m. ET on Friday, July 14, followed by qualifying at 5:35 p.m. ET on the USA Network and streamed on the NBC Sports App.
Drivers that make the ‘magic’ on New Hampshire’s mile
With time winding down before the Playoffs, all drivers, especially those who haven’t secured their postseason spot, will be sure to put on a show for fans as they race to the finish line this weekend. But there are some drivers who have an edge heading into New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
As the only driver in the field that has landed in Victory Lane at the 1.058-mile New Hampshire track, JR Motorsport’s Justin Allgaier definitely has an advantage, and will be looking to post his second win of the season to move up in the standings this weekend. In 11 starts at New Hampshire, he has put up one win (2022), three top fives and eight top 10s. If Allgaier wins this weekend, he will become just the third driver all-time to win consecutive races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, joining Kyle Busch (2009-11 and 2016-17) and Christopher Bell (2019-21).
Although Stewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer has yet to post a win at the New Hampshire 1.058-mile track in the Xfinity Series, he’s put up some good numbers. In his three starts, he’s posted one top five, three top 10s and snagged the pole in 2019. The 25-year-old driver also heads into the weekend riding a wave of 11 consecutive top-10 finishes this season. Plus, keep in mind that Custer won his first NASCAR national series race at New Hampshire in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2014, and the win set the record for the youngest winner in Truck Series history at the age of 16 years, 4 months and 22 days.
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Hill only has one start at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2022) where he posted a seventh-place finish, but he’s done well on other one-mile tracks this season. He finished seventh at Phoenix Raceway and fourth at Dover Motor Speedway. He currently sits in second in the Xfinity Series standings just -16 points behind the standings lead. This season, Hill has amassed three wins (Daytona, Las Vegas, Atlanta), nine top fives, 13 top 10s and 236 laps led.
New Hampshire Motor Speedway: A place of firsts for many
New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a memorable and special place for several drivers as it provided ‘firsts’ in their NASCAR Xfinity Series careers. They don’t call it the ‘Magic Mile’ for nothing.
A total of 47 different drivers have made their first NASCAR Xfinity Series career start at New Hampshire, including most recently Julia Landauer in 2022.
Four drivers earned their first pole in the series at the New Hampshire track: Josh Berry (2022), Landon Cassill (2008), Jamie McMurray (2004) and Michael McLaughlin (1995).
Another two drivers have earned their first Xfinity Series career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway: Bobby Hamilton Jr. posted his first Xfinity win in 2002 and 1990 DAYTONA 500 winner Derrike Cope posted his first Xfinity Series win in 1994.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Standings: Nine to go, five spots still remain
With another win by Joe Gibb’s Racing’s John Hunter Nemechek last weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, five spots are still up for grabs for the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs as the regular season only has nine races left.
The following seven drivers have already earned their spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs by virtue of their wins: John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith and Jeb Burton.
Currently in the eighth spot in the Playoff outlook is JR Motorsport’s Josh Berry, who made it the Championship 4 Round of the Playoffs last season. Berry has posted seven top fives and 11 top 10s this season thus far and is currently 84 points above the postseason cutline. Berry has made two starts at New Hampshire in the Xfinity Series posting one top-10 finish (eighth).
After a fifth-place finish last weekend at Atlanta, JR Motorsport’s Sam Mayer has moved up in the standings, now sitting in the ninth spot in the Playoff outlook +46 points above the cutline. Like his JRM teammate Berry, Mayer has made just two starts at New Hampshire, but his best finish at the 1.058-mile track is 15th (2022).
Kaulig Racing’s Daniel Hemric is next in the Playoff outlook in the 10th spot, up +41 points on Parker Kligerman in the first spot outside the Playoff cutoff (13th). The 2021 Xfinity Series champion has put up two top fives and nine top 10s this season, and if he can hold on to a postseason spot, he will look to make the Playoffs for the fifth-time in his career (2017-18 and 2012-22).
Richard Childress Racing’s Sheldon Creed slides in 11th position in the Playoff outlook, up +26 points on the postseason cutline. This season, the California native has collected two top fives, six top 10s and a pole in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Creed will be one to watch this weekend, he made his Xfinity Series New Hampshire Motor Speedway debut last season posting a fifth-place finish.
Sitting in the final transfer spot on points (12th) in the Playoff outlook is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Riley Herbst. Herbst is in his fourth full-time season in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and is still looking for his first win, but that’s not slowing him down. Herbst heads into this weekend just six points up on Parker Kligerman in 13th – the first spot outside the Playoff cut line. Herbst, from Las Vegas, Nevada, has posted three top fives and seven top 10s this season. Herbst has made just two starts at New Hampshire in the Xfinity Series posting a top-10 finish in 2021.
Herbst closest competition, Parker Kligerman in 13th in the Playoff outlook, sits six points back from 12th, and Kligerman also has put up three top fives and seven top 10s this season. It’s been a while since Kligerman has run in the Xfinity Series at the 1.058-mile track, he made his one and only start in his series track debut at New Hampshire in 2013 and finished 20th.