NASCAR’s Cup Series heads to Charlotte Motor Speedway for its annual two-week stint ahead of the Coco-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 26. The highlight of this weekend’s racing action is the 2019 All-Star Race on Saturday night. The green flag for this $1 million non-point event is set to wave at 8 p.m. on FOX Sports 1.
2019 All-Star Race – Top Value Picks
Brad Keselowski posted his third victory of the season in a point-race event with last Saturday night’s win at Kansas. Alex Bowman was second in the race with Erik Jones rounding out the top three drivers. Kevin Harvick was my top play at +750 odds, but he faded to 13th after starting from the pole position.
Turning to this Saturday night’s exhibition race, the following three drivers have the best value in their odds to win at 5Dimes online sportsbook.
2019 All-Star Race Top Favorite – Joey Logano +700
Logano is one of six drivers with a victory this season through the first the first 12 point-race events on the Cup Series schedule. Along with five additional runs inside the top five, he has his No. 22 Ford team at the top of the current standings with a total of 478 points. Anything can happen in a shortened exhibition race such as Saturday night’s event, so his current racing form is what adds the best value to his odds to win. There is also a reason why he is the reigning Cup Series Champion.
When it comes to Logano’s recent performance in the annual All-Star Race, he has placed eighth or better in his last four events. This includes a victory at Charlotte in 2016 and a third-place finish in last year’s race.
2019 All-Star Race Top Contender – Denny Hamlin +1200
With three-straight finishes outside the top 10, Hamlin has not been at his best lately. Prior to the recent slide, he was one of the most consistent drivers in the standings with eight Top 10 finishes in his first nine Cup Series events. Six of the runs ended up in the top five. He is also one of four drivers with multiple victories this season after taking the checkered flag in the Daytona 500 and at Texas Motor Speedway. Hamlin has his No. 11 Toyota in sixth place in the standings with 404 total points.
Turning to Hamlin’s record in the All-Star Race, you can see why he does have longer odds in a limited field. He was in the mix last year finishing fourth, and he did have one career victory in this event back in 2015.
2019 All-Star Race Top Longshot – Erik Jones +2000
The betting value on the board does run deep, given the limited length and field for this exhibition. I decided to roll the dice on Jones despite his limited experience in this race. Behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota in just his third full-time season of Cup Series racing, he has made some early noise with a trio of Top 5 runs. Along with last Saturday night’s third-place finish at Kansas, he was third at Daytona and fourth at Texas. His team is 14th in the current standings with a total of 308 points.
Another reason why Jones made it to the top of the list as my top-valued longshot was his second-place finish in last year’s All-Star Race. His night ended early in this event back in 2017 in a wreck.
