FedEx 400 Race Picks
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Betting Preview
Date and Time: Sunday June 1st, 2014. 1:15PM Eastern
Where: Dover International Speedway
TV: FOX
By: NASCAR Wagers, NASCAR Handicapping Service
In less than 24 hours, Sprint Cup Drivers will wrestle the Monster Mile for 400 laps in the FedEx 400 benefitting Autism Speaks at Dover International Speedway. One of the storylines that has developed over the weekend surrounds Kyle Busch who will be seeking the ultimate weekend sweep. Busch has won both of this weekend’s races thus far at Dover in the Camping World Truck Series on Friday and earlier today in the Nationwide Series. Tomorrow Busch will have the opportunity to complete the weekend trifecta at the Monster Mile. What are Busch’s chances of completing the sweep? Well let’s take a look in our preview as we provide our FedEx 400 race picks for Sunday’s Sprint Cup Series race Dover International Speedway.
Busch is the only driver in NASCAR history to win all 3 touring events in the same weekend. Rowdy swept all 3 series back in 2010 at Bristol Motor Speedway and will get the opportunity to achieve NASCAR’s version of the weekend Triple Crown again on Sunday. For Busch to complete the weekend sweep, he is going to have to find a way to beat both Jimmie Johnson and Kevin Harvick. Harvick has been the car to beat nearly every week and has once again unloaded strong at the Monster Mile. Harvick qualified in the top 10 for just the 5th time at Dover in his 26 career starts and posted the best 10 lap average in Happy Hour earlier today. Harvick finished 2nd two weeks in a row at Charlotte between the All-Star Race and the Coca Cola 600. Many fans will point out that multiple mistakes on pit road cost Harvick those wins. If the #4 team can clean up their act on pit road and simply avoid bad luck, they should be in contention again tomorrow.
Meanwhile ole “six-time”, Jimmie Johnson, got his first win of the season last week in the Coca Cola 600 and now has the chance to go back-to-back at one of his strongest tracks. Johnson has won 5 times in his last 10 starts at Dover and is the overall favorite for tomorrow’s FedEx 400. Johnson qualified well in the 4th position and also topped the charts with the fastest lap in final practice. The #48 team usually backs up strong qualifying efforts with winning race cars and many feel Johnson will be the driver to beat once again on Sunday.
A few guys that are amongst the mid-range favorites that are poised for a good run tomorrow include both Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. We have documented Logano’s strengths at the Monster Mile ever since our Newsletter was released shortly after opening odds were announced. The #22 car qualified strong in the 3rd position and has shown some strength in long runs. Penske teammate Brad Keselowski will start on the pole tomorrow and has been one of more impressive cars in practice. Keselowski and the #2 team have been dynamite in qualifying this year and will make their 8th start of the season from the front row. However those impressive qualifying efforts have not always converted into a strong showing on race day. However, Keselowski did finish 1st and 2nd in both of Saturday’s practices and perhaps he is ready to return to victory lane.
If you are looking for some bigger long shots back in the pack whether it is for sports betting or fantasy value, consider guys like Brian Vickers, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart. ‘Concrete Carl’ may be the most obvious longshot. Edwards has not overly impressed this weekend but he is plenty capable of finding the front on Sunday. Edwards already got a win at Bristol this year which is the only other entirely concrete surface on tour. More importantly Edwards has the 2nd highest average finish among all active drivers behind Jimmie Johnson.
Vickers has also sported some strong showings in his recent trips to Dover finishing no worse than 12th over the last 3 years. As for Stewart, “Smoke” appears to be gaining some of his confidence back after his long recovery from last year’s Sprint car incident. Smoke actually won in his last start on the Monster Mile back in September 2013. While he has not been in ‘top’ form, he is starting to gain some ground. Additionally, the #14 car chassis he is running this weekend has never been run on any surface other than concrete through both races and testing. Normally that means is really helpful when trying to dial in the balance of a car and it would not be surprising to see Stewart show some life in race trim tomorrow when the green flag drops.
FedEx 400 Race Picks
Joey Logano +1100 (1 unit): Starting 3rd, running new Chassis, 4 straight top 10 finishes at Dover
Brad Keselowski +850 (1.25 units): Starting from pole, finished top 2 in both Saturday practices, 2012 Dover winner.
Carl Edwards +2500 (1 unit): 2nd best average finish among active drivers, running 10th place Fontana chassis, won earlier this season at Bristol.
Kevin Harvick +450 (2 units): 2nd best average finish over last 10 races at Dover, fastest consecutive 10 lap average in both Saturday practices, running Bristol chassis.
H2H and Prop Bets
Tony Stewart +100 over Kurt Busch (3 units)
Carl Edwards +105 over Kasey Kahne (3 units)
Brian Vickers -130 over Ryan Newman (2 units)
