The 2017 ISM Connect 300 was a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race held on September 24, 2017, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire. Contested over 300 laps on the 1.058-mile (1.703 km) speedway, it was the 28th race of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, second race of the Playoffs and second race of the Round of 16.

On March 8, 2017 it was announced that the fall NHMS date would move to Las Vegas Motor Speedway starting in 2018 with NHMS now having one Cup Series race per season instead of two.

Report

Background

New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a 1.058-mile (1.703 km) oval speedway located in Loudon, New Hampshire which has hosted NASCAR racing annually since the early 1990s, as well as an IndyCar weekend and the oldest motorcycle race in North America, the Loudon Classic. Nicknamed "The Magic Mile", the speedway is often converted into a 1.6-mile (2.6 km) road course, which includes much of the oval.

The track was originally the site of Bryar Motorsports Park before being purchased and redeveloped by Bob Bahre. The track is currently one of eight major NASCAR tracks owned and operated by Speedway Motorsports.

Entry list

First practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 28.065 seconds and a speed of 135.714 mph (218.411 km/h).^[11]

Qualifying

Kyle Busch scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.203 and a speed of 135.049 mph (217.340 km/h).^[12]

Qualifying results

Practice (post-qualifying)

Second practice

Kyle Larson was the fastest in the second practice session with a time of 28.727 and a speed of 132.586 mph (213.376 km/h).^[13]

Final practice

Martin Truex Jr. was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 28.932 and a speed of 131.647 mph (211.865 km/h).^[14]

Race

Race results

Stage results

Stage 1 Laps: 75

Stage 2 Laps: 75

Final stage results

Stage 3 Laps: 150

Race statistics

• Lead changes: 3 among different drivers
• Cautions/Laps: 6 for 32
• Red flags: 1 for 13 minutes and 1 second
• Time of race: 2 hours, 54 minutes and 47 seconds
• Average speed: 108.958 miles per hour (175.351 km/h)

Media

Television

NBC Sports covered the race on the television side. Rick Allen, Jeff Burton – the all-time wins leader at New Hampshire Motor Speedway with four wins – and Steve Letarte had the call in the booth for the race. Parker Kligerman, Marty Snider and Kelli Stavast reported from pit lane during the race.

Radio

The Performance Racing Network had the radio call for the race, which was simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.

Standings after the race

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Martin Truex Jr. 2,149 2 Kyle Larson 2,125 (–24) 2 3 Kyle Busch 2,119 (–30) 4 Brad Keselowski 2,106 (–43) 2 5 Denny Hamlin 2,088 (–61) 3 6 Matt Kenseth 2,087 (–62) 1 7 Jimmie Johnson 2,076 (–73) 2 8 Ryan Blaney 2,070 (–79) 3 9 Chase Elliott 2,070 (–79) 7 10 Kevin Harvick 2,069 (–80) 11 Jamie McMurray 2,053 (–96) 2 12 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 2,044 (–105) 1 13 Austin Dillon 2,044 (–105) 2 14 Ryan Newman 2,043 (–106) 2 15 Kurt Busch 2,027 (–122) 1 16 Kasey Kahne 2,023 (–126) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 1 Toyota 986 1 2 Chevrolet 985 (–1) 3 Ford 976 (–10) Official manufacturers' standings Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.