The NASCAR Cup Series’ Round of 12 gets underway with Sunday’s Mobil 1 301 (2 p.m. ET, USA Network, HBO Max, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio, NBC Sports App) at New Hampshire Motor Speedway.
Following a very strong practice and a second-place qualifying effort, Ryan Blaney is the race favorite according to updated NASCAR odds for New Hampshire.
And while I’m not necessarily ruling out betting on Blaney right now, we first need to discuss tires again.
No, we won’t have an extremely high tire-wear race like we did last weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway, but curiosity comes due to a new right-side tire combination.
This is the same tire that teams already ran at Bowman Gray Stadium, Martinsville Speedway, North Wilkesboro Speedway and Richmond Raceway, but it’s the first time it will be on cars for New Hampshire.
In order to get my betting card rolling for New Hampshire, I’m getting down on a driver with unmatched success at this track who may also have an advantage when it comes to the new right-side tire.
Let me explain.
NASCAR Odds, +950 Pick for New Hampshire
*Odds as of Saturday night
Blaney, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are among the betting favorites for Sunday’s Mobile 1 301.
However, a little further down the odds board is Christopher Bell, who has absolutely dominated this track throughout his career.
Since the Next Gen was introduced in 2022, Bell has two Cup Series wins in three races at New Hampshire.
Tack on one Craftsman Truck Series win and a whopping four Xfinity Series wins, and we have a circuit that just fits Bell’s driving style.
Going back to the new right-side tire, the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was one of three cars that participated in a Goodyear tire test back in July, so this team should have plenty of data regarding how the tire will perform throughout Sunday’s race.
Now, I have to point out that Bell didn’t necessarily set the world on fire in practice and struggled to a 19th-place qualifying effort.
But earlier this week, Bell was priced at +300 at some sportsbooks, and now we get a chance to buy back the best driver at New Hampshire in recent history at +950 odds with plenty of bankroll left over to add more outrights?
I’m in.
NASCAR Pick: Christopher Bell (+950) to Win — FanDuel
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