In the rain-delayed race at Pocono last Monday afternoon, Kurt Busch notched his first point-race victory of the year. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second followed by Brad Keselowski. My top-valued pick was Matt Kenseth at +1000 betting odds but he could only manage a seventh-place finish after starting third.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s race along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by TopBet.
Kevin Harvick remains at the top of the current Sprint Cup standings with 490 points despite fading to ninth at Pocono. His lone point race win of the year driving the No. 4 Chevrolet came at Phoenix earlier in the season and he comes into this week’s race at +600 betting odds to become the fifth driver in the series to post multiple victories through the first 15 races on the schedule. Harvick finished a disappointing 29th in this race last year, but going back to the 2013 season, he has finished second in each of his five other Sprint Cup events at this track.
One of three second-favorites to win at +700 odds is Joey Logano. He is still searching for his first checkered flag of the year after making his way to the Winner’s Circle in six races last season. The No. 22 Ford did post a solid fifth-place finish at Pocono, but it was just the fourth time this year that he managed to place in the Top 5. Last season in this race Logano finished fifth and he went on to take seventh in the second race at Michigan. This extended his streak of Top 10 finishes at this track to six including a victory here in 2013. Matt Kenseth posted his first victory of the season at Dover in mid-May and he is another +700 second-favorite on the list to add to that total this Sunday along with Logano and Jimmie Johnson. Behind the wheel of the No. 20 Toyota, he is holding down the 10th spot in the standings with 382 total points aided by the fact that he led at Pocono for 31 laps. He has only managed to place inside the top five in two of the first 14 point race events, but this team’s current form is strong. Kenseth adds some solid value to his odds this week with a fourth place finish in this race last season followed by a victory in the second race at Michigan in 2015.
Odds quoted available at Bovada Sportsbook on June 9
- Kevin Harvick No.4 +550
- Joey Logano No.22 +650
- Matt Kenseth No.20 +700
- Jimmie Johnson No.48 +725
- Martin Truex, Jr. No.78 +750
- Kyle Busch No.18 +750
- Carl Edwards No.19 +900
- Kurt Busch No.41 +900
- Brad Keselowski No.2 +900
- Denny Hamlin No.11 +1000
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. No.88 +1200
- Chase Elliott No.24 +1800
- Kyle Larson No.42 +2000
- Kasey Kahne No.5 +4000
- Austin Dillon No.3 +5000
- Jamie McMurray No.1 +6600
- Ryan Newman No.31 +6600
- Tony Stewart No.14 +6600
- Clint Bowyer No.15 +10000
- Greg Biffle No.16 +10000
- Paul Menard No.27 +10000
- Ryan Blaney No.21 +10000
- A. J. Allmendinger No.47 +25000
- Aric Almirola No.43 +25000
- Regan Smith No.7 +25000
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. No.17 +25000
- Trevor Bayne No.6 +30000
- Casey Mears No.13 +50000
- Danica Patrick No.10 +50000
- David Ragan No.23 +50000
- Ty Dillon No.95 +50000
- Brian Scott No.44 +100000
- Chris Buescher No.34 +100000
- Cole Whitt No.98 +100000
- Jeffrey Earnhardt No.32 +100000
- Josh Wise No.30 +100000
- Landon Cassill No.38 +100000
- Matt DiBenedetto No.93 +100000
- Michael Annett No.46 +100000
- Reed Sorenson No.55 +100000