Five Drivers to watch in CNBC 500
AVONDALE, AZ (The Spread) – The Daytona 500 kicked off the NASCAR season in awesome fashion with Junior coming away with the win.
This NASCAR season is shaping up to be one of the best season’s in recent years. Let’s hope Phoenix continues the excitement. Every driver has a chance in every race as in NASCAR anything can happen, but here’s 5 drivers I that I expect to have the best odds of coming away with a victory, plus my long shot prediction.
Brad Keselowski won the pole, he finished 3rd in the Daytona 500, and he finished 4th in this race last season. He’s getting around +650 odds, and while that might not be a whole lot of bang for your buck he’s running good, and looks like he’s primed to make some noise this season.
Jimmie Johnson is starting 4th on the pole, finished 5th in the Daytona 500, and came in 2nd in this race last season. Johnson is also a 4 time winner at Phoenix. He’s also the oddsmakers favorite sitting at around +425. I liked Johnson last week at Daytona, and I like the way he’s running for this race as well. He’s the reigning champ and until something proves otherwise there’s not many races you can overlook Johnson.
Kevin Harvick who’s starting 13th on the pole, finished 13th at Daytona 500, and he finished 13th in this race last season. Now I’m not a superstitious person, but to me that’s lucky number 13, and at +900 I’ll take my chances here. Harvick performed well last season at similar tracks including a win at Richmond. Look for Harvick to bang his way to the front of this race.
Carl Edwards is starting 23rd on the pole, finished 17th in Daytona, and won this race last season. Edwards, like Harvick performs well at these tracks, and while it may be a little bit of a longer shot looking for a repeat at +1300 it’s worth a chance. Edwards got the job done here last season, and will at least make a run here.
Denny Hamlin who’s sitting 12th on the pole, finished 2nd in Daytona, and finished 3rd here last season. At this track, Johnson is the only driver with the better finish average then Hamlin. Hamlin has really been sharp winning the Sprint Unlimited and Bud Duel last week, plus that 2nd place at Daytona. Hamlin odds are around +700, and with his recent performances is definitely worth a shot here.
Long Shot: Tony Stewart +2250
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