2015 Sprint All-Star Race Early Preview
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Betting Preview at Charlotte Motor Speedway
By: NASCARWagers.com
NASCAR returns home this week to Charlotte Motor Speedway for the 31st running of the Sprint All-Star Race. Over the years the Sprint All-Star Race has been one of the most exciting races in NASCAR. This non-points race is all about winning and its short sprint style format keeps fans and drivers on the edge of their seats. Saturday night’s format will include four different 25 lap segments followed by a final 10 lap shootout to determine the outcome. As we prepare for one of the most exciting races of the season, we take this time to provide a few early thoughts for this Saturday’s Sprint All-Star Race.
One of the main story lines entering this Saturday’s event is the return of Kyle Busch to the #18 car. Busch suffered a broken leg and ankle in a crash at Daytona in the Xfinity Series. Therefore, this weekend’s All-Star Race will be Busch’s first race since the Sprint Unlimited back at Daytona. There is no doubt that having Busch back in the driver seat is great for NASCAR and perhaps even better for the All-Star Race. Busch’s driving style blurs the lines of aggression, desperation to win, and no regrets which is exactly what the All-Star Race is all about. How ironic that “Rowdy” returns to the race the exemplifies his name.
It would be a bit unfair to expect Busch to ride into the All-Star Race and steal a victory even though that story line would be exciting. In reality, Joe Gibbs Racing cars have not performed well on the 1.5 mile tracks and none of their cars has truly shown they are ready to contend for a victory heading into Charlotte. Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, and Matt Kenseth have just two top 5 finishes combined (12 total starts) this season on 1.5 mile tracks. None of the JGR cars have really had any dominating or contending type performances this year on similar tracks. Therefore, it would be safe to say that the organization has some ground to make up before they are ready to contend which in theory may eliminate their expected chances to win this Saturday.
If you are looking to predict a winner, then the conversation starts with Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson. In fact given Johnson’s resume at Charlotte and current momentum, he would get the nod ahead of Harvick. Johnson has already racked up 3 wins this season which have all come on the 1.5 mile tracks. As most are aware, Charlotte has been one of Johnson’s best tracks throughout his career and he has won 2 of the last 3 All-Star races. Therefore the #48 has to be the car to beat entering the weekend. However, Harvick is close behind. Harvick has been equally strong on the 1.5 mile tracks with a win in Las Vegas along with a pair of runner-up finishes at Texas and Kansas. Both of Harvick’s runner-up finishes were 2nd to Johnson so needless to say these two drivers are the clear favorites for this Saturday night’s short event.
Still, the beauty of the All-Star Race is that it is a short race and points are a non-factor. Therefore teams will take chances on pit road and try different strategies to put their car in position for the win. Additionally, teams will only get 2 or 3 chances to adjust on their cars after the green flag drops. If you look at last week’s Kansas race, Jimmie Johnson nearly went a lap down early in the race. Luckily Chad Knaus and the #48 crew had plenty of chances to work on the race car which ultimately helped Jimmie Johnson get another victory along with a great late race call for no tires. This Saturday night teams will not have the luxury of having 400 plus miles to work on their race cars meaning teams better be close from the drop of the green flag or be willing to make some drastic calls on pit road.
In a short race, there is a chance for anomalies for teams that hit the mark on their setup. Just last year, Jamie McMurray scored a surprising win in the All-Star Race. Nobody expected McMurray to win last year but the #1 team really hit the mark on their setup which will be critical again this Saturday. A few guys that could threaten to make a surprising win this week include guys like Kurt Busch and Kasey Kahne. Both guys have been pretty solid this year especially Busch in the #41 car. The elder Busch has had several instances where he has shown tremendous speed this year especially on the 1.5-2 mile tracks. The 2010 Sprint All-Star Race winner has also had a few solid runs in the All-Star race in recent years which I think sets up the #41 as a solid dark horse this Saturday night. Another good dark horse pick would be Kasey Kahne. The #5 has been running well in recent weeks and Charlotte happens to be one of Kahne’s best tracks with 4 wins and a victory in the 2008 All-Star Race.
Another guy that has a great chances of winning this Saturday which may be a surprising pick to some is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Earnhardt is not a guy that you like to pick on the 1.5 mile tracks. In fact, it has been nearly a decade since he last won on a 1.5 mile track. However if you look at how the #88 car has run this year on the 1.5 mile tracks, then he has been the best car in the Sprint Cup Series outside of Harvick and Johnson. In 4 races on 1.5 mile track this season, Earnhardt has finished no worse than 4th. Earnhardt raced for the victory back at Texas which is relative because Texas most closely resembles Charlotte as compared to any of the other 1.5 mile tracks. Therefore do not be hesitant to consider the #88 this Saturday night as Earnhardt Jr seeks his first All-Star Race win since winning this race as a rookie in 2000.
