Granite Stater leads NASCAR Cup Series team and Dollar Tree 301 recap as Ryan Blaney wins for second year in a row

New Hampshire gets a NASCAR race every year. There are plenty of Granite Staters looking in from the outside, but only a few looking from the inside out.

Billy Plourde, the crew chief for NASCAR Cup Series driver Cody Ware, is one of those few.

Plourde grew up in Barrington, attended Dover High and later Manchester Community College. He grew up on the floor of a mechanic’s shop as his dad worked for Portsmouth Ford and he was stuck with the racing bug.

“There’s probably lots of people that are capable of doing it, but there’s only 36 of these positions, so I feel very fortunate and you know grateful to have the opportunity that I have,” he said.

The path to becoming a crew chief at the highest level of the sport took time. Crew chiefs do everything, from making sure the car is good to go every weekend to managing people and working with sponsors.

Twenty years ago, Plourde could have only dreamed of becoming a crew chief at this level. He started out carrying tires for Tony Stewart, then he became a front-end mechanic for many drivers, including the late Kyle Busch.

One of the biggest changes in the modern day has been the rise of simulator training, Plourde said. As a hands-on crew chief, the transition is pushing teams to think and train differently before every race. He likes the challenge.

“The crew chief position is less hands-on, but there’s more behind-the-scenes stuff that goes on, you know, managing people, timelines, sponsor stuff,” Plourde said.

The race weekend gave Plourde a chance to catch up with his family, as he now lives in North Carolina, and revisit the many memories he has of growing up watching races there.

Ware’s No. 51 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 had a tough uphill battle to climb spots on Sunday. Amid early wet conditions, switching from wet to dry tires and many cautions, it became out of reach to significantly outperform expectations.

Starting from the back at 36th at Loudon is always tricky, but Ware and Plourde had a clean race. They avoided most of the wrecks and snuck into the top 30, capping off a relatively successful weekend battling from the back to finish 29th.

Race results

Ryan Blaney received two lobsters on Sunday. The first was framed and stuffed on a plaque from his New Hampshire Motor Speedway win in 2025, and the other came after winning the Dollar Tree 301 to defend his title.

Racing in the No. 12 Team Penske Ford, Blaney proved he knows how to win at NHMS. Through eight cautions and a rain delay he sped past the competition and lapped multiple drivers on the day.

It was his third win of the season as the field tightened up with the looming Cup Series playoffs.

He led early in the race and won stage two but didn’t secure it until 241 laps in. He was pushed by Bubba Wallace all the way to the end and did well to create space through the lapped traffic to stay ahead. Blaney led a race-high of 115 laps.

“It was a long run to the end, the longest run we had,” Blaney said. “Just tried to manage my stuff. I knew those four tire guys would probably pressure me eventually, and Bubba came on pretty hard. “Was just trying to manage lapped traffic while also trying to manage the tires and just try not to make a mistake.”

With Wallace coming second, the rest of the top 10 was Josh Berry, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, Ty Gibbs, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece and Noah Gragson.

The cautions throughout the race threw everyone for a loop. Carson Hocevar spun out before the race even began and Tyler Reddick, who won the pole on Saturday, also lost control un during the first lap. Crashes, incidents on pit road and slips galore, it was a treat for fans at The Magic Mile.