NASCAR heads to Brickyard for Allstate 400
NASCAR heads to Brickyard for Allstate 400
With just over half of the season's 36-race schedule completed, NASCAR takes over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Tony Stewart currently leads the Spring Cup Series, but has two of the Hendrick Motorsports boys, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (pictured), right behind him heading into this race. ESPN has the TV coverage starting at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
If you’re looking for a way to focus your handicapping for Sunday afternoon’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (2 PM ET), look no further than the Top 10 in the current Sprint Cup Series points standings.
Since NASCAR has been running races at Indianapolis in 1994, no one that has taken the checkered flag has been outside of the Top 10 in the standings. On top of that, only two drivers in the history of the race (Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd) have cashed at the Brickyard without having ever won a Cup title.
That means we’re looking at the chalk for Sunday’s race, and that’s a group that includes current Series points leader Tony Stewart, and the Hendrick Motorsports triumvirate of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin. Stewart (+600 to win the race outright) won at Indy in 2007, and has had tremendous success for his backers at the four flat-track races this season. Victorious at Pocono in June, Stewart also came in second in Phoenix and Richmond, the other two flat-track configurations in the Series.
Stewart did finish 23rd at the Brickyard last year, but you almost have to give that race a mulligan because of the tire issues that dominated the afternoon. Outside of that performance, Smoke has been in the Top 10 in the past four stops at Indianapolis.
Gordon (+700) is always a sharp play in his native Indiana because of the returns he’s provided at Indy since 1994. The No. 24 DuPont won the first event 15 years ago, and has four wins at the Brickyard overall. Gordon has three poles, nine Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, the most laps led, and the best average finish (8.6) of any driver all-time at Indy. Bolstering the case for Gordon are his Top 10 finishes in three of the last four flat-track races.
Fellow Hendrick teammate Johnson is priced as the pre-race favorite at most outlets at +500, and it’s hard to disagree with oddsmakers’ judgment. Johnson took the checkered flag at Indianapolis last year for his second career win on the track in his career. Like Gordon, Johnson has come up with a trio of Top 10 showings in the last four flat-track events, and has six Top 10s in the last seven Cup races overall.
Martin is listed along with Gordon at +700, but the NASCAR veteran is being overvalued by public bettors heading into Sunday. Martin does lead the Series with four wins this season, but he’s never won at the Brickyard in 15 attempts despite three Top 10s in the last four races at Indy. Riding high after his triumph at Chicagoland two weeks ago, Martin bucks our initial trend because he’s currently in 11th place in the points standings.
There’s value in the trifecta of Denny Hamlin (+1000), David Reutimann (+6000), and Sam Hornish Jr. (+8000), although the former is the only one of the three in the Top 10 in the standings (fifth). Hamlin has a pair of Top 10s in the past four races at the Brickyard, and is driving well with four Top 10s in his past five races. Reutimann was the unlikely winner at Charlotte, and has three Top 10s in the past four flat-track races, while Hornish Jr. has Top 10s in all four.
Kurt Busch (+1200), Carl Edwards (+700), Ryan Newman (+3000), Kasey Kahne (+1500), Juan Pablo Montoya (+4000), and Greg Biffle (+1200) also figure to contend at the Brickyard, but they’re more likely looking at the Top 10 as opposed to Victory Lane. There’s also a tendency to fade Harvick (+4500), because his best finish over his last eight races is 17th, but bettors shouldn’t sleep on the No. 29 car. Harvick has won at Indy before, and has five Top 10s in his last six entries at the Brickyard prior to last season’s 37th during the tire debacle.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s top man, Kyle Busch, is on the betting odds board near the chalk at +800, but that’s an overreaction from squares. Busch does have three victories this season after a hot start, but he has only one Top 10 in the past seven races.
With just over half of the season's 36-race schedule completed, NASCAR takes over the Indianapolis Motor Speedway this weekend for Sunday's Allstate 400 at the Brickyard. Tony Stewart currently leads the Spring Cup Series, but has two of the Hendrick Motorsports boys, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson (pictured), right behind him heading into this race. ESPN has the TV coverage starting at 1:00 PM on Sunday.
If you’re looking for a way to focus your handicapping for Sunday afternoon’s Allstate 400 at the Brickyard (2 PM ET), look no further than the Top 10 in the current Sprint Cup Series points standings.
Since NASCAR has been running races at Indianapolis in 1994, no one that has taken the checkered flag has been outside of the Top 10 in the standings. On top of that, only two drivers in the history of the race (Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd) have cashed at the Brickyard without having ever won a Cup title.
That means we’re looking at the chalk for Sunday’s race, and that’s a group that includes current Series points leader Tony Stewart, and the Hendrick Motorsports triumvirate of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Mark Martin. Stewart (+600 to win the race outright) won at Indy in 2007, and has had tremendous success for his backers at the four flat-track races this season. Victorious at Pocono in June, Stewart also came in second in Phoenix and Richmond, the other two flat-track configurations in the Series.
Stewart did finish 23rd at the Brickyard last year, but you almost have to give that race a mulligan because of the tire issues that dominated the afternoon. Outside of that performance, Smoke has been in the Top 10 in the past four stops at Indianapolis.
Gordon (+700) is always a sharp play in his native Indiana because of the returns he’s provided at Indy since 1994. The No. 24 DuPont won the first event 15 years ago, and has four wins at the Brickyard overall. Gordon has three poles, nine Top 5s, 12 Top 10s, the most laps led, and the best average finish (8.6) of any driver all-time at Indy. Bolstering the case for Gordon are his Top 10 finishes in three of the last four flat-track races.
Fellow Hendrick teammate Johnson is priced as the pre-race favorite at most outlets at +500, and it’s hard to disagree with oddsmakers’ judgment. Johnson took the checkered flag at Indianapolis last year for his second career win on the track in his career. Like Gordon, Johnson has come up with a trio of Top 10 showings in the last four flat-track events, and has six Top 10s in the last seven Cup races overall.
Martin is listed along with Gordon at +700, but the NASCAR veteran is being overvalued by public bettors heading into Sunday. Martin does lead the Series with four wins this season, but he’s never won at the Brickyard in 15 attempts despite three Top 10s in the last four races at Indy. Riding high after his triumph at Chicagoland two weeks ago, Martin bucks our initial trend because he’s currently in 11th place in the points standings.
There’s value in the trifecta of Denny Hamlin (+1000), David Reutimann (+6000), and Sam Hornish Jr. (+8000), although the former is the only one of the three in the Top 10 in the standings (fifth). Hamlin has a pair of Top 10s in the past four races at the Brickyard, and is driving well with four Top 10s in his past five races. Reutimann was the unlikely winner at Charlotte, and has three Top 10s in the past four flat-track races, while Hornish Jr. has Top 10s in all four.
Kurt Busch (+1200), Carl Edwards (+700), Ryan Newman (+3000), Kasey Kahne (+1500), Juan Pablo Montoya (+4000), and Greg Biffle (+1200) also figure to contend at the Brickyard, but they’re more likely looking at the Top 10 as opposed to Victory Lane. There’s also a tendency to fade Harvick (+4500), because his best finish over his last eight races is 17th, but bettors shouldn’t sleep on the No. 29 car. Harvick has won at Indy before, and has five Top 10s in his last six entries at the Brickyard prior to last season’s 37th during the tire debacle.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s top man, Kyle Busch, is on the betting odds board near the chalk at +800, but that’s an overreaction from squares. Busch does have three victories this season after a hot start, but he has only one Top 10 in the past seven races.