The NASCAR Cup Series continues today with the 2021 Foxwood Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Read on below to see my prediction for who will win the race, as well as my top 10, dark horse, and driver to fade predictions.
Winner: Martin Truex Jr.- Truex has had a quietly good season, with 3 wins and 11 top 10’s in 21 starts. Truex has raced as well as you can at New Hampshire without a win in his career, including finishing in the top 8 in 7 of his last 8 races here. Truex has also won at Martinsville and Phoenix this year, two tracks that race extremely similar to New Hampshire. All of this adds up to a win for Martin Truex Jr. today.
Top 10: Denny Hamlin- New Hampshire has been kind to Hamlin in his career, with 3 wins, 11 top 5’s, and 754 laps led in 27 career starts. Hamlin has been close of late here too, as he has finished runner up here in each of his last 2 starts. Even though he has just 2 top 5’s since the All-Star Race, Hamlin continues to add to a nice season, with 11 top 5’s and 14 top 10’s in 21 starts. Expect Hamlin to add another top 10 today.
Dark Horse: Aric Almirola- 2021 has been a year to forget for Almirola, with just 1 top 5 and 2 top 10’s in 21 starts. However, Almirola has shown speed of late, with 4 top 16 finishes in his last 5 starts, including a 4th place finish at Nashville Superspeedway. Almirola had fared well at New Hampshire of late too, with 3 consecutive top 11 finishes here, capped by a 3rd place showing in 2019. A win is highly improbable, but a top 15 run is within reach for Almirola today.
Driver to Fade: Anthony Alfredo- 2021 has been a struggle for Alfredo, with just 3 top 20 finishes this season. Alfredo has finished 25th or worse in 6 of his last 7 starts and there seems to be no end in sight for this slump for Alfredo. Alfredo is a lock to finish outside the top 20 again today.