CampingWorld.com 500 Betting News and Notes

Phoenix Driver Tale of the Tape

Greg Biffle (No. 16 Ortho Ford)

· Five top fives, eight top 10s
· Average finish of 13.8
· Driver Rating of 90.1, 10th-best
· 288 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 873 Green Flag Passes, third-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 125.818 mph, 12th-fastest
· 3,508 Laps in the Top 15 (55.5%), 11th-most
· 432 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 10th-most

Carl Edwards (No. 19 Stanley Toyota)

· Two wins, seven top fives, 12 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 12.2
· Average Running Position of 12.7, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 99.2, fourth-best
· 368 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 126.048 mph, sixth-fastest
· 4,325 Laps in the Top 15 (68.5%), seventh-most
· 462 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Drive To End Hunger Chevrolet)

· Two wins, 12 top fives, 22 top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 11.0
· Average Running Position of 10.1, third-best
· Driver Rating of 100.5, third-best
· 250 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· 786 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 126.021 mph, seventh-fastest
· 5,173 Laps in the Top 15 (81.9%), second-most
· 476 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Freight Toyota)

· One win, nine top fives, 10 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 11.0
· Average Running Position of 12.0, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 96.6, sixth-best
· 241 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 125.959 mph, ninth-fastest
· 4,261 Laps in the Top 15 (70.9%), eighth-most
· 419 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Jimmy John's/Budweiser Chevrolet)

· Six wins, nine top fives, 13 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.4
· Average Running Position of 9.8, second-best
· Driver Rating of 106.2, second-best
· 523 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 126.232 mph, third-fastest
· 4,958 Laps in the Top 15 (78.5%), fourth-most
· 452 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe’s Chevrolet)

· Four wins, 14 top fives, 18 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 7.7
· Series-best Average Running Position of 7.4
· Series-best Driver Rating of 114.0
· Series-high 609 Fastest Laps Run
· 796 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· Series-best Average Green Flag Speed of 126.428 mph
· Series-high 5,403 Laps in the Top 15 (85.5%)
· 541 Quality Passes, third-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Dollar General Toyota)

· One win, six top fives, 10 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.6
· Driver Rating of 87.9, 12th-best
· 178 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-most
· 857 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 125.837 mph, 11th-fastest
· 3,924 Laps in the Top 15 (62.1%), 10th-most
· 471 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Brad Keselowski (No. 2 Alliance Truck Parts Ford)

· Four top fives, five top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.6
· Average Running Position of 14.0, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 91.5, ninth-best
· 169 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 126.089 mph, fourth-fastest

Ryan Newman (No. 31 Quicken Loans Chevrolet)

· One win, eight top fives, 10 top 10s; four poles
· Average finish of 17.9
· Average Running Position of 15.0, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 87.9, 11th-best
· 870 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· 4,258 Laps in the Top 15 (67.4%), ninth-most
· 569 Quality Passes, second-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Bass Pro Shops/Mobil 1 Chevrolet)

· One win, eight top fives, 12 top 10s
· Average finish of 12.4
· Average Running Position of 11.1, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 96.4, eighth-best
· 220 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-most
· 818 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 126.052 mph, fifth-fastest
· 4,359 Laps in the Top 15 (72.6%), sixth-most
· 465 Quality Passes, sixth-most

CampingWorld.com 500
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

Are you kidding me with Kevin Harvick? This guy is on some kind of major roll right now and things will get only tougher for the rest of the NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers as Harvick goes to his best track, Phoenix, this weekend.

All Harvick has done after winning his first Sprint Cup title in 2014 is finish second-place in the first two races of 2015 and then win his first Las Vegas Cup race on Sunday. If we go back to the final three races of 2014, Harvick has finished first or second in six straight races now. He's won in four of his last nine starts.

And now he goes to Phoenix where he's won six times over his career including the last three races there and four of the last five. How do you bet anyone else this week? The only problem with betting Harvick is that the sports books know all this past history as well and you'll be lucky to get 7/2 odds (Bet $100 to win $350).

