Crayon 301 Cup Series Predictions, Odds, Picks

Crayon 301 Predictions

Christopher Bell Comes to Hew Hampshire as Co-Favorite

Please! Someone tell us why Martin Truex is co-favorite with Christopher Bell to win Sunday’s Crayon 301 NASCAR Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.

Sure, Truex has shown excellent speed of late, and, yes, Truex picked up a victory at Dover on May 1, but high-banked concrete Dover is nothing like the flat asphalt of New Hampshire, even though both tracks are one mile in length.

In fact, Truex has never won at New Hampshire and has but eight top fives and 14 top 10s in 29 starts there.

Bell, on the other hand, is the defending race winner. The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota also won three straight NASCAR Xfinity Series races before he took the checkered flag in last year’s Cup race.

Though we’re not picking Bell to win this week, we understand why he’s co-favorite at +650 via DraftKings Sportsbook.

Truex? We’re clueless.  

It’s Hard to Make a Case for a Chevrolet Victory at the Magic Mile

Way back when—from 2009 through 2012, to be exact, Chevrolet drivers dominated New Hampshire Motor Speedway, winning six straight races.

In the 16 Cup events at the Magic Mile since then, however, Chevys have won exactly one race. Kevin Harvick did the honors for Stewart-Haas Racing in 2016, but Stewart-Haas and Harvick have since switched to Ford.

A Chevrolet victory on Sunday would buck a powerful trend. That’s why we’re saying: if you’re inclined to back Kyle Larson (+850 DraftKings)—don’t.

If you’re inclined to put money on Chase Elliott (+1100 DraftKings), who needs a win for Playoff eligibility—don’t.

And if you think William Byron (+1100 DraftKings) is going to win his fifth race of the season on Sunday—forget it.

It’s not an auspicious day for the Camaros.

Kevin Harvick Looks for a Win in His Final New Hampshire Race

Kevin Harvick, who is retiring from NASCAR Cup Series racing at the end of the season, leads all active drivers with four victories at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, tied with Jeff Burton for most all-time.

Harvick got his first Loudon win in 2006, added a second in 2016, and won back-to-back Cup events at the Magic Mile in 2018 and 2019.

In 39 career starts at the track, Harvick has scored 14 top fives and 23 top 10s for an average finish of 12.2 and 831 laps led.

Sunday’s Crayon 301 gives the driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford an excellent chance to pick up a victory in his farewell year, and we think he’ll get the job done at +1100 via DraftKings.