Trent Reinsmith
- What: Crayon 301
- Date: Sunday, July 16, 2023
- Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, NH
- Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
- How to Watch: USA
NASCAR is back at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Crayon 301 on Sunday, July 16. This week’s race follows last week’s Quaker State 400, which William Byron won. With the victory, the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet picked up his fourth victory of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. The sixth-place finisher at the end of last year’s NASCAR season, Byron holds a 21-point lead in the 2023 NASCAR Cup series standing over Martin Truex Jr., who finished in 29th place last week in Atlanta.
The Crayon 301 will be contested at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, which is nicknamed the “Magic Mile.” The track is a 1.058-mile asphalt and granite oval. Christopher Bell won the race in New Hampshire in 2022. NASCAR has been competing on this track since Rusty Wallace won the inaugural race in New Hampshire in 1993. Jeff Burton and Kevin Harvick are tied for the most NASCAR victories on the course with four apiece. Harvick, who will compete on the track on Sunday behind the wheel of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, plans to retire at the end of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Before we look at the odds, betting picks, and predictions for the Crayon 301 race at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, check out the best betting sites for NASCAR and our tips on how to bet on NASCAR.
2023 NASCAR Cup Series Crayon 301 betting picks
Christopher Bell
The driver of the No. 20 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Christopher Bell, is in his fourth NASCAR Cup Series season. The 28-year-old finished his first race in New Hampshire in 28th place. Then, in 2021, he placed second after moving from Leavine Family Racing to Gibbs. Last year, Bell took the checkered flag in New Hampshire. The win was his first of three on the season. Bell was the third-place driver at the end of the 2022 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Bell has one win in 2023, capturing first at the 2023 Food City Dirt Race in Bristol.
The past seven weeks have not been kind to Bell. He only has two top-10 finishes over that span, with a ninth and a seventh. He is coming off a 23rd-place finish in Atlanta. Despite his struggles, the oddsmakers still remember what Bell has done in New Hampshire in the recent past.
Martin Truex Jr.
Martin Truex Jr. could make a move in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series standings in New Hampshire. Currently in second place with 607 points, the driver of the No. 19 Toyota led 172 laps and finished fourth in this race last year. While the 43-year-old has never won in New Hampshire, he has racked up five top-five finishes on the track since 2017. Truex has 10 top-10 finishes on this track in the past 10 years while racing for two different teams. If a driver in the 2023 NASCAR Crayon 301 is “due” for a win in New Hampshire, it’s Truex.
Truex has two wins and six top-five finishes in 2023.
Kyle Busch
Speaking of making a move in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series points standings, another driver who could do that in New Hampshire is Kyle Busch. The driver of the No. 8 Chevy for Richard Childress Racing is currently No. 3 in points with 592. Busch is second to William Byron in wins in 2023 with three. The 38-year-old has been outstanding over the past seven weeks of NASCAR races, finishing in the top nine in all those races and inside the top five four times, including back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Chicago and Atlanta.
The past few years in New Hampshire have not been kind to Busch. After winning in 2017 and placing second in 2018, Busch has not finished higher than eighth on the track. He came in 12th last year.
Best bets to win 2023 NASCAR Cup Series Crayon 301 in New Hampshire
Martin Truex has not had good finishes in the past two weeks, placing 32nd in Chicago and 29th in Atlanta. However, before those two races, Truex was on a run where he finished eight out of 10 starts inside the top 10 and picked up a win in Sonoma. Truex is due for a win at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, and that, combined with his strong driving during the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season, makes him the betting pick to win the 2023 Crayon 301.
Best 2023 NASCAR 2023 Crayon 301 betting pick: Martin Truex to win.
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