So let's see if we can make a case for anyone else and to begin with we'll take a look at Jimmie Johnson who will be the second choice to win at 5/1 odds.

All Johnson has done at Phoenix is win four times and average a 7.7 finish which is tops in the series. The only problem with Johnson is that his last Phoenix win was 2009. He's gone 10 races there without winning -- his longest Phoenix drought.

Carl Edwards is the only driver other than Harvick to win at Phoenix over the past five races there. In addition to his 2013 win, he also won in 2010 and has a 12.2 average finish. The problem with Edwards is that he's yet to have a top-10 in three starts in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing. Because of his past history, you'll only get 12 to-1 odds him which isn't attractive enough considering his slow start to 2015.

Another driver having an awful time of it thus far has been Jeff Gordon who is currently 29th in points. He's had a great car in all three races so far, but has had every kind of bad luck imaginable. On Saturday at Las Vegas, his pole winning car was struck by Danica Patrick in practice and he was forced into a back-up car which had to start from the rear. He's had 32 starts at Phoenix and captured two wins and an 11th-place average finish. His car will be good once again and at 10-to-1 odds, he's an attractive wager. But the bad luck part of his season looms large and might have a few bettors shy away from him at the bet window.

Denny Hamlin also has a career average of 11th-place at Phoenix in his 19 career starts, which includes a win in 2012. Hamlin's best type of tracks over his career has been the flat variety and Phoenix is about as flat as they get. He's had four top-5 finishes in his last six Phoenix starts. He presents good value at 12-to-1 odds.

Brad Keselowski hasn't won at Phoenix before but he did win on similar flat tracks at Richmond and New Hampshire last year. He's finished sixth or better in five of his last six Phoenix starts.

The driver that will probably give Harvick his most competition is Keselowski's Penske Racing teammate Joey Logano who had his best season of racing at Phoenix last year with a fourth and sixth-place finish. Logano has the look of a being a force all season long and he should find himself with his third top-5 finish of the season, and maybe his first win on the track.

The only driver to have top-5 finishes in all three races this season besides Harvick has been Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will get 8-to-1 odds this week. He won at Phoenix in the 2003 and 2004 season and is on a run of finishing eigth or better in his past four starts there, including runner-up in this race last season.

A driver everyone can't help but root for is Martin Truex Jr. who has shown extraordinary power in the first three races of 2015 and currently sits fifth in points. It's rare to see a single car team have success in NASCAR and it's even rarer to see a team have any success when their garage isn't in Charlotte -- Furniture Row Racing is based out of Denver. If including the two non-points races at Daytona, Truex Jr. has finished eighth or better in all five races, including runner-up at Las Vegas Sunday. His best run at Phoenix was fifth-place in 2009.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #4 Kevin Harvick (7/2)
2) #22 Joey Logano (8/1)
3) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (5/1)
5) #11 Denny Hamlin (12/1)

Drivers to Watch - Phoenix
By Sportsbook.ag

The fourth race of the 2015 Sprint Cup Series will be the Campingworld.com 500 in Phoenix. Despite the 500 in the name, this race is just 312 laps on the one-mile course as it is one of four races on the schedule that is measured in kilometers. This event has been held in the desert since 2005 and opened as the Subway Fresh 500. The track has progressive banking with 10-11 degree bankings in turns one and two and 8-9 degree bankings in turns three and four.

There have been two multiple-time winners at this event, with Jeff Gordon taking the checkered flag in both 2007 and 2011 as Kevin Harvick did so in 2006 and 2014. In last year’s win he nearly broke the course record with a time of 2:51:23, less than a minute slower than Denny Hamlin’s record (2:50:35) from 2012. Let’s see who can put up an impressive performance this week and dominate the field at PIR.

Drivers to Bet

Jimmie Johnson (7/1) - Johnson has dominated this track in his career and has by far the best rating here at 114.0 behind an average finish of 7.7. He’s only won this specific event once (2008), but owns four checkered flags when circling PIR and has a total of 14 top-fives in 23 races. The six-time Sprint Cup Series Champion is always a solid bet with a victory in 71 of his 474 career races (15%) and he already has a win this year when he took the Fold of Honor QuikTrip 500 just a few weeks ago. He is the safest bet of the top racers this week.

