By Cole Cusumano

Magic was in the air for the NASCAR Cup Series at New Hampshire Motor Speedway after the exhilarating race exposed a potential new championship contender as well as a successful avenue for the future of the sport.

For the eighth time this season, we learned less is more at the conclusion of the 301-mile event. Ringing in at just over three hours, the action at Loudon was on par with the six other venues for 2020 in terms of increased entertainment value with a significant decrease in elapsed time.

While the length of this specific event was not altered, it further provided evidence the shortened races that drivers have been longing for don’t sacrifice intensity of competition. In fact, the racing on display was some of the best all season and it could prove to be a formula for NASCAR’s future success.

In having more condensed races, there’s tons of potential to attract new fans in the sense these events run about as long as your typical professional sporting league games. Not to mention, you’re satisfying the athletes who’ve campaigned for this change and proven that nothing is relinquished.

The world witnessed a battle for the ages between Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin in an iconic event that’s sure to go down in history. We’d come accustomed to believing that New Hampshire was a short track that raced like an intermediate track and was tough on passing. This was hardly the case today after witnessing arguably the best racing at Loudon in over a decade.

There were 22 lead changes, which was only one off from the record set in 1996 and 2002. There was much needed action and drama brought back to this once thriving venue, and for the first time in years, it felt like a short track again.

This was largely due in part to NASCAR’s track preparations and rules package.

The PJ1 traction compound served as a tremendous compliment to the low-downforce package and it’s safe to say this was the only successful experiment with these implementations aside from Phoenix Raceway in March. Rightfully so, these tracks are often compared to one another, and it certainly appears NASCAR has found the remedy to revive their bland racing as of late.

 Aside from these applications, what’s been the common denominator at these venues in 2020? The dominance of Keselowski.

The driver of the No. 2 was the class of the field in both events and led a race-high 184 laps in Loudon. In what he called “silently one of the best seasons of his career,” Keselowski is riding a streak of five consecutive top-10s, including a runner-up and a victory over the last two events.

Although he hasn’t made the waves Kevin Harvick and Hamlin have, is Keselowski shaping up to be the next Championship contender? It’s hard to go against three wins and 15 top-10s, especially during a hot-stretch with only six races remaining until the Playoffs.

The Team Penske driver normally gets off to a scorching start and then trails off about halfway through the season. With a new team and Jeremy Bullins at the helm, it appears that is not the case in 2020. After the dominant performances at New Hampshire and Phoenix with the presumed lengthy notes they’ve compiled in that time, should Keselowski make it to the Championship 4, he could be the one to beat. 

Ultimately, NASCAR may have discovered validation for future successes in shortened races. Between the PJ1, low-downforce package and tires that Goodyear brought to Loudon, Championship Weekend at Phoenix Raceway is shaping up to be a prestigious spectacle. Teams will have one last shot at refining their craft to take down Keselowski at Richmond International Raceway next month, where the applications will mirror the events he’s seemingly perfected.