There are only a few more regular-season NASCAR Cup Series races this year, meaning some drivers on the bubble need to start making moves. The drivers are currently in Loudon, New Hampshire, to participate in the 2023 Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. The race begins on Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET and airs on the USA Network as well as the NBC Sports App.
William Byron has put himself in a position to make a run at the Cup Series title as well as becoming one of the new stars in NASCAR. He won the rain-shorten race at Atlanta Motor Speedway last week, making it the second time in as many years he was won at the track. Bryon is currently in first place in the Cup Series standings and is the only driver to have four wins this season.
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“It was awesome,” Byron said after winning last week’s race. “I think that’s all you can ask for on a superspeedway. We want handling to matter. We want to be able to drive the things. I felt like the first stage was really fun. I was able to make some moves on the bottom, and you’re lifting every corner, so it’s really — it’s different than a 550 old-style race, but it’s more packed up, but it’s still handling matters and guys can make aggressive moves.”
While Byron’s playoff spot is set, the same can’t be said for Bubba Wallace who is the first driver on the outside looking in. Wallace is currently in 17th place in the points standings but is only three points behind 16th and 15th place Michael McDowell and Daniel Suárez.
“We had a few mistakes that started off our weekend bad,” Wallace said Saturday at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. “I guess you could say that’s in the cards, so we don’t deserve to be in right now with the way we’re performing and executing.
In five full-time Cup Series seasons, Wallace has yet to reach the playoffs. And with seven races remaining before the playoffs begin, Wallace and his team need a win to put themselves in a position to win a title. “We want to win,” Wallace said. “We know we have to win. We can’t point our way into a championship, so we need to win. We need to win early enough to lock ourselves in. If we can’t do that, it would be unfortunate, but we have to point our way, too. Mistakes don’t create points, so we have to eliminate mistakes to get points.”
