It took 33 point races to make his way to Victory Lane, but veteran driver Jeff Gordon has punched his ticket to the championship race with a win last week at Martinsville. Jamie McMurray ended-up second and Denny Hamlin took third. Brad Keselowski was my top valued contender at +1200 but he faded all the way to 32nd in a very disappointing run.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s Sprint Cup race along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by Bovada.
Kevin Harvick squeezed his way into the Eliminator Round after using some questionable race tactics at Talladega and with last Sunday’s eighth-place finish at Martinsville the No. 4 car is holding down the fourth and final spot in the season-ending championship race at Miami-Homestead right now. He has not been in top form in the last three races of the Chase after winning at Dover and taking second at Charlotte, but as a +400 favorite to win on Sunday, there is still some solid value in those odds. It also helps that he placed second in his last two trips around this track in a Sprint Cup race.
The second-favorite to win this race is Joey Logano at +450 betting odds. He was close to winning his fourth-straight Chase event last week before getting wrecked by Matt Kenseth in a very controversial incident that dropped this team to eighth in the current Sprint Cup standings. However, I would expect the No. 22 car to right in the thick of things this Sunday at Fort Worth. Logano posted a solid fourth-place finish in the first race here this season and he has now finished fifth or better in four of his last five runs around this track including a victory in 2014.
Last Sunday’s fade to the tail-end of the field after starting second leaves Brad Keselowski on the outside looking in as far as advancing to the championship race given his sixth-place positon in the current standings. I liked his chances last week at longer odds, but I would have to question the value in his +600 odds to win this race. The No. 2 car took a big step backwards following solid runs in the previous three races in the Chase. Keselowski did climb into the Top 5 at Fort Worth earlier in the season after finishing third in this event last year so he does have
- Kevin Harvick No.4 +400
- Joey Logano No.22 +450
- Brad Keselowski No.2 +500
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 +500
- Kyle Busch No.18 +650
- Carl Edwards No.19 +1200
- Kurt Busch No.41 +1200
- Martin Truex, Jr. No.78 +1200
- Denny Hamlin No.11 +1400
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No.88 +1800
- Kasey Kahne No.5 +2000
- Jeff Gordon No.24 +2000
- Kyle Larson No.42 +3300
- Jamie McMurray No.1 +7500
- Austin Dillon No.3 +10000
- Clint Bowyer No.15 +10000
- Ryan Blaney No.21 +10000
- Ryan Newman No.31 +10000
- Tony Stewart No.14 +10000
- Brian Scott No.33 +10000
- David Ragan No.55 +15000
- Greg Biffle No.16 +15000
- Paul Menard No.27 +15000
- Aric Almirola No.43 +20000
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. No.17 +25000
- A. J. Allmendinger No.47 +50000
- Casey Mears No.13 +50000
- Sam Hornish, Jr. No.9 +50000
- Trevor Bayne No.6 +50000
- Danica Patrick No.10 +59999
- Alex Bowman No.7 +100000
- Brett Moffitt No.34 +100000
- Cole Whitt No.35 +100000
- J.J. Yeley No.26 +100000
- Jeb Burton No.23 +100000
- Justin Allgaier No.51 +100000
- Landon Cassill No.40 +100000
- Matt DiBenedetto No.83 +100000
- Michael Annett No.46 +100000
- Michael McDowell No.95 +100000
- Reed Sorenson No.62 +100000
- Ryan Preece No.98 +100000
- Joey Gase No.32 +100000
- David Gilliland No.38 +199999
