After a ten-day break, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action this afternoon at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. This is an intermediate oval track at 1.058 miles. This is a flat track that will make passing difficult given its tight corners. The tour is returning to the 2018 horsepower package for this event with a lower downforce so last year’s results here are probably less illuminating than the 2018 data. This race compares most closely to the Phoenix Open which before the stoppage in action since that was also an intermediate track with a flat surface while requiring a 750 horsepower package.

Our Top Overlay Bet on the driver who offers the most value relative to their odds is on Joey Logano who Bovada lists at +1100 odds to win this race. Logano has two-top five results at races with the 750 horsepower package including a victory in Phoenix which is the race most similar to this one given its flat mile track. Logano has struggled this year but many of those races have required the 550 horsepower package. Logano finished 7th at the NASCAR All-Star Race before earning a 3rd place result in Texas before a disappointing 35th last time out in Kansas. Logano finished in 9th place here for the 2018 race. Logano has won at New Hampshire twice with five top-fives in his career here. Logano is linked with Erick Jones for head-to-head betting propositions. Jones comes off a 5th place result last week in Kansas — and he has two top-tens here in New Hampshire. But Jones has finished outside the top-ten in nine of his last fourteen races. I do worry that driving for Joe Gibbs Racing leaves him as an afterthought to Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex. Logano along with Brad Keselowski are the two bell cows for Team Penske. And Jones has just a 16th average finish at New Hampshire in his four races since 2017. Take Logano (7535) in head-to-head betting propositions versus Jones (7536). Best of luck for us -- Frank.

After a ten-day break, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to action this afternoon at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301. This is an intermediate oval track at 1.058 miles. This is a flat track that will make passing difficult given its tight corners. The tour is returning to the 2018 horsepower package for this event with a lower downforce so last year’s results here are probably less illuminating than the 2018 data. This race compares most closely to the Phoenix Open which before the stoppage in action since that was also an intermediate track with a flat surface while requiring a 750 horsepower package.

Our Best Bet to win this race is on Martin Truex, Jr. who is listed at +725 to win this event according to Bovada. Truex is in good form coming off a 3rd place finish at Kansas ten days ago after finishing in 2nd place in Kentucky on July 12th. Truex thrives on intermediate tracks with his ten wins on those courses being tops on the circuit. Truex also won at Martinsville Speedway in June which required the 750 horsepower package. He has a great track record at New Hampshire where he has the top average finish along with having the most laps led in the three races here since 2017. Truex was dominant in the 2018 race here where he’d have the second most laps led while earning the best driver rating. Truex is linked with Brad Keselowski in head-to-head betting propositions.  Keselowski has vulture two wins on the tour this year but his car has rarely been one of the fastest in these events. There is no question that Keselowski is a savvy driver who has been inside the top-ten in his last five races. But Keselowski has just an average finish of 13.2 on intermediate tracks since 2017 — and his driver rating of 94.7 on intermediate tracks is far below the driver rating of 110.6 that Truex enjoys on intermediate tracks. Keselowski has averaged just a 13.75 average finish here at New Hampshire in his last four races here. Take Truex (7523) in head-to-head betting propositions versus Keselowski. Best of luck for us -- Frank.

At 4:10 PM ET on Sunday, we will be playing the money-line on the Houston Astros (923) versus the Los Angeles Angels (924) listing both starting pitchers Josh James and Shohei Ohtani. THE SITUATION: Houston (4-4) has lost three of their last four games after a 5-4 loss in Loss Angeles to the Angels yesterday. Los Angeles (3-6) snapped a three-game losing streak with that victory.

REASONS TO TAKE THE ASTROS WITH THE MONEY-LINE: Houston should bounce-back with a strong effort this afternoon. The Astros have won 14 of their last 20 games after a loss. Additionally, Houston has won 4 of their last 5 games on the road — and they have won 41 of their last 57 games against teams who do not have a winning percentage better than 40%. Furthermore, the Astros have won 23 of their last 34 games with the Total set in the 9-10.5 range — and they have won 7 of their last 9 games on the road with the Over/Under in that range. They give the ball to James who allowed three runs in 3 innings of work in his first start of the season last Tuesday at home against Seattle. The right-hander was 5-1 with a 4.70 ERA and a 1.32 WHIP in 61 1/3 innings of work. James did flash his dynamic strikeout abilities against the Mariners as he struck out five of their batters in just those 3 innings of work. James punched out a whopping 100 batters last season in just over those 61 innings with a spectacular 16.2% swinging-strike rate. He walked too many batters last season but he did drop that rate to 8.8% of the batters he faced in the second half of the season. The deeper sabermetrics are encouraging for James with both his SIERA and xFIP projecting an ERA of 3.33 and 3.77 from his peripheral numbers last year. He was also more effective on the road where he sported a 2.73 ERA with a 0.94 WHIP and an opponent’s batting average of .121 in 29 2/3 innings of work as compared to his 6.54 ERA along with a 1.67 WHIP when pitching at home in Minute Maid Park. James also enjoyed a 2.20 ERA with a 1.10 WHIP in 16 1/3 innings during day games last season. While he is unlikely to pitch more than 5 innings in this game, he will be supported by a strong Astros bullpen that has a 2.56 ERA in 38 2/3 innings of work. Los Angeles has lost 17 of their last 21 games after a win — and they have lost 6 of their last 8 games after scoring at least five runs in their last game. Furthermore, the Angels have lost 35 of their last 51 games against teams with a winning record. And LA has not only lost 6 of their last 8 games at home but they have lost 4 of their last 5 home games as an underdog. They counter with Ohtani who is intriguing to bettors given his dual abilities as a batter along with his 3.31 ERA with a 1.16 WHIP in ten starts back in 2018 before he had Tommy John surgery. But Ohtani did not register an out in his first start on Monday in Oakland where he walked three and gave up three base hits which produced five runs. Rumors persisted last month that Ohtani was struggling with his control — we know about sixteen walks in three of his scrimmages. He threw only 15 strikes in his 30 pitches with his velocity down 4 MPH from his fastball speed in 2018. Ohtani looks a long way off — and his duties as a regular hitter in the Angels’ lineup is probably not helping his development as a pitcher. He faces an Astros team that has won 5 of their last 6 road games against right-handed starting pitchers.

FINAL TAKE: LA will likely be without the best player in baseball with Mike Trout on leave for the birth of a child. Houston has won 20 of their last 28 games against the Angels when playing in Anaheim. 20* MLB Sunday Afternoon Discounted Deal with the money-line on the Houston Astros (923) versus the Los Angeles Angels (924) listing both starting pitchers Josh James and Shohei Ohtani. Best of luck for us — Frank (and don't miss out on his 25* MLB Sunday Night ESPN Run-Line of the Month where he furthers his 9 of 10 (90%) MLB Run-Line mark for the Red Sox-Yankees' showdown).