Denny Hamlin (12/1) - Hamlin owns the course record here when he won back in 2012 and ranks sixth among his peers with an average finish of 11.2 at this event. Overall in his time at Phoenix, he has raced 19 times, getting nine top-fives in that time and owns an impressive driver rating of 96.6. Already on the year he has a fourth and a fifth-place finish in the past three weeks and despite an average start of 21.7, is getting in at an average of 15.7. The 34-year-old last won at Talladega last year and has a good chance at adding to his 24 career victories this week.

Martin Truex Jr. (20/1) - Truex Jr. hasn’t had the most success at this track with just one top-five finish in his 18 attempts, but still possesses a decent average finish of 17.7. What really makes him a solid pick this week is his performances so far in the 2015 season as he’s finished eighth, sixth and second in his last three races. He had an average start of 10.7 during that time and looks poised to make this a career season with his best finish in the Sprint Cup Series being 11th in both 2007 and 2012. Truex Jr. has led only 101-of-5,063 laps (2%) when racing at this track, but should build on this number come Sunday evening.

Tony Stewart (33/1) - Stewart is one of the more well-known racers in the Sprint Cup Series as he has tallied 48 career victories and three Sprint Cup Championships. He hasn’t done well at all this year, with his best showing being a 30th finish when in Atlanta, but has shown affection for this track with 11 career top-10’s in his 25 visits, yet has failed to grab a win despite his average finish of 12.2. Stewart’s average green flag speed of 126.052 MPH ranks him as fifth among the field and should allow him to compete throughout the entirety of the 312 laps.

A.J. Allmendinger (100/1) - For his odds, Allmendinger has a very respectable average finish of 16.6 at this racetrack over 11 career attempts. He has two top-10’s as well while owning a driving rating of 80.2 and earned his first career pole back in 2011. He owns just one career victory when he took the Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen last year, but has been breaking out so far in 2015 as he comes off back-to-back top-seven performances at Atlanta and Vegas. It may be worth it to drop a unit on this 33-year-old veteran as he looks to continue a great campaign.

Odds to win Campingworld.com 500

Kevin Harvick 3/1
Brad Keselowski 7/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 8/1
Jeff Gordon 8/1
Jimmie Johnson 8/1
Joey Logano 8/1
Carl Edwards 12/1
Denny Hamlin 12/1
Matt Kenseth 12/1
Kasey Kahne 20/1
Clint Bowyer 25/1
Kyle Larson 25/1
Martin Truex Jr. 25/1
Ryan Newman 25/1
David Ragan 40/1
Jamie McMurray 40/1
Tony Stewart 40/1
AJ Allmendinger 100/1
Aric Almirola 100/1
Austin Dillon 100/1
Brian Vickers 100/1
Greg Biffle 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
Regan Smith 200/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 200/1
Danica Patrick 300/1
Sam Hornish Jr. 300/1
Casey Mears 500/1
Ricky Stenhouse 500/1
Trevor Bayne 500/1

Check out more NASCAR Odds and Props at Sportsbook.ag!

Harvick on epic roll, goes to his best track at Phoenix
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Harvick has won three straight Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway, and four of the past five, a major reason he is a massive 3-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500. Another contributing factor is that Harvick is in the midst of an epic run that has seen him finish first or second in the first three races of 2015. If we go back to the end of his 2014 Sprint Cup championship season, he's finished first or second in six straight races.

When considering his current form and history at Phoenix, you could argue his 3-to-1 price at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook is a bargain. Brad Keselowski owns the next highest odds (7-to-1), and then it's Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Joey Logano all at 8-to-1.

Harvick's six wins at Phoenix are the most in track history since the first Cup race was held there in 1988. Johnson is next with four wins and has a track-best 7.7 average finish, but he's currently on his longest drought at Phoenix, with no wins there in his past 10 starts. In 23 career starts at the track, Johnson has an amazing 14 top-five finishes.

