Of course New England race fans look forward to experiencing their annual NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS), but the NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) drivers look forward to coming to “The Magic Mile” each year, and much of that has to do with the fans themselves. Some of the NCS drivers reflect on New England race fans as they look ahead to Sept. 21 when they will kick off the Round of 12 in Loudon:
Todd Gilliland | Driver of the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford
“I feel like New Hampshire is just always a great place for the fans to go. They are very passionate in the Northeast about their racing, that’s for sure. You know, getting to camp out at the racetrack, you always can feel their presence, and I feel like that’s my favorite thing about going up there.”
Ryan Preece | Driver of the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford
“Man, I’m honestly looking forward to the campsites, the fans. New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I think it’s called ‘The X Lot’ or whatever lot it is now, yeah, everything about New Hampshire. The race fans there are second to none, so looking forward to that.”
Chase Briscoe | Driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
“The New Hampshire race always has just an awesome fan base. A ton of camping, and the fan base up there is so passionate, so for us to be able to bring a playoff race down there and just add to that layer of excitement that was already there is going to be really, really cool.”
Kyle Busch | Driver of the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet
“Looking forward to the atmosphere though, the racetrack is always great. Those New England fans are a lot of fun. I hang out with them and been to some of the short tracks up there, so I know they like their racing.”
Erik Jones | Driver of the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota
“We always get a great crowd, especially since we’ve, you know, been going there one time a year, so that’s always cool to see how packed it is.”
Kyle Larson | Driver of the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
“The fans there are great, you know, passionate race fans. The stands are always packed.”
Ryan Blaney | Driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford
“The people up there, they love motorsports in general, so I think they deserve to have a playoff race too.”
Tyler Reddick | Driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota
“Just some really passionate fans up there, and it’s always great to go up there and experience that.”
Bubba Wallace | Driver of the No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota
“Just the atmosphere up there is a lot of fun.”
New England’s only NASCAR Playoffs weekend is Sept. 19-21 at NHMS. On-track action kicks off Friday with NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (NWMT) practice sessions, NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) practice and qualifying plus SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels at The Flat Track. The action continues on Doubleheader Saturday with NWMT qualifying, the Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race, the Team EJP 175 NCTS playoff race and NCS practice and qualifying. The on-track action culminates Sunday with the NCS taking on “The Magic Mile” to kick off the Round of 12. Don’t miss all of the exciting off-track action including “The Magic Mile” Happy Hour Show, Trackside Live, The Groove fan hangout, concerts from Draw the Line and Being Petty: The Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers Experience, Family Movie Night featuring “Captain America: Brave New World,” driver appearances, a variety of live performances, fireworks and much more.
For a full NASCAR weekend schedule, visit NHMS.com/Events/NASCAR-Cup-Series/Schedule/.
Tickets:
For tickets and camping for New England’s only NASCAR Playoffs weekend, featuring the NCS and Team EJP 175 NCTS playoff races, Mohegan Sun 100 NWMT race and SIG SAUER Academy Dirt Duels, fans should visit NHMS.com or call 833-4LOUDON. Tickets for kids 12 and under are just $10 on Sunday, free on Doubleheader Saturday and start at $10 on Friday.
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