The last time NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series was in action Kyle Busch was putting the finishing touches on a championship run with his victory last November at Homestead-Miami in the final point race of the 2015 season. Speed Week at Daytona kicks-off this season’s run to the Sprint Cup title starting with the Sprint Unlimited on Saturday night.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this race along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by 5Dimes.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. faded to 12th in the final 2015 Sprint Cup standings with a disappointing performance in the Chase, but he did post three victories and 13 additional Top-5 finishes as part of last season’s resume. He is always a perennial favorite to win any race he runs at Daytona and one of those three victories last year in the No. 88 car was in the second race here. His odds to jump-start this season with a win in this race are set at +700, but some of the value has been drained with his recent results in this event. His last victory in this 75-lap exhibition race came in 2008 and he has not finished better than eighth since that win.
Also listed at +700 betting odds to win on Saturday night is Jimmie Johnson. He is also coming off a disappointing run in last year’s Chase that dropped him to 10th in the final standings, but the six-time Sprint Cup Champion still had the second-most point race victories in the series with five. He is the type of driver that has a chance to win anytime he gets behind the wheel and you can rest assured that the No. 48 team is also looking to get a fast start out of the gate in 2016. Johnson does lose a bit of value in these odds with three-straight finishes of 14th or higher in his last four Sprint Unlimited races.
The next driver on betting board to win on Saturday night is Kevin Harvick at +850 odds. He has been the most consistent driver in the Sprint Cup series over the past two seasons with a title run in 2014 followed by a runner-up finish to Kyle Busch in last season’s Chase. Anything can happen in this short of an event, but the simple fact that the No. 4 car finished first or second in 16 point races last season makes him a serious contender to be right in the mix on Saturday night. Adding value to Harvick’s odds is a second-place finish in the last two Sprint Unlimited races.
Sprint Unlimited Betting Odds
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No.88 +400
- Kyle Busch No.18 +800
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 +900
- Joey Logano No.22 +900
- Kevin Harvick No.4 +1000
- Denny Hamlin No.11 +1000
- Matt Kenseth No.20 +1200
- Kurt Busch No.41 +1400
- Brad Keselowski No.2 +1600
- Carl Edwards No.19 +1600
- Kasey Kahne No.5 +1800
- Martin Truex, Jr. No.78 +2000
- Kyle Larson No.42 +2200
- Jamie McMurray No.1 +2200
- Austin Dillon No.3 +3300
- Clint Bowyer No.15 +3300
- Greg Biffle No.16 +4000
- Paul Menard No.27 +4000
- Ryan Newman No.31 +4000
- A. J. Allmendinger No.47 +5000
- Aric Almirola No.43 +5000
- Danica Patrick No.10 +5000
- Casey Mears No.13 +6600
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. No.17 +6600
