NASCAR has narrowed the Cup Series playoff field from 16 to 12 as the second round of the playoffs starts this weekend. It’ll kick off in Loudon, New Hampshire, at the 1.058-mile, short, flat track. The green flag is set for just after 2:00 PM ET on USA Network. Let’s take a look at this week’s NASCAR Picks, odds, and best bets for the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire.
Shane Van Gisbergen, Austin Dillon, Alex Bowman, and Josh Berry are the four drivers who didn’t make it through the first round of the playoffs. The Round of 12 will feature New Hampshire, Kansas, and the Roval at Charlotte. After the points reset, Denny Hamlin is atop the standings (+26 points above the cut line).
William Byron (+24), Kyle Larson (+24), Christoper Bell (+20), Ryan Blaney (+19), Chase Briscoe (+10) are the top five. Chase Elliott (+5), and Bubba Wallace (+1) all enter above the cut line. The drivers that start below the cut include Austin Cindric (-1), Joey Logano (-2), Ross Chastain (-2), and Tyler Reddick (-3).
Mobil 1 301 Odds to Win
Christopher Bell +330
Denny Hamlin +550
Ryan Blaney +600
Chase Briscoe +800
Kyle Larson +800
Joey Logano +900
William Byron +1400
Tyler Reddick +2000
Bubba Wallace +2000
Chase Elliott +2000
Brad Keselowski +2500
Ross Chastain +3000
Josh Berry +3500
Ty Gibbs +3500
Chris Buescher +4000
Carson Hocevar +4000
Austin Cindric +4000
Alex Bowman +5000
Kyle Busch +5000
Ryan Preece +6000
Austin Dillon +8000
John Hunter Nemechek +10000
Erik Jones +15000
Zane Smith +15000
AJ Allmendinger +20000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +20000
Michael McDowell +20000
Daniel Suarez +20000
Noah Gragson +25000
Todd Gilliland +25000
Justin Haley +50000
Cole Custer +50000
Shane Van Gisbergen +50000
Riley Herbst +50000
Ty Dillon +75000
Cody Ware +100000
NASCAR Picks: Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway Odds and Best Bets
Chase Briscoe Top 5 (+125)
I’ve given this bet out a lot lately, and for good reason. Briscoe was one of the cars to beat last week, once again at Bristol. The late cautions and tire wear didn’t fall his way, but in the last seven races, he’s been in the top five four times. Short flat tracks have always been his specialty, evidenced by his first career win at Phoenix and a second-place run here last year. That second place came for a Stewart-Haas team that was going out of business. At recent comparison tracks, Briscoe has been great. He finished second at World Wide Technology Raceway two weeks ago, as well as second at Iowa.
Ryan Preece Top 10 (+250)
Speaking of former Stewart-Haas drivers who are with a better team now, enter Ryan Preece into the conversation. Ryan Preece loves this type of track and grew up racing modifieds on this exact type of track, and even at New Hampshire itself. Preece has had lackluster cars over the years, but managed a 16th-place run a few years ago for JTG-Daugherty Racing. Last year he scored an 11th-place finish for Stewart-Haas.
Preece missed the playoffs this year, but already has 10 top-10 finishes on the season. He’s run well on other short, flat tracks this season as well. He finished 13th at World Wide Technology Raceway and ran fifth at Iowa. Back in the spring, he finished 15th at Phoenix and seventh at Martinsville. He’s been in and around the top 10 a lot, and I like his value here.
Christopher Bell to Win (+330)
I’ve been waiting all year to place this bet. It’s Christopher Bell Week, and I’m betting on him in every possible way I can. Bell has been amazing at this track in every series, and almost every race he’s been here. In his truck debut, he finished second to William Byron, then came back the next year and dominated the race, sweeping the stages and winning. In Xfinity, he’s four for four. Four starts, four wins.
He’s not far from perfect in the Cup Series over the last four seasons as well. He won last year, leading 149 laps. Good weather, and on wet weather tires, it didn’t matter; it was all Bell. In 2023, a loose wheel got him, but he also won the race in 2022. In 2021, he was running down Aric Almirola late in the race and would have passed him for the win had NASCAR not shortened the race due to impending darkness. Bell just won at Bristol last week. He’s a momentum driver who won three races in a row earlier this season. One of which was at Phoenix, the most comparable track to this one, where he led 105 laps on the day.
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