Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Overton’s 301

Odds to Win Race

Martin Truex Jr. won last week’s Quaker State 400, but now the drivers head to New Hampshire for the Overton’s 301 on Sunday. Last year, Matt Kenseth was the driver that came away with the victory at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. It was his first time winning the event, but there are a few active drivers that have won this thing more than once. Those drivers would be Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson, and Kurt Busch, who have all seemingly won every event more than once. They are three of the best drivers to ever do it, and all of them would love to find a way to win a third here on Sunday. Jeff Burton is the only driver in history to have won this thing three times, but it’s likely that record will be broken at some point. The team that has had the most success here is Joe Gibbs Racing, which has six wins in this race. Both Ford and Chevrolet have had their cars win eight times here, but Toyota has had each of the past two winners. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at who might win this one:

Kyle Busch (7-to-2) - As previously mentioned, Kyle Busch has won the Overton’s 301 twice in his career. Only three active drivers have done that and he’s going to be a real threat to win his third in this one. Busch is coming off of a good performance at the Quaker State 400, finishing in fifth in that race. He led for 112 laps and has been in a serious groove lately. Busch has finished inside the top-five in two of the past three races. He’s knocking on the door of winning his first race of the season, and is worth a shot at 7-to-2.

Jimmie Johnson (8-to-1) - Like Kyle Busch, Jimmie Johnson has also won the Overton’s 301 twice. And while Johnson last won it back in 2010, it’s not like he has been bad here since then. In fact, Johnson has three top-10 finishes in New Hampshire since winning in 2010. Johnson also has raced pretty well this season. He already has three victories on the year and will be fired up when he gets out there on Sunday. Johnson came in 40th at last week’s Quaker State 400, and that is going to leave a bad taste in his mouth. Don’t be afraid to back him at 8-to-1.

Matt Kenseth (8-to-1) - Kenseth hasn’t won this race twice like Busch and Johnson, but he is the defending champion at the Overton’s 301 heading into Sunday. Kenseth finished in 2:57:53, which was the second-best time in the past four of these races. Kenseth has also finished inside the top-10 at each of the past four of these races, so he clearly has a tremendous feel for this track. He’ll be confident when he gets out there on Sunday and is a good value at 8-to-1.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (70-to-1) - Earnhardt Jr. has obviously had a rough season, but it’s still just very hard to pass on these 70-to-1 odds. Earnhardt Jr. has been solid at New Hampshire in his career, and he has actually finished inside the top-10 in three of the past four of his appearances at this track. It’s not hard to imagine him finding a way to win this one, and it’d payout huge if he did.