NASCAR All-Star Race Betting News and Notes

Driver's Tale of the Tape in All-Star Races

Marcos Ambrose (No. 9 DEWalt Ford)

· One top 10
· Average finish of 7.0
· Average Running Position of 6.0, second-best
· Driver Rating of 107.8, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 178.929 mph, sixth-fastest

Greg Biffle (No. 16 3M Filtrete Ford)

· Two top fives, three top 10s
· Average finish of 13.3
· Average Running Position of 10.3, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.5, 14th-best
· 193 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· 514 Laps in the Top 15 (68.5%), 10th-most
· 57 Laps Led, third-most

Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-Hour Energy Toyota)

· Average finish of 15.0
· Average Running Position of 14.8, 27th-best
· Driver Rating of 47.3, 32nd-best
· 128 Green Flag Passes, 17th-most
· 162 Laps in the Top 15 (41.5%), 21st-best
· 76 Quality Passes, 26th-most

Kurt Busch (No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Chevrolet)

· One win, four top fives, six top 10s
· Average finish of 10.8
· Average Running Position of 9.4, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 81.9, 11th-best
· 30 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 235 Green Flag Passes, eighth-most
· 586 Laps in the Top 15 (78.1%), sixth-most
· 215 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Kyle Busch (No. 18 Snickers Bites Toyota)

· Two top fives, three top 10s; three poles
· Average finish of 12.4
· Average Running Position of 7.0, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 106.7, third-best
· 63 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 179.691 mph, second-fastest
· 549 Laps in the Top 15 (83.2%), eighth-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 National Guard Chevrolet)

· One win, four top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 8.3
· Driver Rating of 76.3, 18th-best
· 32 Laps Led, eighth-most
· 579 Laps in the Top 15 (77.2%), seventh-most
· 227 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Carl Edwards (No. 99 Fastenal Ford)

· One win, three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 11.3
· Driver Rating of 83.6, eighth-best
· 57 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 496 Laps in the Top 15 (74.0%), 12th-most
· 160 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Jeff Gordon (No. 24 Cromax Pro Chevrolet)

· Three wins, six top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 9.5
· Average Running Position of 8.4, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 84.0, seventh-best
· 52 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-most
· 236 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 179.002 mph, fifth-fastest
· Series-high 696 Laps in the Top 15 (92.8%)
· 220 Quality Passes, third-most

Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Express Toyota)

· Two top fives, three top 10s
· Average finish of 12.5
· Average Running Position of 10.6, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 69.1, 23rd-best
· 25 Lap Led, 10th-most
· 461 Laps in the Top 15 (80.9%), 14th-most
· 162 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Kevin Harvick (No. 29 Rheem / Budweiser Chevrolet)

· One win, two top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 10.5
· Average Running Position of 11.2, 17th-best
· Driver Rating of 79.8, 15th-best
· 252 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· 43 Laps Led, sixth-most
· 505 Laps in the Top 15 (67.3%), 11th-most
· 198 Quality Passes, 14th-most

Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet)

· Three wins, seven top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 6.6
· Average Running Position of 7.0, third-best
· Driver Rating of 104.9, fourth-best
· Series-high 140 Fastest Laps Run
· 228 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 179.425 mph, third-fastest
· 662 Laps in the Top 15 (88.3%), second-most
· 210 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Matt Kenseth (No. 20 Home Depot / Husky Toyota)

· One win, five top fives, nine top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 6.3
· Average Running Position of 8.3, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 91.1, fifth-best
· 44 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 236 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 178.622 mph, 10th-fastest
· 614 Laps in the Top 15 (81.9%), fourth-most
· 213 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Joey Logano (No. 22 Pennzoil Ford)

· One top five, two top 10s
· Average finish of 5.5
· Average Running Position of 9.3, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.5, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 178.733 mph, seventh-fastest

Mark Martin (No. 55 Aaron's Dream Machine Toyota)

· Two wins, six top fives, 10 top 10s
· Average finish of 11.3
· Average Running Position of 9.1, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 80.6, 12th-best
· 35 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 178.708 mph, eighth-fastest
· 593 Laps in the Top 15 (79.1%), fifth-most

Ryan Newman (No. 39 Aspen Dental Chevrolet)

· One win, three top fives, seven top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 9.3
· Average Running Position of 9.2, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 82.4, ninth-best
· 252 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· 632 Laps in the Top 15 (84.3%), third-most
· 222 Quality Passes, second-most

David Ragan (No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford)

· One top 10
· Average finish of 13.0
· Average Running Position of 16.6, 34th-best
· Driver Rating of 41.0, 35th-best
· 56 Green Flag Passes, 29th-most
· 57 Laps in the Top 15 (30.0%), 31st-most
· 29 Quality Passes, 32nd-most

Tony Stewart (No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet)

· One win, eight top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 7.7
· Average Running Position of 11.5, 19th-best
· Driver Rating of 78.5, 17th-best
· 250 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· 516 Laps in the Top 15 (68.8%), ninth-most
· 191 Quality Passes, 17th-most

All-Star Race Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

The NASCAR Sprint Cup teams won’t have to do any traveling over the next two weeks, because their next two races will be at Charlotte, North Carolina, where most every driver and crew member live. Saturday night is the All-Star race where $1 million will be on the line for the winner to take home, and then the following week will be season’s longest race of the year, the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day weekend.

Charlotte’s 1.5-mile high banked layout gives all the Cup teams another chance to see if they can beat anyone from the Joe Gibbs Racing stable. Between Kyle Busch and Matt Kenseth, they have won at all three 1.5-mile tracks this season. The duo also won at California’s two-mile track and Darlington’s 1.336-mile track. That’s five tracks that require the most horsepower to get around than any other run so far, and five wins total for team Gibbs.

