One week after recording his elusive first win of the NASCAR Cup Series season, Ryan Blaney will attempt to make it two in a row when he competes in the 2024 USA Today 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sunday. The reigning series champion matched his career-high with three victories last year, but came up empty in his first 16 starts of 2024 before capturing the checkered flag last weekend in the series' inaugural race at Iowa Speedway. Blaney has finished no better than 18th in his last two outings at New Hampshire, but posted four top-10s in his previous five races at the track. He also was 10th in his lone Truck Series start there in 2014.
Blaney is 13-2 in the latest 2024 USA Today 301 odds, while Christopher Bell and 2023 race winner Martin Truex Jr. are 9-2 co-favorites. Denny Hamlin is 6-1 and Kyle Larson rounds out the top five 2024 NASCAR at New Hampshire contenders at 13-2. Sunday's race is scheduled to start at 2:30 p.m. ET. Before making any 2024 USA Today 301 picks or NASCAR predictions, you need to see what NASCAR insider Steven Taranto has to say.
Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com, and he chronicles stock car racing with the same thoroughness and passion that he's had since becoming a full-time race fan in 2001. He has an annual NASCAR medial credential and also publishes a popular weekly NASCAR predictions column, famously calling Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez's breakthrough wins in 2022.
Taranto is off to a red-hot start for SportsLine in 2024, nailing nine winners in his best bets already, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. Anyone following his NASCAR picks has seen huge returns.
Now, Taranto has analyzed the starting lineup and odds for Sunday's USA Today 301. He's sharing his best bets at SportsLine.
2024 USA Today 301 expert picks
For the 2024 USA Today 301, Taranto is high on Brad Keselowski, even though he's a longshot at 16-1. The 2012 Cup Series champion is tied for first with seven top-five finishes this season, including a string of three in a row that began with a win at Darlington on May 12 that ended his 110-start drought. Keselowski also is among the leaders in top-10s as he posted his ninth with a 10th-place at Iowa last weekend.
The 40-year-old native of Michigan has enjoyed plenty of success at New Hampshire during his career. He has recorded 16 top-10 finishes in 23 Cup Series starts at the track, including victories in this race in both 2014 and 2020. Keselowski enters Sunday with eight top-10s in his last nine outings at New Hampshire.
Another surprise: Taranto is fading Chase Elliott, even though he's atop the NASCAR Cup Series standings. The 28-year-old from Georgia has registered just one win this season, but is the current Cup Series points leader and tops all drivers with a 9.12 average finish. Elliott is coming off back-to-back top-fives, as he was fourth at Sonoma and third last weekend at Iowa.
The 2020 Cup Series champion has yet to make it to Victory Lane at New Hampshire and has posted only three top-10 finishes in 10 starts. He has led laps in half of his outings at the track, but owns an average finish of 14.4 there. Elliott was 12th in this race last year after a career-best runner-up performance in 2022.See what other NASCAR picks he likes at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 USA Today 301 predictions
Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2024 NASCAR at New Hampshire best bets. He's also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who's going off with more than 20-1 odds. You can only see who they are here.
So who wins the USA Today 301 2024, and which massive longshot could stun NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2024 NASCAR at New Hampshire picks and best bets from a NASCAR insider who has already nailed a colossal nine winners this year, and find out.
2024 USA Today 301 odds
See full NASCAR at New Hampshire picks at SportsLine
Christopher Bell 9-2
Martin Truex Jr. 9-2
Denny Hamlin 6-1
Ryan Blaney 13-2
Kyle Larson 13-2
Joey Logano 17-2
William Byron 12-1
Chase Elliott 12-1
Ty Gibbs 16-1
Brad Keselowski 16-1
Tyler Reddick 20-1
Josh Berry 25-1
Chris Buescher 28-1
Ross Chastain 30-1
Kyle Busch 35-1
Bubba Wallace 40-1
Alex Bowman 55-1
Chase Briscoe 80-1
Noah Gragson 100-1
Austin Cindric 150-1
Daniel Suarez 150-1
Michael McDowell 200-1
Carson Hocevar 250-1
Ryan Preece 250-1
Todd Gilliland 300-1
Justin Haley 350-1
Austin Dillon 400-1
Erik Jones 400-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 400-1
Corey LaJoie 750-1
John Hunter Nemechek 750-1
Zane Smith 750-1
Harrison Burton 1000-1
Daniel Hemric 1500-1
Ty Dillon 5000-1
Kaz Grala 5000-1