Keselowski has never won at Phoenix, but did win last season on similar flat tracks at Richmond and New Hampshire. He's finished sixth or better in five of his past six Phoenix starts.

Logano had his best season of racing at Phoenix last year with a fourth- and sixth-place finish, and his career best was third-place in 2010 while driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.

Earnhardt Jr. won in back-to-back seasons at Phoenix in 2003 and 2004, when the track had only one race a year, and he's finished eighth or better in his past four starts there. He's also the only driver close to Harvick in consistency through the first three races this season, with top-five finishes in all three.

Jeff Gordon's swan-song season couldn't have started much worse, but he's still respected by Las Vegas. He's won only twice in 32 Phoenix starts, but he was fifth and runner-up in the track's two races last season.

Denny Hamlin comes in at 12-to-1 odds, largely because he loves racing on flat tracks. He won at Phoenix in 2012 and has an 11th-place average finish in 19 career starts.

We wish there were some trends showing Harvick has a good shot at being upset this week, but they really don't exist. He's got everything rolling for him, and he's at his best track, one on which he's been on cruise control since his days in the Winston West series.

Driver Handicaps: Phoenix
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

MRN.com's Jeff Wackerlin help you set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday's CampingWorld.com 500 with a look at some detailed driver notes and stats at Phoenix International Raceway.

Who's HOT at Phoenix

• Kevin Harvick is coming off his third consecutive win and fourth overall in the last five races.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished second in this event last season, is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 in the last four races.
• Brad Keselowski and Jeff Gordon each posted average finishes of 3.5 in both races last season.
• Besides Harvick, Joey Logano is the only driver that has combined to lead more than 100 laps (121) in the last three races. Logano has a 6.3 average finish in that span.
• Besides Harvick, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kasey Kahne have the only wins on the new track configuration.
• Jimmie Johnson has a 6.0 average finish in the last three spring races.

Who to Keep an Eye On at Phoenix

• Greg Biffle (11.3) and Ryan Newman (14.1) each rank in the top 10 in average finish in the seven races on Phoenix's new configuration.
• Matt Kenseth (7.5) and Jamie McMurray (12.0) rank in the top 10 in average finish in both Phoenix races last season.
• Gordon and Kenseth participated in the Goodyear Tire test at Phoenix last fall. Goodyear will have a new right-side tire this weekend to bring track in line with what is run at Richmond. The previous combination of left- and right-side tires at PIR were run since November 2013.
• Kurt Busch will make his first points-paying start of the season at Phoenix where he finished seventh last fall with Stewart-Haas Racing crew chief Tony Gibson.
• Martin Truex Jr. will be looking to score his fourth consecutive top 10 of the season, while AJ Allmendinger will be aiming for his third straight of 2015.
• Kyle Larson started eighth in both races last season and posted an average finish of 16.5 at PIR in his rookie season.
• Casey Mears, who sits ninth in the standings, has finished 14th in the last two spring races at Phoenix.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Jeff Gordon
Pete Pistone: Kevin Harvick
John Singler: Carl Edwards

Driver Notes - Ordered by Top 20 in Average Finish in Last Five Races at Phoenix

Stats are for Phoenix unless noted

Kevin Harvick: Has won four of the last five races, including the last three. Harvick dominated the last two events, combining to lead 488 laps. His four wins, 661 laps led and 5.4 average finish leads all drivers in the seven races since Phoenix International Raceway was reconfigured. This weekend, Harvick will race chassis No. 841, which was used as a backup car last year and will see its first track time at PIR.

Brad Keselowski: Has finished sixth or better in five of the last six races. Keselowski won the pole for this event last year and finished third and then went on to finish fourth in the fall.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Is the only driver that has finished in the top 10 all of the last four races. Earnhardt, who finished second in this event last year, just trails Harvick in average finish (4.8) in the four-race span. The runner-up effort was his best since winning in 2004. This weekend, Earnhardt will return in the same car (chassis No. 905) that he finished eighth with at Phoenix last November.

Carl Edwards: Has posted an 11.2 average finish in the last five races, including a win in this event in 2013. Edwards will be making his first track start with Joe Gibbs Racing with crew chief Darian Grubb, who won this event in 2012 with Denny Hamlin.

Kasey Kahne: Won the first race on the new track configuration with Red Bull Racing. Kahne has posted a 15.2 average finish in his six Phoenix starts with Hendrick Motorsports with a best finish of second on the 2013 fall race. Kahne, who scored his best finish in the spring race with HMS last year in 11th, will be back in the same car (chassis No. 896) that he last finished 21st with at PIR last fall.

Denny Hamlin: Coming off fourth top five in the seven races since the track was reconfigured, which includes a win in this event in 2012. Hamlin's 10.0 average finish ranks third among all drivers in that span.

Matt Kenseth: Coming off a third-place finish to lower his average finish to 15.1 in the seven races since Phoenix was reconfigured. Kenseth has yet to lead a lap in his four track starts with Joe Gibbs Racing. Last November, Kenseth participated in the Goodyear Tire test at Phoenix.

Jeff Gordon: Has two wins at Phoenix, but they came on the old track configuration. Gordon is coming off his best season on the new track layout, finishing fifth and second, respectively. Last November, Gordon participated in the Goodyear Tire test at Phoenix. This weekend, Gordon will return in the same car (chassis No. 912) that he raced last fall at PIR.

Greg Biffle: Is coming off his third top 10 (ninth) in the seven races since Phoenix was reconfigured. Biffle's average finish of 11.3 ranks sixth among all drivers in that span.

Joey Logano: Has finished in the top 10 in the last three races, including a fourth-place run last year in this event. Logano has combined to lead 121 laps in the last three races to mark the only driver besides Kevin Harvick to lead more than a combined 55 laps in that span.

Ryan Newman: Posted last of four top 10s in the seven races on the new track configuration last year in this event in seventh. Newman won at Phoenix in this event in 2010 with Stewart-Haas Racing on the old track layout. This weekend, Newman will make his third track start with Richard Childress Racing in a new car (chassis No. 462).

Tony Stewart: Last of two top 10s in six starts on the new track configuration came in this event in 2013. Stewart's best Phoenix finish with crew chief Chad Johnston came in this event last season in 16th. This weekend, Stewart will return in the same car (chassis No. 840) that he last posted a 14.4 average running position with last year in this event.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Has posted a 15.8 average finish in four starts. This weekend, Stenhouse will shoot for his first Phoenix top 10 in the same car Carl Edwards drove to a 15th-place finish last fall at the track.

Jimmie Johnson: Has posted four wins, but none on the current track layout. Johnson's best finish in the seven races since the track was reconfigured was second in this event in 2013. This weekend, Johnson will return in the same car (chassis No. 906) that he finished 39th with at Phoenix last fall after a crash. Johnson has only led two laps in his last five starts.

Kyle Larson: Is coming off his best finish in two starts in 13th. Larson started eighth in both races last year during his rookie campaign.

Aric Almirola: Has yet to finish in the top 10 in eight starts. Almirola's best finish since the track was reconfigured is 12th in this event in 2012.

Kurt Busch: Will make his first points-paying start of the year this weekend. Busch finished seventh last fall in his second track start with Stewart-Haas Racing and first with crew chief Tony Gibson. Busch has posted three top 10s since the track was reconfigured and won on the old layout in 2005.

Jamie McMurray: Finished 10th last year in this event for his only top 10 in the seven races since the track was reconfigured.

AJ Allmendinger: Posted a 21.0 average finish last season in his first two track starts with JTG Daugherty Racing. Allmendinger is coming off two consecutive top 10s on the season and is fifth in points.

Paul Menard: Has yet to finish inside the top 20 in the spring race since the track was reconfigured. Menard's best finish on the new track layout is ninth (2011, 2012).