Second New Hampshire win, lobster trophy didn't come easy for Ryan Blaney

Ryan Blaney received a lobster on Sunday morning — the traditional trophy given to a winning driver at New Hampshire Motor Speedway — in recognition of his 2025 victory at the "Magic Mile." He enjoyed it so much, he needed a second one. 

Hours later, Blaney once again stood in victory lane after winning Sunday's Dollar Tree 301 and scoring his third victory of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. 

"I got my first one this morning on the plaque after they did their deal to it," Blaney said. "A bar in my house, I have a turkey I got three or four years ago hanging in there. I was planning on putting my first one next to him, surf and turf action. Next year when I get the second lobster, I’m going to hang it next to him. Have a buddy. My wife may not like it, but it’s happening."

Blaney certainly had to earn his second lobster just as he did his first. Last year, it was Josh Berry chasing him down in the closing laps for the lead. On Sunday, it was both Berry, who was running third, and Bubba Wallace who were pursuing the 2023 Cup Series champion. 

How Ryan Blaney managed late-race battle with Bubba Wallace

"When I saw Bubba got to a second, I knew he was quick," Blaney said. "I just tried to manage that for a little bit. I tried to pick it up a little bit. That’s eating a little bit more tire away, trying to maintain that second and a half gap. Getting to traffic, it’s trying to pick through traffic. It was tough. It was in groups. Wasn’t like one, 10 car lengths, then one. It was like two to four cars in a pod, in a pack. I’m trying to work through them. Trying not to mess up, trying to find the cleanest air possible.

"He was able to close in a little bit. Was able to get through that fairly decent. But, I mean, gosh, with 20 to go, kind of as I was working through traffic, I was starting to struggle. Two, kind of fading. Couldn’t get off the corners as good as I wanted to. My entry started to go away."

Wallace never got closer than about a half a second from Blaney, and his chance of winning the race went out the window after he locked up his front tires going into turn 3 in the closing laps.

"If Bubba got there, he got there," Blaney said. "We’ll race it out. I just didn’t want to make a mistake slipping into the corner or something, overdriving it. It was a heck of a battle."

Entering the regular season finale at Daytona, Blaney is second in the standings and 44 points up on third-place Ty Gibbs. He'll be trying to hang on to second — Denny Hamlin has already locked up the No. 1 seed in the Chase — as well as vying for a second consecutive victory in the Daytona summer race.