Jimmie Johnson got his 2017 Cup Series season back on track following a slow start out of the blocks with a victory at Texas two weeks ago. Kyle Larson remained the hottest driver in the Monster Energy Series with another second-place finish and Joey Logano placed third.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s race at Bristol along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by 5Dimes.
Race Favorites
Brad Keselowski is the only two-time winner this season through the first seven point-race events with victories at Atlanta and Martinsville. He has been opened as a +550 favorite to add to this total on Sunday afternoon. Along with his two trips to the Winner’s Circle in the No. 2 Ford, he has also managed to work his way into the Top 5 in three other events. Add in a sixth-place run his last time out at Texas and the 2012 Cup Series Champion is making a strong run at a second career title this year. He won this race back in 2012 after winning the second race of the 2011 season at this track and his best finish since then has been second in the fall race of 2014.
There is a trio of drivers listed as +600 second-favorites to win this race led by Kyle Larson. The No. 42 Chevrolet has earned its place as the hottest car on the track this season with a victory at Fontana to go along four runner-up finishes including the one at Texas before last week’s break. This team is currently first in the standings with a total of 315 points. This is Larson’s fourth season racing full time at NASCAR’s highest level and in six previous races at Bristol his best finish is seventh in this event in 2015. Some of the value in his odds is also drained with an average finishing position of 21.5 at this track.
Both Kyle Busch and Joey Logano join Larson as +600 second-favorites to win on Sunday and I would have to lean towards Logano right now as the better value. Both drivers are still looking for their first checkered flag of the season, but with Logano’s third-place finish at Texas he has shown much better consistency through the first seven events. His No. 22 Ford has made its way into the top five in four races this year to hold down the fifth spot in the standings with 243 total points. Logano has posted victories in the second race at Bristol in both the 2014 and 2015 season and he remained competitive in both races here last season with a 10th-place finish in each event.
