By: Harry Gagnon
Harry’s NASCAR Best Bets and Drydene 311 Betting Predictions
What: Drydene 311
Where: Dover, Delaware
When: Saturday, August 22
Once again because of scheduling (third time this season) we will have back-to-back racing in NASCAR, this time it’s from Dover, Delaware. This race will be 400 laps and in May of last year it had its most lap leaders (11) since the same number was put up in 2013.
This is a spot where last week’s race winner, Chase Elliott, can do well at and Martin Truex Jr. has flourished in Delaware as well. This race will be wide open especially since defending champ Kyle Larson won’t be there as he is still suspended for a racial slur he made during the stoppage.
My picks from last week in Daytona were almost as hot as Kevin Harvick’s 2020 season (Harvick leads in cup points, laps led, top 5’s). That’s boiling Phoenix, Arizona (my hometown) type of hot!!!
Drivers to Fade at the Monster Mile
Denny Hamlin
-In 28 career races at Dover, Hamlin has just 5 top 5’s.
Joey Logano
-In 22 career runs here Logano has just 4 career top 5’s.
Ryan Blaney
-Blaney has 8 lifetime races here and has just 2 top 10 finishes.
NASCAR Stats to Note After 23 Races This Season
800+ CUP POINTS
1-939 Kevin Harvick
2-821 Denny Hamlin
3-803 Brad Keselowski
600+ LAPS LED
1-888 Kevin Harvick
2-647 Denny Hamlin
3-628 Brad Keselowski
4-606 Joey Logano
Top 10 FINISHES
1-19 Kevin Harvick
2-16 Brad Keselowski
3-15 Denny Hamlin
4-14 Martin Truex Jr
4-14 Kurt Busch
Drydene 311 Betting Prediction for Top 10, and Top 5 Finish
TOP 10 FINISH
-135 Jimmy Johnson
This might be a sentimental selection since Johnson is having a tough final season in NASCAR. However, in 36 career races in Dover, he has 17 top 5 finishes, 11 wins and has led for an amazing 3110 laps.
TOP 5 FINISH
-150 Kevin Harvick & +105 Chase Elliott
Harvick finished fourth in the last race here and in both Dover races in 2018, Harvick led for 201 laps while winning the first race and led 251 laps in the second.
Elliott won last week at the Daytona road course but in his last race in Delaware he came in a disappointing 38th, so he is looking to rebound. Looking at his Dover history, he won at the Monster Mile three races ago, and I fully expect him to run great as he comes off last week’s impressive finish.
NASCAR Matchup Bets and Drydene 311 Matchups
-120 Alex Bowman over Kurt Busch
Bowman hasn’t had a good season, but he did finish in the top 3 in both races last year and Kurt Busch can’t be trusted considering he has seven did not finishes (DNFs) in his career at this track.
-130 Brad Keselowski over Kyle Busch
I’m basically taking anyone over Kyle Busch. This is a bet against Kyle more than it is a bet taking Keselowski. Busch blew a tire late last week and, like his brother, has 7 career DNF’s in Dover.
-145 Denny Hamlin over Joey Logano
I had mentioned that both drivers don’t care for this track that much but at least in the last race Hamlin finished 5th and he did lead for 218 laps. Logano had numerous issues in the last race in Dover and finished 34th just ahead of Ryan Blaney (35th) and Elliott (38th).
Drydene 311 Winner Betting Prediction and NASCAR Top 3 Bet
Martin Truex, Jr
+115 & +400
In last season’s races here, he finished second in the second race and finished first in the first while leading for 132 laps. Truex, Jr. ran a nice race last week in Daytona and scored a top 3 performance. In 28 career races in Delaware, he has three victories and I feel like he is primed for number four.
