With the Overton's 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series weekend only a week away, New Hampshire Motor Speedway hosted media on Friday for a little taste of what's to come. Media members from across New England took part in the first-ever Media Racing Challenge, and it was Nick Stoico of the Concord Monitor that celebrated with the hardware.

"This was a pretty cool event and a lot of fun to be a part of," said Stoico, a sports writer and editor for the Concord, N.H. based daily newspaper. "It's sounds so cliché to say, but the car felt really good and I didn't feel like I was overdriving or doing anything past my limits. I'm honored to be a part of this today and I'll be here covering the races next week, which is always great, so I'm looking forward to it."

The Media Racing Challenge winner was determined by their fastest lap time on the track, while the five fastest media members to change a tire on the New Hampshire Motor Speedway Toyota Camry Showcar received a 10-second deduction from their lap time. 

Dave Russo of Dirty Water TV was the fastest media member around the track at 41.515 seconds, while Kylie McCoy (Dirty Water TV), Tim Gorham (Wicked Fast Podcast), Reagan Colby (WJYY/105.5 & WNHW/93.3) and Stoico rounded out the top-five.

Jason Russell of WJYY/105.5FM & WFNQ/106.3 was the quickest in the tire change portion of the challenge, finishing in just 39 seconds. Chris Ryan (WKXL/103.9 FM), Neal White (WZID/95.7 FM), Mikey Vinci (Dirty Water TV) and Stoico rounded out the top-five.

Stoico will keep the trophy for the year before returning it to defend his title next July.

Race week at New Hampshire Motor Speedway officially gets underway on Saturday when campers begin to arrive on the speedway's campus. There will be lots to do on property throughout the week before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Hauler Parade on Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. 

On-track NASCAR action begins on Friday with the Whelen Engineering All-Star Shootout at 2:10 p.m. and qualifying for the Overton's 301 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at 4:45. NASCAR racing continues on Tripleheader Saturday with the Whelen Modified Tour's Eastern Propane & Oil 100 at 2:00 p.m., the XFINITY Series Overton's 200 at 4:00, and the K&N Pro Series East United Site Services 70 at 6:45. It all culminates on Sunday with the Overton's 301 at 3:00 p.m.