Christopher Bell has swept the NASCAR weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after winning the Xfinity and Cup races, both of which featured wet-weather tires.
Chase Briscoe, Josh Berry, Kyle Larson, and Chris Buescher rounded out the top five. Tyler Reddick, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek, Martin Truex Jr., and Ross Chastain all scored top-10 finishes.
MORE: 'Wet' New Hampshire Cup results
A caution for Brad Keselowski spinning sent the rain-delayed race to overtime. Bell was in the lead with Briscoe next to him. Berry and Buescher made up the second row.
Once the green flag waved, Bell jumped out to a big lead while Berry and Briscoe battled for second place. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver pulled away and capped off a day in which he led a race-high 149 laps. Bell kept JGR's perfect Next Gen streak at New Hampshire alive.
REPOST to congratulate Christopher Bell!
He SWEEPS the weekend at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/UFPFrKjcRa
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 24, 2024
The big picture: The first two stages of Sunday's race were calm as the weather remained favorable for racing. The situation drastically changed at the start of the final stage, however, as teams determined that they would only have a limited amount of time to gain position before inclement weather arrived at the track.
The final stage at New Hampshire Motor Speedway could only be described as chaotic. Drivers made aggressive moves while battling for position. This led to four cautions that collected such drivers as Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Corey LaJoie, Kyle Busch, Ryan Preece, and Martin Truex Jr.
The last caution of the "dry" portion of the race flew after Busch spun off the nose of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and into the inside wall. The rain began to fall at the 1.058-mile track, so NASCAR brought the cars onto pit road.
The race restarted after a red flag delay for rain and lightning that lasted two hours and 14 minutes. Drivers had wet-weather tires on their cars and full tanks of fuel. It was time to face off for the win with under 80 laps remaining in the race.
The closing laps of regulation were wild. Drivers were moving all over the track trying to find the best line and keep their tires cool. They went four-, five-, and six-wide at times. Some drivers made up speed on the apron while others raced up by the wall. Those who spent too much time on the painted sections of the track spun out.
Contact at the front of the field!@Blaney and @Mc_Driver are collected! pic.twitter.com/9uRUnZqed0
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 24, 2024
While there were multiple cautions for drivers spinning, there were no competitive pit stops. NASCAR told teams when to pit and when to put on more wet weather tires. This removed some strategy and put every driver in the same situation for multiple restarts.
Stage 1: Christopher Bell wins stage 1. Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Josh Berry, Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Ross Chastain, Tyler Reddick, and Alex Bowman all finished inside the top 10.
Stage 2: Denny Hamlin wins stage 1. Martin Truex Jr., Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, Ryan Blaney, Todd Gilliland, Kyle Larson, Josh Berry, Chase Elliott, and Ross Chastain were all inside the top 10.
Playoff bubble issues: Sunday's race was rough for multiple drivers around the playoff bubble. Alex Bowman scored one stage point but finished last after his engine expired. ... Logano entered the race weekend six points below the playoff cutline. He scored 17 stage points but crashed at the start of the final stage. Logano fell three laps down while making multiple trips down pit road for repairs.
Busch fell outside the top 30 in the first stage and fell two laps behind the leaders. He spun during stage 2 after losing control and hitting Noah Gragson. Busch crashed again on Lap 217 and then his final incident occurred as cars circled the track in preparation for the wet restart. He lost control of the No. 8 and hit the outside wall. Busch ultimately pulled his car to a stop on the apron and climbed out. He finished 35th and fell further below the cutline.
Bubba Wallace is DONE FOR THE NIGHT.
Noah Gragson slides into him and collects the No. 23 and Austin Dillon.
📺 : USA Network pic.twitter.com/U0V7IMcIdm
— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) June 23, 2024
Bubba Wallace had his issues during the final stage. He crashed after Noah Gragson spun into him. Wallace failed to finish the race and fell below the cutline after ending the day 34th.
Next: NASCAR Cup teams head to Tennessee for a race at Nashville Superspeedway. The Ally 400 will take place on June 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC).