Kevin Harvick remained on top of the Sprint Cup standings this week following his second-straight point race victory in last Sunday’s race at Phoenix. Jamie McMurray posted his first top-five finish of the season as the runner-up and for the second race in a row Ryan Newman finished third.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s race along with my top value pick of the week based on odds from Sportsbook.ag.
“If it is not broke then why fix it” must be the Oddsmakers’ attitude in this week’s race with Kevin Harvick sitting at +400 betting odds to extend his current winning streak to three. He has not taken his foot off the gas in the No. 4 car since last season’s run to a Sprint Cup title with two second-place finishes to go along with the victories in his last two races. That is about as dominating as it can get in a sport that is extremely hard to dominate on a week by week basis. Harvick also adds some value to these lofty odds with a victory in this race in 2011 as part of a five-race run from 2009 to 2012 where he did not finish outside the top 10 at this track.
If you are looking for a local home-town California favorite to bet on this week then Jimmie Johnson as a +600 second-favorite is your man. The six-time Sprint Cup Champion is also off to a strong start in the No. 48 car with a victory at Atlanta following a fifth-place finish at Daytona in the season opener. This team’s last two runs have been forgettable, but Johnson adds some tremendous value to his odds given his impressive Sprint Cup record at Fontana. Over the course of his storied career, he has claimed five checkered flags at this track and his average finishing position here is a rock-solid 6.6.
The third-favorite to win this Sunday’s race is Joey Logano at +700. NASCAR’s top young gun has followed-up his thrilling victory in this season’s Daytona 500 with three more top-10 finishes including an eighth-place finish this past Sunday in Phoenix. The No. 22 car is currently second to Harvick in the Sprint Cup standings with a total of 160 points. Fontana has not been one of Logano’s favorite tracks in seven previous runs in a Sprint Cup race including a forgettable 39th-place finish in last year’s race, but he did finish third here in 2013.
- Kevin Harvick No.4 15/4
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 5/1
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. No.88 7/1
- Brad Keselowski No.2 8/1
- Jeff Gordon No.24 17/2
- Joey Logano No.22 17/2
- Carl Edwards No.19 12/1
- Kasey Kahne No.5 12/1
- Kurt Busch No.41 12/1
- Matt Kenseth No.20 12/1
- Kyle Larson No.42 16/1
- Martin Truex Jr. No.78 16/1
- Denny Hamlin No.11 20/1
- Ryan Newman No.31 28/1
- Jamie McMurray No.1 40/1
- Tony Stewart No.14 40/1
- David Ragan No.18 50/1
- Clint Bowyer No.15 75/1
- Greg Biffle No.16 75/1
- Paul Menard No.27 75/1
- Austin Dillon No.3 100/1
- Brian Vickers No.55 100/1
- A.J. Allmendinger No.47 250/1
- Aric Almirola No.43 250/1
- Danica Patrick No.10 250/1
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. No.17 300/1
- Sam Hornish Jr. No.9 300/1
- Casey Mears No.13 500/1
- Trevor Bayne No.6 500/1
