The second round of the playoffs opened at New Hampshire with the Mobil 1 300, where Joey Logano started on pole while several playoff drivers struggled during qualifying and started deep in the field, namely Chase Elliott who started 27th. Penske came out fast in the opening laps with Logano, Ryan Blaney, and Josh Berry all running near the front. A late caution for Cody Ware set up a one-lap dash to end Stage 1, and Blaney grabbed the win.
On lap 82 Berry was spun by Shane van Gisbergen, who said Berry had pinched him. Tensions escalated not long after between Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Ty Gibbs who were racing hard in close quarters. Denny Hamlin’s frustration boiled over on the radio, questioning if Gibbs realized he (Hamlin) was racing for a championship and even asking aloud if the organization was too afraid to talk to Ty. Only seconds later Hamlin dumped him. On lap 118 Brad Keselowski hit the inside wall, crashing into van Gisbergen and also collecting his teammate Daniel Suarez. By now, Elliott had worked his way into the top 10, and would finally earn valuable stage points for P7. Logano won Stage 2.
The chaos continued into Stage 3 with John Hunter Nemechek’s brutal lap 148 crash, when he got lose and hit the wall so hard the car jumped from the track. Not long afterward, Ware spun again to bring out another caution. Most of the field came to pit road, but Berry and Elliott stayed out to gain track position. Berry had only two laps on his tires while Elliott had 12, which allowed Blaney to get by Berry for the lead and Logano to take advantage of Elliott’s older rubber. Berry kept after Blaney and nearly reached him before getting loose and sliding up the track, losing two car lengths in the process.
Blaney held on to score the win at New Hampshire, locking himself into the Round of 8. Berry finished second, William Byron third, Logano fourth, and Elliott fought off Christopher Bell to finish fifth.
Photo Credit: LOUDON, NEW HAMPSHIRE – SEPTEMBER 21: Ryan Blaney, driver of the #12 Menards/Libman Ford, drives as fans cheer after winning the NASCAR Cup Series Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on September 21, 2025 in Loudon, New Hampshire. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)