NASCAR at New Hampshire schedule: How to watch, TV, odds, favorites

NASCAR at New Hampshire schedule: How to watch, odds, favorites originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The time has come for NASCAR’s annual visit to New England.

New Hampshire Motor Speedway will play host to the Cup Series this weekend for a 301-lap shootout. “The Magic Mile” is, appropriately, one mile in length with limited banking in the corners. As is tradition, the winner will earn a date with a live lobster in victory lane, which Aric Almirola claimed in 2021.

Will Almirola repeat, or will another driver raise a victory lobster? Here’s everything you need to know about the Ambetter 301 at New Hampshire:

New Hampshire entry list

Thirty-six drivers are on the New Hampshire entry list. Up to 40 cars can qualify for a race, so all 36 entrants will race on Sunday. Here's the full list:

When is the NASCAR New Hampshire race?

This race weekend features a practice and qualifying session before the race on Sunday.

The 36-car field will be split into two groups, and each group will get a 15-minute practice session on Saturday at 11:30 a.m. ET. Qualifying will begin immediately after practice, around 12:20 p.m. ET. Each car from the two practice groups will make a single lap, with the five fastest times in each group advancing to the final round. In the final round, the 10 drivers each make a single lap and the pole is awarded to the fastest time.

The 2022 Ambetter 301 begins at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, July 17.

How to watch NASCAR this weekend

All NASCAR action this weekend will be on USA Network.

Practice and qualifying coverage on Saturday is set to begin at 11:30 a.m. ET. Sunday’s coverage will begin at 2 p.m. ET with Countdown to Green, followed by the Ambetter 301 at 3 p.m. ET.

Coverage before, during and after Sunday’s race can be streamed online here and through the NBC Sports app.

NASCAR standings entering New Hampshire

New Hampshire is the 20th of 26 regular season races, so the postseason is near. Only 16 drivers make the playoffs, and drivers secure a berth by winning a race or scoring the most points among non-winners. Here’s a look at the current playoff standings, where winners are locked in and non-winners are fighting for every point:

1. Chase Elliott, 684 points, 3 wins

2. Ross Chastain, 634 points, 2 wins

3. Joey Logano, 562 points, 2 wins

4. William Byron, 505 points, 2 wins

5. Denny Hamlin, 409 points, 2 wins

6. Kyle Larson, 579 points, 1 win

7. Kyle Busch, 569 points, 1 win

8. Alex Bowman, 508 points, 1 win

9. Austin Cindric, 465 points, 1 win

10. Tyler Reddick, 458 points, 1 win

11. Daniel Suarez, 451 points, 1 win

12. Kurt Busch, 449 points, 1 win

13. Chase Briscoe, 443 points, 1 win

14. Ryan Blaney, 637 points

15. Martin Truex Jr., 566 points

16. Christopher Bell, 523 points

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1. Kevin Harvick, 504 points

2. Aric Almirola, 481 points

3. Erik Jones, 447 points

4. Austin Dillon, 407 points

Which active drivers have won at New Hampshire?

Seven drivers racing this weekend have won a Cup race at New Hampshire: Harvick, Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski, Almirola, Kyle Busch and Kurt Busch.

Harvick’s four NHMS wins are tied with Jeff Burton for the most all-time, while Hamlin and the Busch brothers all have three victories. Logano and Keselowski have both won there twice, while Almirola is the defending winner.

NASCAR New Hampshire betting odds, favorites, predictions

In recent years, two organizations have dominated at NHMS: Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing. Drivers from those two teams have won nine of the last 10 races in the Granite State. On the other hand, Hendrick Motorsports – today’s perennial powerhouse team – hasn’t won at NHMS since 2012.

With that in mind, this weekend could be wide open – and the odds reflect that. Seven drivers have +1000 odds or better to win, which shows just how unpredictable it could be.

When looking at drivers to watch at NHMS, look no further than Harvick, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The three have 10 wins (four for Harvick, three for Hamlin and Busch) and 75 top-10s in their combined 96 starts. Keselowski (10.1 average finish in 21 starts), Truex (12.0 in 28 starts) and Blaney (12.2 in nine starts) also boast strong results in New Hampshire.

Almirola pulled off the surprise win last year, leading the final 20 laps in his victory. Bell, Keselowski, Logano and Blaney rounded out the top five, while Harvick led the most laps and finished sixth.

Here are some of the favorites to win at New Hampshire, courtesy of our partner, PointsBet:

• Ryan Blaney, +650

• Kyle Busch, +700

• Joey Logano, +725

• Chase Elliott, +900

• Denny Hamlin, +900

• Martin Truex Jr., +900

• Ross Chastain, +1000

• Kyle Larson, +1200

• Christopher Bell, +1400

• William Byron, +1800

• Kevin Harvick, +1800

• Tyler Reddick, +2200

• Aric Almirola, +2500

• Chase Briscoe, +2500

• Daniel Suarez, +2800

• Kurt Busch, +3000

• Brad Keselowski, +9000

Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.