As most are aware by now, all 3 racing series will be in action this weekend with both Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series’ teams at Michigan and the Camping World Truck Series will run Saturday night at Gateway Motorsports Park. Even though neither cars nor trucks have hit the track in preparation for this weekend’s events, there has been a lot going on in terms of odds and lines movement. We wanted to take this opportunity and recap some of our early week picks to ensure our readers are getting the best odds available. Therefore let’s summarize our nascar betting lineups that we have thus far since the release of opening odds.
Newsletter Picks for Quicken Loans 400:
Kevin Harvick +700
Our newsletter pick for the Quicken Loans 400 was Kevin Harvick on Monday evening shortly after odds were released by one of our newest sportsbooks CarbonSports.ag Harvick posted two runner-up finishes at Michigan in 2013. Considering how strong Harvick has been thus far in 2014 along with Stewart-Haas Racing’s impressive horsepower performance last week, Harvick could easily be the car to beat by Sunday. The driver of the #4 Budweiser machine opened at generous 7 to 1 odds which was simply too good to pass up. Additionally, Harvick will be driving the same chassis that finished 2nd at Kansas. Kansas is a track that a lot of drivers compare Michigan to since the repave in 2012 so that is yet another strong sign pointing in the direction of the #4 car this Sunday.
Tony Stewart Top 3 Finish +350
Our other newsletter pick included Smoke in a top 3 finish at 3.5 to 1 odds. This is a fairly solid pick considering the horsepower importance we mentioned with Stewart-Haas Racing. More importantly this is the time of year that Smoke really picks up the pace and his stats at Michigan are solid. Expect Smoke to be in contention with a chip on his shoulder from blowing last week’s winning opportunity with the pit road speeding penalty.
Quicken Loans 400 Added Pick:
Kyle Larson Top 3 Finish +650
Once again taking advantage of early top 3 picks by CarbonSports.ag we were able to get Kyle Larson at a solid price for a top 3 finish. Larson is a driver we highlighted in the newsletter and he has the driving style to contend for his first career victory this weekend. After an impressive 5th place finish in his first start at the tricky triangle last week, Larson has some momentum going into Michigan where he finished 2nd in last year’s Nationwide Series event in his first start. Michigan fits Larson’s driving style well and this prop has some nice value at 6.5 to 1.
Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250 Opening Pick
Dale Earnhardt Jr +675:
No love for Junebug in the Nationwide Series this week? Hard to believe a Sprint Cup driver that has had so much success at a place like Michigan is receiving near 7 to 1 odds. Through Junior’s most difficult years in the Sprint Cup Series, Michigan was his one sanctionary where he posted his last two trips to victory lane prior to the start of 2014. In the Nationwide Series this week, there are more factors pointing towards Junior competing strongly in this Saturday’s Ollie’s Bargain Outlet 250. The most important factor is the rise of Junior Motorsports performance in the Nationwide Series through 2014. Junior Motorsports cars have really improved this season with 3 wins posted already between Chase Elliot and Regan Smith. Of those wins, 2 of those tracks in Talladega and Texas put a lot of focus on horsepower which will be the staple of this week’s focus for teams as well. At theses horsepower tracks, Junior Motorsports has really narrowed the gap on the Joe Gibbs Racing Nationwide Series program which has dominated over the last several years. Furthermore, Earnhardt is a perfect 2 for 2 at Michigan in the Nationwide Series with two victories. This week he steps into one of his own cars that we know will be fast, at one of his best tracks, and at +675 odds? Yeh, we like our chances.
Drivin For Lineman 200 Opening Pick
Erik Jones +1300:
This Saturday night’s Truck race and Gateway appears to be a wide open race in terms of potential winners. None of NASCAR’s top 3 racing series has visited Gateway Motorsports Park since 2010. While a few guys have some experience at this track like Matt Crafton, Johnny Sauter, and Ron Hornaday, several of these young drivers will get their first glimpse of Gateway in the first round of practices on Friday. Therefore we do not have a lot of historical data to analyze for this weekend’s race. More importanly the racetrack itself has changed rather signficantly since the last time any NASCAR series visited Madison, IL considering several lower tier racing series have still been active at Gateway these past few years. From the information we put together surrounding the track layout, banking, and surface, we pulled the trigger on Erik Jones who will be in the #51 Truck often driven by Kyle Busch. Gateway Motorsports Park races a lot like Phoenix in the corners with a surface that may closely resemble New Hampshire. Jones has been very solid on tracks with flat banking like Phoenix and Martinsville. In fact, last year Jones became the youngest winner in NASCAR history when he won the Lucas Oil 150 at Phoenix just after qualifying 2nd and then going on to lead 84 of 150 scheduled laps in route to victory. With the Sprint Cup and Nationwide drivers out in Michigan, Jones has a good chance to make a charge in a field of pure Truck Series regulars.
