Jimmie Johnson was favored to win last week at Dover and he came through for bettors with his third trip to Victory Lane this season in a Cup Series point race. Kyle Larson was the runner up at the Monster Mile and Martin Truex Jr. place third. My reach on Matt Kenseth as a +1800 to valued contender never came close to paying off in his 13th-place finish after starting fourth.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s race at Pocono along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by 5Dimes.
Race Favorites
The top three finishers in last week’s race just so happen to be the top three favorites to win this Sunday’s race at Pocono starting with Kyle Larson at +500 betting odds. His second-place finish at Dover was his fifth of the season to go along with a victory earlier in the year at Fontana. The No. 42 Chevrolet is currently in second place in the Cup Series standings with 536 points. This is Larson’s fourth full-time season racing at NASCAR’s highest level and in six previous point-race events at this week’s track his average finishing position is a solid 8.8.
Martin Truex Jr. has also been opened at +500 odds to win on Sunday and he comes into this race at the top of the list in the current standings with 545 total points. He is also one of just three drivers with multiple victories this season in a point-race event with wins at Las Vegas and more recently at Kansas. He followed up that latest victory with a pair of third-place finishes in his last two events. The No. 78 Chevrolet with Truex behind the wheel has had some success at Pocono including a victory in this race in 2015, but in his last three trips around this track he has finished well outside the top 10.
Bettors can get +600 odds on NASCAR’s hottest driver this season as Jimmie Johnson takes aim at winning his fourth point race of the year. Along with last week’s winning run at Dover, the No. 48 Chevrolet took the checkered flag in consecutive races at Fort Worth and Bristol so the precedent for back-to-back wins has already been set. Johnson gives you a chance to cash in almost any time he is behind the wheel and adding even more value to these odds is his three career wins at Pocono behind a solid 10.6 average finishing position at this track. He took third in this race in 2015 before fading to 35th last season as result of a wreck.
