NASCAR Betting Preview - Can Busch tame the Brickyard?
Follow the link for up-to-date Indy 500 odds and coverage.
NASCAR betting lines: Kyle Busch (+550), Kasey Kahne (+650), Jimmie Johnson (+675)
Online betting fans have watched Kyle Busch win on every type of track in the Sprint Cup series; now he'll try his hand at venerable Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the site of Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard.
Busch's JGR teammate, Tony Stewart, is the defending champion, but Busch is the odds-on favorite to carry the JGR flag to Victory Lane.
Busch is favored at +550 in the BetOnline.com internet sportsbook. The No.18 driver has won three of the past four races, giving him a series-high seven victories on the year. Busch is having a dream season and he's fared very well at the Brickyard in three career races, finishing an average of 7.0 and never placing outside the top-10.
Kasey Kahne is next at +650, but the No. 9 driver doesn't have very fond memories of the Brickyard; a pair of DNFs drops his finishing average to 20.5 after an average starting position of 6.2. However, he's finished top-five twice in his four races, so obviously it's feast or famine for Kahne at Indy.
2006 Brickyard winner Jimmie Johnson is next at +675, but the two-time series champion is like Kahne?he either excels at Indy or falls flat on his face. Johnson has three DNFs at Indy, as well as two top-10s and his victory two years ago.
Hometown boy Tony Stewart has won this event two of the last three years, and besides the Daytona 500, this is the biggest race of the year for the No.20 driver. Stewart's 7.6 finishing average in nine races at Indy is third-best among current drivers; he's racked up four top-fives. At NASCAR betting odds of +850, Stewart is a great value pick.
A pair of darkhorse picks have already had great success at Indy. Juan Pablo Montoya is getting +4000 odds after finishing second in 2007 in his first trip to the Brickyard in a stock car. Of course, Montoya won the Indy 500 in 2000 in an IndyCar, and he has participated several times in the Formula One series.
You can't mention the Brickyard without Jeff Gordon, who is listed at +1400 and won the inaugural race in 1994. Gordon has since won three more times at Indy, and has an amazing 11 top-10s in 14 races here.
Call me biased, but I would put my money on Stewart at the Brickyard. With him leaving to take over half of Haas-CNC Racing (it will be Stewart-Haas Racing) at the end of the season, Stewart wants to leave JGR in a blaze of glory, and there is no better place for “Smoke” to begin a torrid streak at than Indy.
Complete list of NASCAR betting odds
- Kyle Busch - +550
- Kasey Kahne - +650
- Jimmie Johnson - +675
- Carl Edwards - +800
- Tony Stewart - +850
- Denny Hamlin - +1050
- Matt Kenseth +1050
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. +1050
- Jeff Gordon +1400
- Brian Vickers +1500
- Greg Biffle +1500
- Martin Truex Jr. 2200
- Kevin Harvick +2500
- Jeff Burton +2500
- David Ragan +3000
- Mark Martin +3000
- Clint Bowyer +3000
- Kurt Busch +4000
- Juan Pablo Montoya +4000
- Ryan Newman +5000
- Jamie McMurray +7500
- Casey Mears +9500
- The Field +3000
Born in the betting capital of Las Vegas, Lee-Roy has grown to appreciate the likes of IndyCar and Formula 1 racing, but his first love is the high-speed ovals of NASCAR and he is a HUGE Tony Stewart fan. When it comes to motorsports handicapping, Buckles takes the checkered flag. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
