How to watch Sunday's Cup race at New Hampshire: Start time, TV info and weather

New Hampshire Motor Speedway will return to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs Sunday as the Round of 12 begins.

It’s the first playoff race at the “Magic Mile” since 2017, which was the last season that New Hampshire had two annual Cup races. The 1.058-mile oval played host to 14 playoff races from 2004-17.

Starting with the inaugural playoff race (in what was then known as the Chase) on Sept. 19, 2004, the track in Loudon, New Hampshire, was the site of the playoff opener for seven consecutive years.

Christopher Bell, who won the first-round cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway last week, is the defending winner at New Hampshire. The No. 20 Toyota driver won in overtime last year after a red flag of more than two hours for rain.

Toyota has won the past three races and all six stages at New Hampshire during the Next Gen era, leading 83 percent of the total laps in wins for Bell (2022, ’24) and Martin Truex Jr. (2023).

Chase Elliott tells SiriusXM NASCAR Radio that after surviving the first round, “there’s nothing to lose for us at this point.”

Details for Sunday’s Cup race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

(All times Eastern)

START: The green flag is scheduled to wave at 2:05 p.m.

PRERACE: The Cup garage will open at 11 a.m.. ... The drivers meeting will be at 12:50 p.m. .. Driver introductions will be at 1:15 p.m. ... The Canadian national anthem will be performed at 1:47 p.m. The U.S. national anthem will be performed at 1:48 p.m. ... The command to start engines will be given at 1:55 p.m.

DISTANCE: The race is 301 laps (318.46 miles) on the 1.058-mile oval in Loudon, New Hampshire.

STAGES: Stage 1 ends at Lap 70. Stage 2 ends at Lap 185.

PURSE: $9,797,935

ENTRY LIST: Click here for the 36 cars entered at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

TV/RADIO: USA Network will broadcast the race, starting with Countdown to Green at 1:30 p.m. ... Performance Racing Network and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio will have radio coverage.

FORECAST: WeatherUnderground — Mostly sunny with a high of 71 degrees, winds from the south/southeast at 5 to 10 mph and a 5% chance of rain. It’s expected to be 68 degrees with a 0% chance of rain for the start of the Cup race.

LAST TIME: Christopher Bell won in overtime of the June 23, 2024 race that featured cars using wet-weather tires.