Bobby Travis · NASCAR/IndyCar Correspondent
In NASCAR's newly shortened 50-minute practice session at New Hampshire, the Legacy Motor Club driver topped the field ahead of a strong Joe Gibbs Racing contingent, while several playoff contenders face an uphill battle heading into the weekend.
Erik Jones set the pace in first practice for the Dollar Tree 301, posting the fastest lap of the session. The Legacy Motor Club driver circled the 1.058-mile Magic Mile in 29.242 seconds, securing both the session's quickest time and a new track record. Saturday's practice marked the debut of NASCAR's new consolidated 50-minute format, which the Cup Series is introducing at New Hampshire this weekend.
Legacy Motor Club Leads, Gibbs Racing in Close Pursuit
Jones left no doubt about which team had the quickest car on the Magic Mile throughout the session. Directly behind him, a tight pack of contenders formed with Ty Gibbs, Bubba Wallace, and Joey Logano separated by mere hundredths of a second. Logano, fresh off last week's win at Richmond, confirmed his momentum with a fourth-place finish.
What stood out was Legacy Motor Club's impressive one-two showing. Alongside Jones in first, John Hunter Nemechek turned in a solid lap for seventh place, his Toyota sporting the number 40 this weekend instead of his usual 42, an homage to Dollar Tree's 40th anniversary as the race's title sponsor. For a smaller team like Legacy, such a strong practice result signals they can absolutely compete on this short oval.
Blaney and Hamlin Face Tough Climb in Critical Stretch
For drivers with the most on the line at this stage of the season, first practice proved disappointing. Ryan Blaney, the defending New Hampshire winner who led 116 laps last year, could only manage 16th place. Denny Hamlin, the regular season points leader who could wrap up the first playoff spot mathematically with at least 37 points on Sunday, qualified just 18th.
The pressure intensifies for drivers fighting to secure a safe playoff position. William Byron showed respectable pace in sixth and Chris Buescher in 11th, while Kyle Larson at 13th and especially Carson Hocevar at 27th struggled with significant gaps to the front. With the penultimate regular season race on the horizon, every tenth of a second on Sunday could prove decisive in determining the 16-car playoff field.
New Format Maintains the Magic Mile's Traditional Rhythm
NASCAR's first taste of the shortened 50-minute consolidated practice session didn't scramble the order at the top. Established powerhouses like Joe Gibbs Racing, with Ty Gibbs and Christopher Bell both finding spots in the top ten early on, maintained their usual positioning. Bell, the defending track winner and betting favorite, settled for tenth place, while teammate Chase Briscoe managed only 23rd.
Looking ahead to qualifying and Sunday's race, the landscape remains wide open. Jones and Legacy Motor Club have earned early respect, but on a short oval like the Magic Mile where cautions and restarts create opportunities throughout, practice speed rarely tells the whole story. For Blaney, Hamlin, and drivers on the playoff bubble, Sunday's penultimate regular season race comes down to one thing: avoid leaving points on the table.
