Crayon 301 (NASCAR New Hampshire) Predictions, Odds & Picks

The NASCAR Cup Series continues to make its way north, south, east, and west around the United States, on the way to crowning this year’s champion. After a rain-shortened race at Atlanta Motor Speedway last weekend, the likes of William Byron, Martin Truex Jr., and Kyle Busch are in New England this weekend for Sunday’s Crayon 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire (2:30 pm ET, USA).

Last week’s Quaker State 400 was shortened from 260 laps to 185 laps due to weather. Cup Series wins and points leader William Byron was the beneficiary, picking up his fourth win of the season.

Will we have the same issue this weekend? Thunderstorms are in the forecast for Sunday, including through the scheduled race time.

Should the potential for inclement weather have an effect on how you bet the race? Which drivers should be on your radar for a successful Sunday? My predictions and picks for the Crayon 301 are below, but first, let’s take a look at the odds for the race, courtesy of Bovada.

NASCAR Cup Series Crayon 301 Odds

• Christopher Bell +600
• Martin Truex Jr. +600
• Denny Hamlin +800
• Kyle Larson +850
• William Byron +1000
• Kevin Harvick +1100
• Kyle Busch +1100
• Chase Elliott +1200
• Joey Logano +1600
• Ryan Blaney +1600
• Brad Keselowski +1600
• Ross Chastain +1800
• Tyler Reddick +1800
• Bubba Wallace +2500
• Alex Bowman +3000
• Aric Almirola +3300
• Daniel Suarez +4000
• Four at +5000 – Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, Ryan Preece, Ty Gibbs

Crayon 301 Predictions & Picks

With just seven races before the end of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, every race carries a great deal of importance for the drivers trying to win their way into the championship playoffs.

The group of drivers currently without a win entering the Crayon 301 includes former NASCAR Cup Series champions Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski. It also includes Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, and Daniel Suarez, all of whom were in the playoffs last season.

Current NASCAR Cup Series Standings (After 19 Races)

• 1. William Byron – 628 points
• 2. Martin Truex Jr. – 607
• 3. Kyle Busch – 592
• 4. Christopher Bell – 591
• 5. Ross Chastain – 575
• 6. Denny Hamlin – 561
• 7. Ryan Blaney – 553
• 8. Kyle Larson – 531
• 9. Kevin Harvick – 530
• 10. Joey Logano – 518

Drivers in bold have at least one race win this season.

Last year, Christopher Bell won his way into the playoffs with a win at the Crayon 301, and he went on to finish third behind series champion Joey Logano and runner-up Ross Chastain.

Will any of that list of eight drivers win their way into the playoffs at Loudon? Harvick (2018 and 2019) and Keselowski (2014 and 2020) are two of the eight drivers who have won this race at least twice.

This season, Bell’s spot in the playoffs may already be secure thanks to winning the Food City Dirt Race at Bristol in April, and his placement in the standings could be high enough to get him in even if we see a spate of new winners over the final seven regular season races.

I still expect Chase Elliott to find his way into the field of 16 before it’s all said and done. But I am resisting the urge to back him for the Crayon 301, even though it is tempting. He finished second behind Bell last year and qualified third, third, and second, respectively, in the previous three editions of this race.

While I’m not backing him for the win, Elliott is +200 to log his sixth top-five finish of the season, and that is fantastic value that I am all over.

Recent NASCAR New Hampshire Winners

• 2022: Christopher Bell
• 2021: Aric Almirola
• 2020: Brad Keselowski
• 2019: Kevin Harvick
• 2018: Kevin Harvick
• 2017: Denny Hamlin
• 2016: Matt Kenseth
• 2015: Kyle Busch
• 2014: Brad Keselowski
• 2013: Brian Vickers

A top-five finish is also in my forecast for Harvick, who has finished third, fourth, fifth, first, first, fifth, sixth, and fifth in the last editions of this race. The last time he finished outside of the top six was 2014, when he finished 30th.

But for my Crayon 301 race winner pick, I’m rolling with Bell to join Harvick and Jeff Burton (1997-99) as the only drivers to win this race in consecutive years.

After finishing 28th in the race as a rookie, Bell finished runner-up to Aric Almirola in 2021 then took the checkered flag last year.

Bell’s success in the first several races was one of the early highlights of the NASCAR Cup Series season, as he logged a win and five top-six finishes in the first eight races.

However, since winning at Bristol, Bell’s results have been a bit of a mixed bag. In 11 races, he has finished in the top ten only four times, and he is coming off of a 23rd-place finish at Atlanta. But back at one of his favorite tracks, I’m looking for him to run well.

Where to Bet on NASCAR

While the Crayon 301 odds listed in this article are from Bovada, many of the top sports betting sites offer a variety of NASCAR betting odds.

Along with being able to bet on the winner of each race, many online sportsbooks offer finishing position odds (top 3, top 5, and top 10).

Also, you can bet on who will finish atop the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship standings at all of the sports betting sites that we recommend.

Here are some of the sites that we recommend if you are interested in NASCAR betting:

• BetOnline
• BetUS
• Bookmaker
• Sportsbetting.ag