NASCAR Cup Series’ Mobil 1 301: Christopher Bell’s Top Odds, Predictions & Best Bets At New Hampshire Motor Speedway

NASCAR Cup Series driver Christopher Bell is in familiar territory, qualifying for the Round of 12 for the fourth straight season.

Still seeking his first series championship, Bell said this season’s playoff push feels “different” after snapping a six-month winless streak Sunday at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Bell explained on the “Stacking Pennies” podcast.

“In ’22 I felt like an underdog and we overperformed,” he said. “We made it to the championship event. And then 2023, I felt like a favorite, but got treated like an underdog, and still didn’t lead to a championship, obviously.

“And then in 2024, I felt like the favorite and arguably was one of the favorites, and it didn’t work out either. We didn’t even make it.

“So, 2025, I feel like we’ve just kind of taken a step back. We started out really strong and then throughout the summer months we frankly were not in championship form at all and and I just felt like it was going to be an uphill battle and we’ve slowly turned the page between Darlington, we had great car performance and not the execution, and then it got better at Gateway and then obviously Bristol worked out really well with getting the win.

“So, I feel like we’re slowly getting back to championship form, but certainly, going into the playoffs, I can’t tell you that I felt like it was ours to lose. That’s for sure.”

Bell enters the second-round opener ranked No. 4 in playoff points, 20 points ahead of the cutoff line. The bottom four pilots are within three points of No. 8-ranked Bubba Wallace.

Below, we’ll preview the top storylines heading into Sunday’s Mobil 1 301, go over the odds, and give our best bets for the 30th race on the 2025 NASCAR schedule.

Following his win at Bristol, Christopher Bell took over the lead for the best average finish in 2025, a category Chase Elliott had led for the past 12 races. pic.twitter.com/iUVW52pIap

— NASCAR Insights (@NASCARInsights) September 16, 2025

NASCAR Cup Series Mobil 1 301 Storylines

• Not only did Joe Gibbs Racing sweep the three Round of 16 events, the Huntersville, N.C.-based organization’s drivers compiled 18 of the opening round’s 21 points.
• Zane Smith’s P3 at Bristol marked a career-best finish and his first top 10 in his previous 11 starts.
• Playoff driver Josh Berry placed last in all three Round of 16 races. “I don’t think you could ever script three last-place finishes in the ways that we’ve gotten them over the last few weeks,” he said, via NBC Sports.

Josh Berry's playoff dreams come to an end in Bristol tonight. #NASCARPlayoffs

📺: @USANetwork pic.twitter.com/tnomDXW3bh

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) September 14, 2025

Mobil 1 301 Driver Odds

Here are the NASCAR Cup Series drivers’ odds for the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, according to BetOnline Sportsbook:

*-Odds current at time of publication

Mobil 1 301 Predictions and Picks

Here are our best NASCAR Cup Series bets for the Mobil 1 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway:

Kyle Larson (+650) 

Coming off a P32 at Bristol, Larson seeks his first win since Kansas in May. The short-track dirt specialist feels at home on the 1.058-mile oval, posting two top-five finishes in his past three starts.

Chase Briscoe (+750) 

Briscoe captured the opening Round of 16 event. With one top-five and two top-10s in his past three outings at Loudon, Briscoe wants to leave no room for error halfway through the playoffs.

John Hunter Nemechek (+10000) 

This week’s longshot. In his only Cup appearance at the Monster Mile, Nemechek recorded a top 10. Is it time for Nemechek and Legacy Motor Club driver to break through? 

Proud of our effort last night. Put ourselves in good position and executed all day but got hurt by the late race caution.#TeamToyota pic.twitter.com/qbAZ8YSRYW

— John Hunter Nemechek (@JHNemechek) September 14, 2025