TRACK: New Hampshire Motor Speedway
RACE: Ambetter Get Vaccinated 200 (200 laps / 200 miles)
DATE: Saturday, July 17, 2021
TV: 3 p.m. ET on NBCSN
RADIO: 2:30 p.m. ET on PRN and SiriusXM Ch. 90
Quotes:
Josh Berry: "I can't thank this Pilot Flying J team for giving me the opportunity to fill in while Michael heals. I hope everything goes as planned and Michael recovers quickly. Going to another track I've never seen isn't that big of a deal anymore to me. I've had some good runs at places I've never raced on this year, and I'm looking forward to seeing what New Hampshire is like. I know that JR Motorsports and Mike Bumgarner prepare excellent Chevrolets every week, and I am eager to see how fast this Pilot Flying J Chevrolet will be."
Justin Allgaier: “Loudon should be interesting this weekend. It's the last race before we hit the two-week Olympic break and hopefully we can enter this break with a lot of momentum on our side. We had a strong run the last time we got to race here back in 2019 and I feel confident that we can take what we learned in that race and apply it to Saturday to have another solid day and be in contention for the win when it counts with our BRANDT Professional Agriculture Chevrolet."
Sam Mayer: "It felt good to put a complete race together last week and get our first top-10 finish together. This will be my first time at New Hampshire but I know Taylor (Moyer, crew chief) and this entire No. 8 team will unload a fast Chevrolet for me this weekend. It will take a few laps to figure out how it drives, but once we figure that out I think we will have another shot at a great finish this weekend."
Noah Gragson: “I've only run New Hampshire once since we didn't get a chance to come up here last season during the pandemic, but we finished 10th and had a fast car that weekend. We've had a fast Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/Black Rifle Coffee Camaro as of late and I know this weekend will be no different. We're going to go out and try to lock ourselves into the playoffs and earn a couple playoff points to help us out."
Notes:
• Josh Berry will drive the No. 1 Chevrolet at New Hampshire, filling in for the injured Michael Annett, who is expected to return for the Aug. 7 race at Watkins Glen.
• This is Berry's first appearance on the 1.058-mile oval.
• In six starts on tracks measuring 1 mile or less in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Berry has earned one victory (at Martinsville Speedway), a second-place finish (Dover International Speedway) and two more top-10 results at Richmond Raceway in 2015 and Iowa Speedway in 2016.
• In 15 starts this season, Berry has the victory at Martinsville, four top-five and eight top-10 finishes and has led a total of 151 laps.
• Justin Allgaier will be making his 10th career NXS start at New Hampshire this weekend.
• In nine previous starts in Loudon, Allgaier has scored one top five, six top 10s and a best finish of third in 2019.
• Overall, Allgaier has recorded four victories on tracks 1-mile in length in the NXS, with two victories coming at both Phoenix Raceway and Dover International Speedway.
• Allgaier currently sits third in the NXS Playoff Grid with eight races remaining in the regular season by virtue of victories at Atlanta Motor Speedway and Darlington Raceway.
• Sam Mayer will make his first NXS start at New Hampshire this weekend in the No. 8 Chevrolet.
• Mayer has competed at tracks measuring 1-mile in length in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series and ARCA Menards Series a combined five times with one win coming at Dover in 2020.
• The 18-year-old Franklin, Wis. native comes into New Hampshire after earning his best finish of ninth at Atlanta in only his third NXS start.
• To date in the 2021 season, the No. 8 team has earned one win (Martinsville Speedway), four top fives and eight top 10s while pacing the field for 151 laps.
• With his third-place run at Atlanta last weekend, Noah Gragson earned his second top-five finish in the last three races and his fifth straight top 10.
• In the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, Gragson won the pole and led 40 laps at New Hampshire in 2017 before an accident derailed his bid for victory. He finished 15th in that event.
• In 12 starts on 1-mile tracks over his NXS career, Gragson has a second-place run in the 2020 season finale at Phoenix as his best finish, along with another top five at Dover and eight top-10 results.
• Gragson will celebrate his 23rd birthday on July 15th.