Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (2:00 PM ET on USA Network) marks the opening race of the Round of 12 of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Which of the 12 drivers in the Playoff field will get the round started off on the right foot? That remains to be seen, but the Playoff drivers will be scattered throughout the field when the 301-lap race goes green.
This is the Racing America On SI live-race updates page for the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire. Leading up to, and throughout Sunday’s race, this page will be updated with key pre-race updates, in-race updates such as lead changes, and videos of crashes or incidents. Also included will be stage and race results, and more. Continue checking back for additional updates on the first race of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Round of 12.
Related:Â Previewing the NASCAR Cup Series Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire
No Cars To the Rear, Currently
NASCAR has confirmed that as of now, 12:00 PM ET, no cars are set to drop to the rear for Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. If any unapproved adjustments are made to cars prior to the start of today’s race, NASCAR will update the media with a list of cars to the rear, but it looks like that will be a non-issue today.
The official pit road speed for Sunday’s race is 45 mph, while the pace car will run at 50 mph. The estimated fuel window for the NASCAR Cup Series cars is 100 laps around the 1.058-mile track.
NASCAR Reveals Pre-Race Festivities Schedule
NASCAR has revealed the pre-race festivies schedule for Sunday’s Mobil 1 301:
Mobil 1 301 Race Pre-Race Info
The Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway will be televised on USA Network and can be streamed on the HBO Max streaming platform, as well as the NBC Sports App. The race broadcast will begin at 2:00 PM ET on Sunday, September 21.
The Performance Racing Network (PRN) and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will provide the radio broadcast of Sunday’s race. For subscribers of the HBO Max streaming service, NASCAR Driver Cam, which streams live in-car camera footage from every car in the field, will be available for today’s race.
The overall race purse, which teams will fight for their portion of in Sunday’s race, is a total of $9,797,935.
The race distance is 301 laps around the 1.058-mile, relatively flat oval, which equates to a 318.46-mile race distance.
The Mobil 1 301 will be broken up into three Stages. Stage 1 will end at the conclusion of Lap 70. Stage 2 will end at the conclusion of Lap 185. And the race is scheduled to finish at the end of Lap 301, barring an Overtime finish.
The winner of Stages 1 and 2 will be awarded one Playoff Point, and the overall race winner will be awarded five Playoff Points. The Playoff Points will be added to the reseeded point totals in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs and will be carried through each round of the Playoffs.
This race is the opening race of the three-race Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. If one of the 12 drivers in the Playoffs wins this event, they will automatically advance to the Round of 8 of the Playoffs. Denny Hamlin enters the round as the No. 1 seed and sits 26 points above the cutline.
Christopher Bell, who won last weekend’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol, is the defending winner of this race. Bell is a Playoff driver, so a repeat win for him in this race would move him onto the next round of the Playoffs.
Joey Logano Starts Round of 12 Off With New Hampshire Pole
Joey Logano, who scored his first-career NASCAR Cup Series win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in 2009, was able to score his 33rd career pole at the 1.058-mile oval on Saturday afternoon. Logano turned an impressive lap in the session, which allowed him to top Ryan Blaney, his Team Penske teammate by 0.170 seconds.
Logano credited his crew for giving him a fast car to give him a shot at the pole, and now he’s excited to chase a win at his home track.
“I’ve got a great group of guys. [Crew chief] Paul [Wolfe] knows how to help me get the car good to where it needs to be. The guys do a good job of getting the Shell Pennzoil Mustang fast,” said Logano. “Man, it’s my home track. It feels so good to run well here. And a good starting spot. Obviously, in the Playoffs, it matters most right now. Hopefully, we’re able to capitalize tomorrow. We’ve got a good pit stall if nothing else.”
Pos
Car
Driver
Lap time
Speed
1
22
Joey Logano (P)
29.159
130.622
2
12
Ryan Blaney (P)
29.329
129.865
3
21
Josh Berry
29.354
129.754
4
45
Tyler Reddick (P)
29.356
129.745
5
24
William Byron (P)
29.373
129.670
6
77
Carson Hocevar
29.398
129.560
7
48
Alex Bowman
29.402
129.542
8
1
Ross Chastain (P)
29.405
129.529
9
11
Denny Hamlin (P)
29.409
129.511
10
88
Shane van Gisbergen
29.409
129.511
Click Here for the Full Starting Lineup
Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway marks the first of three races in the Round of 12 of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. While the Playoff standings are tight near the cutline going into the race, we very well could have a good idea of who will advance to the Round of 8 following the 301-lap race.
Denny Hamlin comes into this race as the No. 1 seed in the Playoff Grid, but even he sits just 26 points above the cutline. There isn’t really a driver in the Playoff field that can feel comfortable heading into Sunday’s race at New Hampshire
Playoff Grid Entering the Round of 12:
Rank
Car
Driver
Points
To Cutline
1
11
Denny Hamlin
3,034
+26
2
24
William Byron
3,032
+24
3
5
Kyle Larson
3,032
+24
4
20
Christopher Bell
3,028
+20
5
12
Ryan Blaney
3,027
+19
6
19
Chase Briscoe
3,018
+10
7
9
Chase Elliott
3,013
+5
8
23
Bubba Wallace
3,009
+1
—
—
CUTLINE
—-
—
9
2
Austin Cindric
3,008
-1
10
22
Joey Logano
3,007
-2
11
1
Ross Chastain
3,007
-2
121
45
Tyler Reddick
3,006
-3
Austin Cindric is the first driver below the cutline, just one point below Bubba Wallace. Joey Logano, the defending series champion, is two points below the cutline, along with Ross Chastain. And Tyler Reddick is three points below the cutline.
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