It took two days of racing in Bristol last week due to bad weather for Kyle Busch to win his second consecutive Cup Series race of the season. Kyle Larson took second in that race, and Jimmie Johnson made a strong run at the checkered flag as my +1650 top-valued pick by taking third.
The following is a look at a trio of the top favorites to win Saturday night’s race in Richmond along with my top-valued pick at longer odds as provided by 5Dimes.
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Toyota Owners 400 Race Favorites
Kyle Busch +350
There is no real reason why Busch should not be favored to win his third point race in a row. At the very least he should be in the top three at Richmond since he has not finished higher than third in each of his last six Cup Series races. This is some incredible racing consistency for Busch and his No. 18 Toyota as this team continues to widen its lead atop the Cup Series standings with a total of 365 points. Last season at Richmond did not turn out as planned with a 16th-place finish in this race followed by a ninth-place run later in the season. Busch still has a solid 7.4 average finishing position at this track on the strength of four career victories.
Kevin Harvick +400
Earlier in the season, Harvick got used to finishing ahead of Busch as part of his trio of victories in a span of three events. Since making those three-straight trips to the Winner’s Circle, the No. 4 Ford has just one run in the top three over the past four point races including a seventh-place finish on Monday at Bristol. This is still another dominant race team that is sitting in third place in the current standings with 290 total points. Harvick placed fifth in this race last season after finishing fifth the year before as well. His final victory at this track in a Cup Series race was in 2013.
Denny Hamlin +650
The Virginia native is racing in his old stomping grounds this week coming off a 14th-place finish in neighboring Tennessee. He placed 12th at another Virginia track a few weeks back in Martinsville to post his best finish in his last three races. The No. 11 Toyota started the season on a strong note with a pair of fourth-place runs at Atlanta and Phoenix, but current form adds a question mark to these high odds. Hamlin has had some recent success at Richmond with five-straight runs of sixth or better including a victory in the second race here in 2016. His average finishing position at this track is 9.6.
