This week the Sprint Cup series heads back to Brooklyn, Michigan for the second time this season for the running of the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway. Sunday’s race is set to get underway at 9 a.m. (PT) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Last week on the road course at Watkins
Glenn, Marcos Ambrose used his open-wheel racing experience to take the
checkered flag as a 7/1 favorite. Brad Keselowski finished second and Jimmie
Johnson ended-up third. Our value pick for the week was Juan Montoya at 10/1.
He started on the pole but a wreck on the 63rd lap ended his day.
NASCAR Betting Preview- Pure Michigan 400
The following is a look at a few of the favorites to watch on Sunday afternoon along with our value pick according to their current odds to win as provided by WagerWeb.
Favorites
With NASCAR back on an oval track this
week, it is little wonder that its hottest driver is the favorite to win at
6/1. Jimmie Johnson’s third-place
finish last Sunday vaulted him into the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings
with 777 points. The No. 48 car has now finished in the top five in half of the
22 point races this season and has three outright wins. The value in these odds
is also enhanced by Johnson’s recent performance at this track. He finished
fifth in the first race here this season and ended-up second in last year’s
race. The only real negative is that he has never won a race at Michigan.
The No. 88 race team is hoping lightning
can strike twice with a second-straight win at Michigan. Its driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. snapped a four-year
drought with a victory at this track earlier this season and has been opened at
7/1 to win here again on Sunday. He fell from first to fourth in the standings
after a rough outing at Watkins Glenn, but remains just 17 points in back of
Johnson. Junior is still in solid form with nine top-five finishes this season
and has obviously had some recent success at this track.
Another driver that has been opened at
7/1 is Kyle Busch. He ran into some
bad luck last week that ended-up costing him the race as he continues to press
for a guaranteed spot in the Chase. The No. 18 car is currently in 14th
place in the standings and will most likely need another win to make it into
this season’s 10-race playoff for the title. This Sunday could be a golden
opportunity to get it done considering that Busch comes into this race as the
defending champion. He has four other top-10 finishes at Michigan and an
average finishing position of 16.6.
The third driver to be opened at 7/1 is Tony Stewart. The defending Sprint Cup
champion is currently eighth in the standings with 716 points and in solid
position to make the Chase with three victories this season. The problem with
the No. 14 car is that it has been incredibly streaky. It won two of the first
five races of the season and had a stretch of three top five’s in four races
including a win at Daytona, but has managed just one top five in its last four
races. Stewart does adds value to his odds with a string of five straight top
10 finishes at Michigan including a second-place finish in the first race here
this season.
Top
Value Pick
Matt
Kenseth has very quietly put himself
in prime position for a run at this season’s Sprint Cup title. His eighth-place
finish last week was his first top ten in his last four races, but the No. 17
car is still in third-place in the standings with 775 points. It has nine
top-five finishes on its resume including a victory in the Daytona 500. What
makes Kenseth our value NASCAR pick to win this week at 10/1 is his recent performance
at this track. He finished third in the first race this year and was second in
last year’s race. He has two career victories at this track and an overall
finishing position of 9.3.