NASCAR Xfinity Series Predictions at New Hampshire
Justin Allgaier celebrating a win at New Hampshire in July 2022.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series heads up north this weekend to New Hampshire for the Ambetter Health 200 at 3 PM EST on USA.
Last year’s race saw plenty of carnage, two drivers get disqualified, and it left only 23 drivers to finish the race. Justin Allgaier was victorious in the end, picking up his third and final win of the 2022 season. But, he’s facing more competition this season.
John Hunter Nemechek hasn’t raced at New Hampshire in the Xfinity Series since 2019, but he enters this week as the favorite. He finished 4th in ‘18 for Chip Ganassi and was 36th in ‘19 for GMS Racing following a crash 31 laps in. Nemechek won earlier in the year at Martinsville, a track with similar characteristics to New Hampshire. He also enters this weekend as the points leader following his win in Atlanta. With only three finishes outside the Top 10 this season, it comes as no surprise why he’s the favorite for Saturday’s race.
Justin Allgaier seems to have a solid foundation at New Hampshire over the years. He won last year’s race, finished 2nd in ‘21, 3rd in ‘19, and 7th in ‘18. He enters this weekend 4th in the points standings, -54 points behind John Hunter Nemechek for the regular season championship. There’s still time for the #7 to leap a few more spots and steal the title away. He will be a contender for the win this Saturday.
Josh Berry also knows how to navigate around the Magic Mile. He won pole for last year’s race, although he was caught in a crash and finished 31st. But this racetrack suits his style of racing, coming from his short track background. This season on short tracks Berry has finished 3rd at Richmond, 4th at Martinsville, and 2nd at Dover. He’s still searching for that first win of 2023, and it could very well happen this Saturday.
Austin Dillon will be competing in the Xfinity race for Kaulig Racing, his first Xfinity start at New Hampshire since 2018. His worst finish of 25th came in 2010, but since then he hasn’t finished outside the Top 10. In 2012 and 2013 he finished 3rd, 2015 he finished 2nd, 2016 he finished 5th, and 2018 he finished 10th. Lookout for Dillon, he could be a sneaky driver to contend for the win on Saturday.
Sheldon Creed and Austin Hill are two drivers who are both looking for bounce back weekends after their rough go in Atlanta. Creed finished 35th after crashing on Lap 88 and Austin Hill finished 12th after being spun with 4 laps to go. Both drivers left New Hampshire last year with Top 10 finishes, Creed with 5th and Hill with 7th. They’re looking for a return to the Top 10 and maybe Top 5 finishes this Sunday.