Toyota Owners 400 Early Preview
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Betting and Fantasy Preview
By: NASCARWagers.com
NASCAR fans were treated to one of the best races of the season this past weekend at Bristol Motor Speedway. The Food City 500 had a little bit of everything from starting the race in the day light to ending at night, from teammates wrecking each other, to blown strategies on pit road, dreadful fuel situations, and absolute carnage throughout more than 500 laps of racing. Yes, it will be hard to top last weekend’s excitement at Bristol. However if there is one track that can top last weekend’s drama filled event at Thundery Valley, then it is under the lights at Richmond International Raceway. As we get ready for some classic Saturday night style racing, we take this time to provide our Toyota Owners 400 early preview!
Going into this Saturday’s night race at Richmond, it would be hard to ignore the momentum coming from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. Through 2 short track races this season, JGR has two wins with Denny Hamlin at Martinsville and Matt Kenseth at Bristol on Sunday. This week JGR drivers try to tackle “America’s Premier Short Track” known as Richmond International. All JGR drivers have at least 1 win at Richmond on their resume with the exception of David Ragan who is still substituting for the injured Kyle Busch. Busch actually holds the most wins among all active drivers with 4 victories and is typically among the drivers to beat in Richmond.
However, this week it will be up to Busch’s teammates to keep the momentum going. Hamlin is a two time Richmond winner but surely questions will be raised this week about his health after exiting Sunday’s race at Bristol with neck and back spasms. Surely we expect Hamlin to be behind the wheel and he has the best average finishing position of all drivers behind Kyle Busch. Outside of Hamlin, expect both Kenseth and Carl Edwards to be ready to challenge yet again this week as well. Kenseth has run really consistent at Richmond in recent years while the #19 team keeps getting better every week. In fact, Edwards arguably had the fastest car in last week’s Food City 500 before a late crash ended his chances. The #19 team has been putting some really fast cars on the track in recent weeks and I think Edwards is one of the dark horses that bettors really need to consider this week.
Speaking of dark horses, bettors looking for a long shot should look no further than the #31 machine of Ryan Newman. Newman posted yet another solid performance with his 5th place run at Bristol last Sunday giving the #31 team their 4th top 5 finish of the season. To put things in perspective, Newman’s 4 top 5 finishes are tied for 2nd behind only Kevin Harvick. This week Newman visits statistically his best track at Richmond where he has posted an 11.19 average finishing position through 26 career starts which includes a win back in 2003. While it may seem like Newman is a big long shot, if the #31 team keeps hanging around the top 5 they are going to win one of these races very soon and there is no reason that it could not happen this Saturday.
While it may be a little too early to talk about dark horses, let’s talk about two guys that I believe are poised for a winning run this Saturday. The first guy is Kevin Harvick, I know I really went out on a limb there right? Well Harvick is a 3 time winner at Richmond and has the 3rd best average finish among all active drivers. The #4 car has been the class of the field all year and they were really strong last week at Bristol before a late crash ended their day. Considering Harvick’s poor resume at Bristol, it was a bit surprising to see them run so strong. This week I think it could be one of those dominate days for the #4 team as Harvick gets to flex his muscle at one of his better tracks. Also, keep in mind that Richmond has a lot of similarities to Phoenix where Harvick has dominated like no other driver in NASCAR history.
Another guy that I think has a good chance to win this Saturday is Jeff Gordon. The #24 team has had a pretty awful start towards Jeff’s farewell tour, but they are starting to turn things around. In fact, Gordon has rather quietly put together 5 straight top 10 finishes since starting the season with finishes of 33rd, 41st, and 18th. Gordon’s 3rd place finish last week at Bristol was his best run of the season and I think that sets up nicely for another repeat performance this Saturday. Gordon has the 5th best driver rating in the last 10 races at Richmond and is also a two-time winner. Considering the way the team keeps getting better with each week, I think the #24 team could be ready to make another run at a victory this Saturday night.
Of course several of these early thoughts could change as the week progresses, especially when cars take to the track for the first time on Friday and we get to see which cars are fast off the truck. However, consider these notes when evaluating early betting lines this week because there may be a few drivers worth taking early this week if the odds show enough value. Also, be sure to check out our weekly newsletter (sign-up on the home page) that will come out once odds are released for official early picks and betting advice based on opening odds.