They might be batting 1.000 on the season, but when $1 million is up for grabs and there are no points involved like Saturday’s All-Star race, things figure to get very interesting. Busch, Kenseth and now with Denny Hamlin back in the mix, will all be the drivers to beat, but their competitors will not think twice about knocking them around.

Unlike other All-Star events in sports where they go through the motions, and don’t play any defense, making their event look nothing like the sport they play, NASCAR’s All-Star event usually produces better racing than we’ll see all season just because no one has to play it safe and no points are involved. And then they have that dangling carrot of $1 million to chase.

To be eligible for the All-Star race, a driver has to have won a points race in either 2012 or 2013, won an All-Star race within the last 10 years, or won a Sprint Cup title within the last 10 years. For all others who don’t meet the criteria, they can race themselves in by finishing first or second in the Sprint Showdown, a 40-lap qualifying race prior to the All-Star race. The final way a driver can get in is by fan voting.

The actual All-Star race format is cut into five segments, making it similar to the action packed Saturday night specials fans have become used to at their local tracks. The first four segments are 20 laps followed the final 10 lap segment. Teams will have a mandatory four-tire change pit stop between segment four and five, and the starting lineup for the final segment will based on average finish position between the first four segments. The $1 million pay-day for 90-laps makes it the richest per mile purse in Motorsports at $7,400 per mile.

To spruce things up a bit, and add even more incentive, Speedway Motorsports Inc. CEO Bruton Smith, who owns Charlotte Motor Speedway, has added a bonus $1 million in any driver can win all five segments. Bruton’s Big Bonus may have seemed like far-fetched thing to achieve before the sea son started, but with the way Busch and Kenseth have dominated on these types, he might be in serious jeopardy of actually having to pay out the bonus.

Most Las Vegas sports books will post odds on both the Sprint Showdown and All-Star race. For the two drivers to advance by finishing with in the top-2 of Sprint Showdown, look For Martin Truex Jr. and Paul Menard. Truex Jr. has finished eighth or better on the three 1.5-mile tracks this season, including runner-up at Texas and fourth at Kansas. Menard finished 10th at both Las Vegas and Kansas.

For the All-Star race itself, there really is nowhere else to look than Kenseth or Busch. Hamlin could be considered as well just because of being part of the team that has figured out the Gen-6 car the best thus far. The one outsider that has been almost as good as Gibbs' on these type of tracks has been Kasey Kahne. He was runner-up to Kenseth at Las Vegas and Kansas and should fare well again.

Top-5 Finish Prediction

Sprint Cup Showdown

1) #56 Martin Truex Jr. (9/5)
2) #27 Paul Menard (5/1)
3) #17 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (9/2)
4) #42 Juan Pablo Montoya (9/2)
5) #31 Jeff Burton (20/1)

All-Star Race

1) #18 Kyle Busch (6/1)
2) #20 Matt Kenseth (6/1)
3) #5 Kasey Kahne (8/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (7/1)
5) #99 Carl Edwards (10/1)

NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race Post-Practice Betting Notes
By: Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com

There wasn’t anything that occurred during Friday’s lone All-Star race practice session or qualifying to deter or enhance any opinion we had coming into this race. Kyle Busch was fastest during practice, running 23 laps with a top speed of 190.127 mph in preparation for Saturday’s All-Star race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Right behind him with the third fastest lap was teammate Matt Kenseth at 188.042 mph.

The qualifying session that put Carl Edwards on the pole was more about having speed in and out of the pits with a quick four-tire change under the fun All-Star qualifying format than it was about a car actually being fast. However, starting up front at least gives the first few drivers an early edge in the first segment.

Busch and Kenseth were considered the two drivers to beat based on combining to win on all 1.5-mile tracks this season, along with the 2-mile tri-oval at Fontana and the difficult 1.336-mile layout at Darlington. The Joe Gibbs drivers are batting 1.000 on all the tracks that require the most horsepower, and Charlotte’s 1.5-mile high banked layout doesn’t figure to be much different.

Plain and simple, the Joe Gibbs organization is the team that has the Gen-6 car figured out the most on these type of tracks -- the type that are essentially a gateway to a season championship.

Busch starts fifth, while Kenseth begins 14th. It shouldn’t take more than 10 laps for Busch to find his way to the lead in the first segment.

The one difference that could be argued for the 20 other drivers competing is that $1 million is at stake. For that kind of cash, people -- even drivers -- can do some out-of-the-ordinary things. No points are on the line for this race, which also allows the drivers to run full-throttle for the big prize with little regard for how they finish or what type of shape their car returns to the garage in.

A driver we made made special considerations for -- based on practice -- that we didn't expect was 2010 All-Star race winner Kurt Busch, who ended up having the second fastest single lap during practice and the best 10-consecutive laps average. Busch wasn’t great at Las Vegas or Texas, but he did finish fifth at Fontana and was 15th at Kansas. With this race being all about short runs, it’s possible that Busch could average a good enough finish in the first four 20-lap segments to have a favorable start position in the final 10-lap sprint. And then anything is possible.

If a Joe Gibbs car, including Denny Hamlin, doesn’t win Saturday night, it would be a surprise.

While rooting your bet in Saturday night, it would also serve the bettor well to pay close attention to some details of what transpires during the race that will help get a jump start in next week’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte. Seven drivers have swept the two races in the same year, with three drivers doing it in the past 10 seasons, the last being Kurt Busch in 2010.