NASCAR results from New Hampshire: Byron earns third-place finish

LOUDON, N.H. – Sunday afternoon saw the NASCAR Cup Series compete at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the first race in the Round of 12. 

While it was not a victory for Hendrick Motorsports, several good results pushed the team's three remaining championship eligible drivers further above the projected cutline. 

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At the end of 301 laps, it was William Byron leading Hendrick Motorsports with a third-place finish. After rolling off in the fifth spot, Byron managed to earn stage points in both segments. In the end, Sunday's result pushed Byron to 47 markers above the cutline.

Chase Elliott scored stage points via a seventh-place finish in stage two. This was despite a 27th-place starting position for the No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts team. Late in stage three, crew chief Alan Gustafson opted to keep Elliott on the track during green flag pit stops and the strategy move paid off in the end. 

Shortly after pitting, the caution came out. Under the yellow flag, Gustafson kept his driver away from pit road to gain track position. The move worked and helped Elliott earn a fifth-place finish. He now sits 14 points above the cutline.

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At several points during the race, the No. 5 HendrickCars.com entry looked to be in position to take command of the race. However, long runs favored his competition and ultimately, a top-10 run was the result on Sunday afternoon. Larson would score stage points in both segments, highlighted by a runner-up finish in stage two before finishing seventh and improving to +41 over the cutline.

Alex Bowman ended Sunday's main event in the 15th spot. The No. 48 Ally Racing team showed very competitive speed all weekend after starting seventh and scoring stage points in the opening segment. However, a loss of track position early in the final stage led to a 15th-place finish.

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Check out the full results below.

Who won the NASCAR race today?

Ryan Blaney won the race at New Hampshire.

NASCAR results today: 

1. Ryan Blaney, No. 12
2. Josh Berry, No. 21
3. William Byron, No. 24 RAPTOR Chevrolet 
4. Joey Logano, No. 22
5. Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet 
6. Christopher Bell, No. 20
7. Kyle Larson, No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet 
8. Michael McDowell, No. 71 
9. Ross Chastain, No. 1
10. Chase Briscoe, No. 19
11. Carson Hocevar, No. 77
12. Denny Hamlin, No. 11
13. Austin Dillon, No. 3
14. Ryan Preece, No. 60
15. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Racing Chevrolet
16. Noah Gragson, No. 4
17. Austin Cindric, No. 2
18. Chris Buescher, No. 17
19. Todd Gilliland, No. 34
20. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16
21. Tyler Reddick, No. 45
22. Riley Herbst, No. 35
23. Brad Keselowski, No. 6
24. Cole Custer, No. 41
25. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47
26. Bubba Wallace, No. 23
27. Zane Smith, No. 38
28. Erik Jones, No. 43
29. Ty Dillon, No. 10
30. Kyle Busch, No. 8
31. Cody Ware, No. 51
32. Shane Van Gisbergen, No. 88
33. Justin Haley, No. 7
34. John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42
35. Ty Gibbs, No. 54
36. Daniel Suarez, No. 99