I was right on the money with my pick for last week’s top valued driver with Kyle Busch winning the race at Kentucky after closing at 12/1 betting odds. Joey Logano finished second and Denny Hamlin raced his way to a third-place finish in last Saturday night’s race.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s 5-Hour Energy 301 at New Hampshire along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by Bovada.
The push for this year’s Sprint Cup Chase is on and the driver leading the way in the current standings is Kevin Harvick with a total of 692 points. He has won twice this year and he comes into this race as a 4/1 favorite to win again on Sunday. The No. 4 car has torn up the track for the most of the season with another 10 top-five finishes to go along with those two wins and it has only finished outside the top 10 in one of its last 10 point races. The downside to these lofty odds is that New Hampshire has not been one of Harvick’s favorite tracks with an average finishing position of 13.9.
The second-favorite on this week’s list is Jimmie Johnson at 6/1 betting odds. The No. 48 car has posted the most victories (4) of any team this season and with last week’s ninth-place finish at Kentucky it is sitting in second-place in the standings with 624 total points. Through the first 18 point races this year, Johnson has made his way into the top 10 in 13 events. He comes into this race with a mixed bag of results at New Hampshire. A wreck landed him in 42nd place in last year’s race, but going back over his last eight trips around this track, he has finished seventh or better six times.
Brad Keselowski will look to successfully defend his title in this event as a 13/2 third-favorite to win again this Sunday. The No. 2 car has had its struggles recently with just two top-10 finishes in the last six point races, but the team remains in solid shape for the Chase with a victory at Fontana early in the season. Overall, it is holding down the sixth spot in the current standings with 559 points. Including Keselowski’s victory in this race last season he has now placed seventh or better in six of his last seven Sprint Cup races at Loudon.
- Kevin Harvick No.4 4/1
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 6/1
- Brad Keselowski No.2 13/2
- Joey Logano No.22 17/2
- Jeff Gordon No.24 10/1
- Kurt Busch No.41 10/1
- Kyle Busch No.18 10/1
- Matt Kenseth No.20 10/1
- Denny Hamlin No.11 12/1
- Martin Truex Jr. No.78 14/1
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.88 16/1
- Carl Edwards No.19 20/1
- Kasey Kahne No.5 20/1
- Kyle Larson No.42 20/1
- Jamie McMurray No.1 33/1
- Clint Bowyer No.15 50/1
- Ryan Newman No.31 50/1
- Tony Stewart No.14 50/1
- Greg Biffle No.16 75/1
- Paul Menard No.27 75/1
- A.J. Allmendinger No.47 100/1
- Aric Almirola No.43 100/1
- Austin Dillon No.3 100/1
- Casey Mears No.13 100/1
- Danica Patrick No.10 100/1
- David Ragan No.55 100/1
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. No.17 100/1
- Ryan Blaney No.21 100/1
- Trevor Bayne No.6 100/1
