An interesting weekend for stock car fans last weekend. While the O’Reilly Series had an off weekend, the Craftsman Truck Series and Cup cars made their annual voyage to New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH. Including wet weather tires being used at the beginning of the Cup race, Loudon suddenly became one of the best short track races of the season (even if it is on the larger side for short tracks). 

While the usual cast of front runners made their presence known during the events at Loudon, the real stories were behind the leaders, from some standout truck performances to a certain driver making their presence felt in Cup, New Hampshire became a nice surprise of the summer stretch as the season winds down.

In the ARCA Menards Series, the series got a little dirty and raced on one of a handful of dirt tracks to wrap up their 2026 season, with the backdrop of the Illinois State Fair. While the typical chaos ensued, one driver in particular had a standout performance in running a limited schedule with Pinnacle Racing Group this season 

Next week? NOAP and Cup race under the lights at Daytona, while the ARCA Menards Series takes on the 1-mile short track in Madison, WI.

Illinois State Fairgrounds / Springfield

CALYPSO 100

Winner: Max Reaves

Pole: also Max Reaves

#77 TAYLOR REIMER

One of the best surprises during the 2026 season has been Taylor Reimer and the #77 Pinnacle Racing Group team. A dirt racing standout in her own right, Reimer had one of the best performances of her young ARCA career in Springfield. The #77 Chevrolet also became very close to ushering the first female driver in ARCA history  right into victory lane. While the ARCA season is starting to wind down their season, Reimer has impressed in her limited starts…that first victory may very well be around the next corner.

THE STORY

Taylor Reimer began her career racing on dirt and in midgets, and was an immediate standout. Making her ARCA debut in 2023, the pavement learning curve has been steep…but she had soaked up every bit of knowledge. Fast forward to 2026, and the combination of Reimer and the championship-winning Pinnacle Racing Group made their presence felt.

Qualifying the #77 Chevrolet 4th, Reimer quickly made her way to the front and put pressure on the leaders throughout the event. Exemplifying excellent car control, Reimer ran against the guard rail in the corners, not an easy task considering the lack of grip…and nearly won doing it. The possible win was hampered by a late race restart violation that put the 77 in the back of the field. Not giving in, Reimer rocketed through the field from around 15th to finish 4th in about 20 laps. On such a short, slippery track this is a victory in itself. 

Photo Credit: TV capture on FS1 / edited

Despite running six races thus far in 2026, Reimer already boasts a record of 3 top five and 4 top ten finishes. With only fives races left in the ARCA Menards Series schedule, Reimer may very well reach that victory lane still.

Loudon

TEAM EJP 175

Winner: Layne Riggs (surprise)

Pole: also Layne Riggs

#16 JUSTIN HALEY

Justin Haley’s return to the Craftsman Truck Series via RAM/Dodge and Kaulig Racing has certainly experienced some growing pains. While it has been recently documented that the RAM trucks and Kaulig are making some changes to try and improve speed, the 2026 season for Haley and his #16 team has not been what was hoped for. Haley, a successful driver in trucks, NOAP, and Cup competition has struggled to get good results this season.

Likely due to the growing pains mentioned above, Haley’s run in Loudon was easily his best performance of the season. If Kaulig Racing and RAM have already begun work on improving performance, Haley’s finish may very well be the proof of that. He looked like the Justin we all knew and loved so many years ago.

THE STORY

While Haley’s Loudon weekend did not start off so hot, the #16 Kaulig Racing RAM certainly looked stout by race’s end. Yes, Haley did qualify 25th…but the story lies in the 9th place finish he collected by race’s end.

In a season where the entire RAM contingent has struggled to show speed, Haley easily grabbed his best finish since San Diego where he finished 6th. He also only two other top tens this season…a pair of 10th-place efforts at Atlanta and Dover. If his Loudon finish is an indication of RAM fixing their speed issues, the #16 truck may very well become a consistent top ten player the remaining races.

#72 MIKE CHRISTOPHER, JR.

Loudon proved to be a tremendous success yet again for Mike Christopher, Jr. Christopher, a standout in NASCAR’s Late Model division throughout the Northeast started dabbling in the Craftsman Truck Series in 2025. Making his debut with HALMAR-Friesen Racing in their #62 Toyota, Christopher finished 13th in Loudon in 2025. His performance not only then, but in his Late Model career has earned him several more starts with the HALMAR-Friesen team in 2026, driving the #62 again. While he does already have a 10th-place finish at IRP a few weeks ago…the real story comes from Loudon, including a throwback paint scheme.

THE STORY

The story begins with HALMAR-Friesen Racing fielding a third truck for the first time. Sporting the #72, Christopher drove a scheme throwing back to his uncle Ted Christopher’s #13 Chevrolet from 1998. His uncle has a rich history in late model division as well, winning multiple championships. The white #72 Toyota certainly had a presence on track, and Christopher gave the team’s new third entry a solid debut.

Photo Credit: Jayski and Meg Oliphant/Getty Images

Christopher would start the race in 21st, but like his previous performances would have a quietly solid run towards the top ten. Methodically making his way through the field, the Late Model standout would run as high as second during a pit stop exchange. While it was tough to hold on to a top five in such a chaotic truck field, Christopher still impressed, bringing HALMAR-Friesen’s newest entry home cleanly in 12th.

Loudon

DOLLAR TREE 301

Winner: Ryan Blaney

Pole: Tyler Reddick

#21 JOSH BERRY

Yet again, the late season blooming of Josh Berry and the #21 Ford occurred again at Loudon. As we have seen the last several weeks, Berry’s race performance has suddenly launched into the stratosphere…again hitting new heights at Loudon. The New Hampshire track has always been one of Berry’s better tracks in his career, and that was put on display.

THE STORY

With high expectations after the last several weeks, the #21 Wood Brothers Ford did not disappoint in Loudon. Berry started the weekend by putting the 21 on the front row, starting second. From there, Berry who admittedly seemed to be driving a bit more aggressive then we are accustomed to seeing, muscled his way to the lead mid race…and led the second-highest number of laps in the event, at 73. Despite a late race charge for the win, Berry would eventually have to settle for 3rd.

In a cool piece of history itself, Berry became the first driver since 1994 to score four straight top ten finishes in the #21. Much has been made of Berry’s 2027 plans of late, and the best I can say at this point is his Cup career may still be in limbo for the time being. No plans have been announced as of yet in any series.

#4 NOAH GRAGSON

The bottom part of the top ten at Loudon featured a driver that recently resigned for the near future. That same driver has had a season that could best be described as a struggle. Gragson, a former NOAP Series champion has spent 2025 and 2026 getting Front Row Motorsports’ new (at the time) #4 Ford up to par with his #34 and #38 teammates. While last season and most of 2026 has seen more lows than highs, Loudon provided the Front Row Motorsports driver with easily his best run of the season.

THE STORY

Gragson’s season started out well, finish 11th and 14th in the first two races…then the true grind of the season. A freefall in finishes was finally halted at Talladega where he came home 9th. Fast forward to Loudon, and this was Gragson’s best finish since. Qualifying a decent 19th, Gragson survived the various Carson Hocevar spin cycles during the race, stayed out of trouble, and finished 10th for his second top 10 of 2026. 

Photo Credit: Jayski and Front Row Motorsports

Another interesting hint that the #4 Ford may be improving, Gragson has not finished worse then 18th in the last three races, after spending most of the season with the squirrels running 20th to 35th.