It was a bit too late for Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Sprint Cup title hopes, but he was able to post his third victory of the season last Sunday at Phoenix. Kevin Harvick sealed his spot in the Championship Round with a second-place run and Joey Logano rounded-out the Top Three. Kurt Busch was once again my top valued contender for last week’s race at +1200, but he worked his way out of the Chase with a second-straight seventh-place finish.
The following is a look at TopBet’s betting odds for the final four drivers to win this Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 as well as NASCAR’s 2015 Sprint Cup title.
It would be hard to go against Harvick in either of these props bets given the way he has dominated the Sprint Cup series since last year’s Chase to winning the title. While the No. 4 car has only made its way to Victory Lane in three point races this season, this team has placed in the Top 5 in 22 of 35 events. This also includes an incredible 12 second-place runs with last week’s runner-up finish at Phoenix. What seals this pick for me was Harvick’s thrilling victory last season at Homestead-Miami to win the 2014 Sprint Cup.
This Busch brother has been one of NASCAR’s top Sprint Cup drivers for the past several seasons, but he always seemed to fade out of the picture quickly once the Chase rolled around. This season has been different with five finishes of fifth or better in his last seven races behind the wheel of the No. 18 car. This is as close as he has ever gotten to bringing home a Sprint Cup title, but I get the feeling that the stage might suddenly become a bit too big. The fact that Busch’s 23.1 average finishing position at this track does not help his cause.
The main thing that Truex Jr. has going for him in this race is that he really does not have anything to lose. He was not one of the top names on the list when the 2015 futures odds to win a Sprint Cup title were first released, but he has certainly raced well enough to guide the No. 78 car into the final four-driver field. Working against him is the simple fact that it will probably take a victory in this race to win the title and he has only taken the checkered flag once this season. The one positive is a fairly good track record at Homestead-Miami with a sixth-place finish or better in three of his last four runs.
- KEVIN HARVICK 7-2
- KYLE BUSCH 6-1
- JOEY LOGANO 7-1
- JIMMIE JOHNSON 7-1
- MATT KENSETH 8-1
- BRAD KESELOWSKI 8-1
- MARTIN TRUEX JR 10-1
- JEFF GORDON 10-1
- KURT BUSCH 12-1
- DALE EARNHARDT JR 20-1
- DENNY HAMLIN 15-1
- CARL EDWARDS 15-1
- KASEY KAHNE 30-1
- KYLE LARSON 35-1
- JAMIE McMURRAY 50-1
- RYAN NEWMAN 100-1
- AUSTIN DILLON 100-1
- RYAN BLANEY 200-1
- DAVID RAGAN 300-1
- CLINT BOWYER 300-1
- TONY STEWART 300-1
- GREG BIFFLE 300-1
- PAUL MENARD 300-1
- ARIC ALMIROLA 300-1
- AJ ALLMENDINGER 500-1
- RICKY STENHOUSE JR 500-1
- DANICA PATRICK 500-1
- CASEY MEARS 500-1
- TREVOR BAYNE 500 -1
- FIELD 500-1
