We had an interesting NASCAR race at the Magic Mile in New Hampshire this weekend. The USA Today 301 saw a true test of wet weather tires, fans’ willingness to power through rain, and other obstacles along the way. We also had some silly season news bombed on us that I’m sure we’ll get to later this weekend. But, all in all, this was another race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway that was very familiar. Interesting side-by-side racing, cautions in turn one, and obviously, battling the weather.
As usual, six drivers need to be highlighted. Three of whom exceeded expectations, and three who didn’t even come close. Let’s get into that with this week’s edition of “Three Up, Three Down” as we exit my backyard in Loudon, New Hampshire!
Three Up
#14 Chase Briscoe
Embed from Getty ImagesIt’s been an awesome week for Chase Briscoe. Not only does he officially become a member of Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025, replacing the legend Martin Truex Jr. He also notches his second top five of the season here at New Hampshire. He and Josh Berry both had great days, and the driver of the #14 car makes a hell of an introduction to those #19 fans who weren’t familiar with the name coming their way. It was a poorly kept secret that this was the move, ask Christopher Bell about that. But he makes the most out of this #14 ride and gets a hell of a day out of it despite rain conditions and difficult strategy plays.
#17 Chris Buescher
Embed from Getty ImagesFinally, we see Chris Buescher get back on the right track. It’s been an odd stretch for him to say the least. Once the most due-for-victory driver in NASCAR, he plummeted onto the three down a handful of times since his race at Kansas. But, Buescher gets his second top-five in five weeks and obtains that short-track magic he had earlier on in the season. The #17 car is +50 above the cutline as it stands today and would make the playoffs. If he can keep putting together good days, or at the very least avoid tragedies, the Buescher should be able to at the very least point his way into the NASCAR playoffs.
#45 Tyler Reddick
Embed from Getty ImagesAnother driver that I’m happy to see back on track. Tyler Reddick is one of the fastest cars in all of NASCAR if he’s staying out of trouble. This is exemplified by another success at the Magic Mile. He led 39 laps and ended the USA Today 301 with yet another P6 finish, collecting P9 in stage one. 23XI has needed some good days lately. With teammate Bubba Wallace struggling, Reddick picked up the slack and showcased why he’s a weekly contender for victory lane. He enters the finals of the Denny Hamlin Bracket Challenge facing off against the #9 of Chase Elliott at Nashville in the Ally 400. A track where both cars have showcased to be serious threats.
Three Down
#6 Brad Keselowski
Embed from Getty ImagesI was pretty confident in my Brad Keselowski pick last week. I thought that this #6 car had more juice on the short tracks than they showed this week. The former Cup Series champion came home with a P28 after starting P9 at the magic mile. Since his win at Darlington, his lowest finish was P13 at Sonoma. Hopefully, for Team RFK and Keselowski himself, this is just a weird aberration and they can get back to their front-of-the-pack ways with Nashville coming up next weekend.
#24 William Byron
Embed from Getty ImagesWhen I picked against William Byron, I admit I wasn’t expecting a total no-show. The #24 fell backward and fast in this race after starting P3. At lap 301 he collected P26 and no stage points. Hendrick Motorsports continues to be as dry as a desert here at the Magic Mile, extending their winless streak here by another race. I fully expect Byron to rebound in the coming weeks after taking home P2 at Iowa, and having three wins to his name. But this wasn’t the best showing for the #24 team in any respect. Chevrolet marks their 9th consecutive race without a win at the magic mile, Kevin Harvick in 2016 being the last.
#34 Michael McDowell
Embed from Getty ImagesI hate to beat a dead horse, but Michael McDowell continues to fumble late-race opportunities. This is the third time this year that the #34 car is in a great position to collect points at the end of the race and have a great day, and he destroys it. This time, he lines up P3 behind Christopher Bell and Ryan Blaney… You can watch the rest here:
Michael McDowell No. 34 takes out Ryan Blaney No. 12 this week in NASCAR.
— Southern FFA Family (@FFAFamily) June 24, 2024
This has now triggered the 3rd Caution on Lap 292.
If you remember, Ryan Blaney won last week in Iowa.
Why does NASCAR let McDowell keep racing?
pic.twitter.com/gST58b0vB8
This was an awful moment for McDowell, fighting for a “win” while being in no position to do so. You can’t win this race from third. We all saw a disaster coming when the #34 was upfront. It’s a sad mark on McDowell’s status as a NASCAR driver if this is something we all saw coming. This moment unfortunately wrecks out Ryan Blaney, who was probably the only car in the field that could go toe-to-toe with the #20 of Christopher Bell all day. Not only does he screw himself out of another great opportunity of finishing and collecting points, he buries himself further in the hole. Sitting at -99 below the cutoff line. He’ll need to pull off something big if he wants to compete for a championship this fall as he did in 2023. I frankly don’t see it with this team pending a superspeedway/road course Hail Mary. And I honestly don’t see this story being any different in 2025 when he heads to Spire.
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