NASCAR: Lenox Industrial Tools 301
Game Time: Sunday, June 29, 2008 02:00 PM ET
It's flat track time as NASCAR heads to New Hampshire Motore Speedway in Loudon for this weekend's action. Kyle Busch, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin are a trio to watch Sunday.
Last Week: Brutal. We were looking really good for a double-win behind the road-course-savvy hands of Tony Stewart. Smoke had just jumped into second place at Sonoma with about 20 laps to go when a few knuckleheads behind him decided to make trouble, wrecking themselves and spinning out Stewart in the process. The No. 20 could only get back to 10th place, which wasn't enough to give him a win in our head-to-head match against Juan Pablo Montoya.
And that bad luck puts us on our first three-race losing streak of the season. For the week, we lost 1.5 units; for the season, we've still profited 3.2 units on 23 units wagered, a return of 13.9%, and we've given you winning weeks in 12 of 16 events.
(Odds are from Linesmaker.com)
Take Denny Hamlin (+700), 1/6th unit: This weekend, we head to the flat track at Loudon. Now, Hamlin gives you a shot at a win every time he comes to a flat track. He won at Martinsville this season, he was third at Phoenix (with a legit chance to win that race) and he led 380 laps at Richmond before blowing a tire from the lead.
Hamlin also has a career win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, in this race last season. Something does always seem to happen to him while he's leading races late, but still, he's a very solid bet to be in contention on Sunday.
Take Kyle Busch (+500), 1/6th unit: There's no sense betting against this particular winning streak any longer. The younger Busch has five wins in not quite half a season, and it was pretty much unthinkable that he'd dominate a road course like he did at Sonoma last weekend. He's just absolutely on fire.
Plus in his career he has four finishes of 11th or better at Loudon in six tries, including a victory back in the spring of '06. Think of this as insurance against yet another dominant effort by the Shrub.
Take Clint Bowyer (+1500), 1/6th unit: Bowyer has been the most consistent driver on flat tracks this year. He finished 10th at Martinsville, second at Phoenix, and he was able to pick up the scraps from Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+800) at Richmond, and take his second career win.
Plus remember: His first career win came at this very track last September, when he dominated in the Car of Tomorrow, leading 222 laps and momentarily taking the lead in the Chase for the Championship. This week, I'd scoop him up while his odds are this long.