2010 NASCAR Odds - Sylvania 300 – Jimmie Johnson Favored
By Drew Sharper
The 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series holds its first event in the Chase For The Championship on Sunday when the drivers compete in the Sylvania 300.
The top 10 drivers will be competing amongst themselves while the remaining 33 drivers will be looking simply to get a win. Still, despite the changes in strategy, Jimmie Johnson is the favorite to win the race.
Johnson has been given 4/1 odds to win according to oddsmakers at the online sports book Sportsbook.com. Other short odds to win are Kyle Busch (5/1), Denny Hamlin (5/1), and Kevin Harvick (10/1).
Johnson won this race in 2003 and he has three wins at this track in his career. His average finish is 9.4 and his driver rating is 107.9, both of which rank second in the series. Johnson is second in the point standings, 10 behind Hamlin for the lead. Johnson has five wins on the year.
Busch has not won this event but has three wins at the track. His average finish on the track is 15.2 and his driver rating is 91.1. Busch is third in the standings, 30 points out of the lead. Busch has has three wins on the year.
Hamlin has one victory in his career at New Hampshire. His average finish is 8.2 and his driver rating is 99.8. Hamlin has six wins on the year, which is the most of any driver.
Harvick won this event in 2006, his lone win on this track in his career. Harvick has an average finish of 14.3 and a driver rating of 93.0 at this track. Harvick is third in the standings with Busch. He has three wins on the year.
The Sylvania 300 will take place Sunday, Sept. 19 from New Hampshire Motor Speedway at 1:15PM ET. For complete odds and track information on this year’s event, see below.
Odds to win the Sylvania 300
Jimmie Johnson 4/1
Kyle Busch 5/1
Denny Hamlin 5/1
Kevin Harvick 10/1
Jeff Gordon 12/1
Jeff Burton 12/1
Tony Stewart 12/1
Kurt Busch 12/1
Clint Bowyer 12/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 20/1
Kasey Kahne 25/1
Carl Edwards 25/1
Joey Logano 30/1
Ryan Newman 30/1
Jamie McMurray 30/1
David Reutimann 30/1
Greg Biffle 35/1
Martin Truex Jr 35/1
Matt Kenseth 50/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 50/1
AJ Allmendinger 50/1
Mark Martin 60/1
Reed Sorenson 100/1
Brad Keselowski 100/1
Travis Kvapil 100/1
Bobby Labonte 100/1
Scott Speed 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
Regan Smith 100/1
Elliott Sadler 100/1
Sam Hornish Jr 100/1
David Ragan 100/1
Marcos Ambrose 100/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 100/1
2010 Sylvania 300 Information
Race Date: Sunday, Sept. 19
Location: New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Loudon, NH.
Pre-Race: 1PM ET
Green Flag: Approx. 1:15PM ET
TV Coverage: ESPN
Radio Coverage: PRN
Track Type: Oval (300 laps)
Keselowski earns first Sprint Cup pole at New Hampshire
Loudon, NH (Sports Network) - Brad Keselowski topped title contenders Clint Bowyer and Tony Stewart in Friday's qualifying at New Hampshire Motor Speedway to take the pole position for the Sylvania 300 -- the first event in the 10- race Chase championship.
Keselowski claimed his first career pole with a lap of 133.572 m.p.h., which set a new track qualifying record at New Hampshire. His first pole came in his 44th start. Keselowski currently is 26th in points.
"Our year has been up and down and has been very tumultuous, so hopefully we can carry this momentum into some of the other races," Keselowski said. "It's great to do it in the first race of the Chase. I really want to be in it next year."
Keselowski became the third driver in the series this year to capture his first pole. Joey Logano's maiden pole came in March at Bristol, and A.J. Allmendinger's first one occurred in April at Phoenix.
Bowyer, who is seeded last in the 12-driver Chase field, turned a lap of 133.464 m.p.h. around the 1.058-mile oval for the outside pole. Bowyer started on the pole and won his first Sprint Cup race at New Hampshire three years ago, when he was in the Chase for the first time.
"That was a good lap; it felt good," Bowyer said.
Keselowski and Bowyer best Juan Pablo Montoya's track qualifying record of 133.431 m.p.h., set one year ago.
Tony Stewart, a two-time New Hampshire race winner, qualified third, followed by Jamie McMurray and Montoya.
"We may not have gotten the pole here, but we're going to be something to deal with come Sunday," Stewart said.
Allmendinger, David Reutimann and Paul Menard took the sixth through eighth starting spots, respectively.
Chase contenders Kyle Busch and Carl Edwards completed the top-10.
Denny Hamlin, the top-seeded driver in the Chase and last weekend's winner at Richmond, qualified 22nd.
Other drivers in the Chase and their starting positions include: Kurt Busch (12th), Jeff Burton (13th), Greg Biffle (14th), Jeff Gordon (17th), Jimmie Johnson (25th) and Kevin Harvick (27th). Matt Kenseth qualified the worst among the title contenders with a 33rd starting position.
Johnson, the four-time defending series champion, turned 35 years old today.
Johnny Sauter and Jeff Green failed to qualify.
Sunday's 300-lap race at New Hampshire is scheduled to start just after 1:00 p.m. (et).