The NASCAR Cup Series heads to “The Magic Mile” at New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the USA Today 301. It is time to continue our NASCAR Cup Series odds series with the USA Today 301 at New Hampshire prediction and pick.
The New Hampshire Motor Speedway is a short and narrow track. Coming in just over a mile long, it has variable banking turns, but in general, is a flat track. It is also one of the narrowest ones on the circuit, so given the short track, the lack of turning banks, and the narrow track, passing on this track is very difficult. This will make qualifying extremely important, but still, some known quantities can be looked at. Last year, Martin Truex Jr. took the win at this track, holding off Joey Logano and Kyle Larson for the victory.
Here are the NASCAR Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NASCAR Odds: Cup Series at New Hampshire Odds
Christopher Bell: +450
Martin Truex Jr.: +450
Denny Hamlin: +500
Kyle Larson: +700
Ryan Blaney: +700
Joey Logano: +850
Chase Elliott: +1400
William Byron: +1400
Brad Keselowski: +1600
Ty Gibbs: +1600
Tyler Reddick: +1800
Ross Chastain: +2500
Josh Berry: +3000
Chris Buescher: +3500
Kyle Busch: +3500
Bubba Wallace: +4000
How to Watch Cup Series at New Hampshire
TV: USA Network
Time: 2:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM PT
*Watch Nascar LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Favorites To Win Cup Series at New Hampshire
Christopher Bell leads the field in terms of favorites, tied with Martin Truex Jr. on top of the board. Bell has been solid here. Since joining Joe Gibbs Racing for the 2021 season, he has had three good races here. He started ninth in 2021 and would finish second. Then, in 2022, Bell would take the victory. Last year, he started first and would be in the top ten after the first stage, but an accident in front of him caused him to finish 29th. Further, Bell has been solid on short tracks this year and should be in a position to do well here.
Martin Truex Jr. is coming off a win here and has an expansive track record. In his last ten races here, he has led laps in seven of them. Further, Truex has finished inside the top ten in eight of the last ten races, including a win last year, and five top-five finishes. In his last two races, Truex has won all four stages before the end of the race and led a combined 426 laps. Since September of 2016, Truex has finished first in a stage seven times in a possible 16 stages.
Denny Hamlin has not won here since July of 207, but that does not mean he does not have a solid record at this track. He has been in the top ten in each of his last five races here, leading laps in three of the five. All the time, Hamlin has won here three times in 30 races, while sitting in the top three ten times. Six of those times were as a runner-up. He also continues a theme with this race. He is the third straight driver discussed who has done this as a member of Joe Gibbs Racing.
Kyle Larson is the first to be outside the Joe Gibbs racing crew. Last year he started 15th and would finish third after leading six laps. This track, like many of the short tracks, has been more hit-and-miss for LAsrson. He was a runner-up in both races in 2017. In the five races since then. He has been inside the top ten just twice. He was trending towards a top ten, if not top-five finish in 2019, but was involved in an accident. Still, Larson is one of the best and will look to build off his third-place finish from last year.
Joey Logano has not won here since 2014, but he has a solid record here. In his last six races, he has been ninth twice, fourth twice, and a runner-up. The other race was in 2022 when he finished 24th. He led 25 laps in that race though, and was fourth after the second stage. He has not been dominant at the track here in New Hampshire, but he has been inside the top five at the end of the second stage of the race in each of the last five races.
Sleepers To Win Cup Series at New Hampshire
In a track that is hard to pass on, favorites do tend to dominate, but there is one sleeper worth looking at. Bubba Wallace has been solid in the last two races at this track. While he was outside the top 20 in the first four races at the track, he has been solid in his last two. In 2022, Wallace finished third, and then last year, Wallace finished eighth. This coincides with the trend for Wallace. In the last two years, he has improved on short tracks, and while not winning, has been staying near the front of the pack.
Cup Series at New Hampshire Prediction & Pick
A lot will come down to qualifying for this race. Still, there is some pre-qualifying value. There are drivers with great track records that will be worth watching in this race. One to look out for in the top team. Those odds have not been released, but a Joe Gibbs driver should be a clear favorite for this race.
Cup Series at New Hampshire Prediction & Pick: Truex Jr. Top five (-140), Hamlin Top five (-120), Logano Top Five (+130)