Well, two years in a row and it’s still not coming home. That “it” is the New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) Media Racing Challenge trophy.

It was a scorching hot day last Thursday as a group of media representatives flocked to Loudon. The group of 12 racers, including me, hailed from across New England and was accompanied by camera operators and social media managers for the event.

The Concord Monitor won the inaugural edition of this challenge back in 2017, when Nick Stoico was the sports reporter here. Since then, no Concord Monitor staffer has had the drive to win it all.

  • The Media Racing Challenge trophy sits inside the media center at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Former Monitor reporter Nick Stoico won the Media Racing Challenge in 2017. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor
  • Shannon Stephens, the Director of Communications at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, takes a photo of Monitor reporter Alexander Rapp before the training begins on July 2, 2026 in Loudon. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor
  • Challenge participants watch a course safety video before the race begins at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor
  • Monitor reporter Alexander Rapp sits with other participants during the training session at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor

“The Magic Mile” is a highly technical course. There’s a joke in NASCAR that all you have to do is go “real fast and real left,” but it’s much more than that.

The first lap was a complete disaster. After successfully shifting into third gear well past the Sunoco sign, which most racers shift into fourth gear by, I panicked. I’ll admit it, I was frozen and came right back around to the pit lane to reset.

In the heat and cramped into Austin Cindric’s Ford Mustang from the NASCAR Xfinity Series, I took a deep breath. The coach on the other side of the helmet headset checked in and told me to try again. Off I went with renewed hopes of winning the challenge.

I wrote about my experience last year and what it felt like to just be in the car. I hit on how I learned to drive a manual transmission in a racecar and how I could only begin to grasp what real NASCAR drivers experience every weekend.

  • Monitor reporter Alexander Rapp walks onto the tarmac at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor
  • Monitor reporter Alexander Rapp climbs into his car to begin the Media Racing Challenge at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor
  • Alexander Rapp in Austin Cindric’s No. 22 Ford Mustang at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon on July 2, 2026. Credit: ALEX MILLER / For the Monitor

In 2026, I was determined to win and bring home a story of how I won it for Concord on home turf. That did not happen, although I was closer, with only a few miles per hour separating the winner and me.

Dan Walker of The Loose is Fast Podcast out of Weymouth, Mass. reached the highest speed of the day (126.27 mph). The win also earned him a trophy in traditional NHMS-style, a lobster. I clocked in at 120.95 mph.

Will Ferrell’s famous lines as Ricky Bobby in Talladega Nights rang out in my head as I heard my name called early in the finishers list. “If you’re not first, you’re last.”

Dan Walker of The Loose is Fast Podcast out of Weymouth, Mass. won New Hampshire Motor Speedway’s ninth annual Media Racing Challenge on Thursday, July 2, 2026. Credit: NHMS / Declan Wayman

The experience, whether you win or lose, brings you closer to the action. NASCAR weekend is the biggest sporting event in the area year after year.

Hundreds of racecars, drivers, haulers, trucks and thousands of fans roll into the Granite State each summer. After being in the car speeding past those stands and photographing from the stands last year, I see what the spectacle is all about.

Despite not winning it all for our beloved Concord, I am still looking forward to catching local fans during that busy week of activity surrounding the speedway. In the lead-up to the weekend, August 21 to 23, we want to tell local racing stories that matter to the avid community of fans in the area.

Whether it’s a family tradition to camp out every year or it’s your first taste of NASCAR action at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, I’d love to hear from you.

Maybe some words of advice might help, too, so I can finally bring that trophy home.