Banking 500 Picks
This week is the last night race of the year, as NASCAR comes home for the NASCAR Banking 500 at Lowe’s Motor Speedway.
Lowe’s Motor Speedway has always been considered the home track for nearly every team since many shops are located nearby and most drivers live in the Charlotte area.
After four Chase races, it has become evident that the top teams seem to be far ahead of the rest of the field and trying to beat them at this point is fruitless and a waste of your hard earned money. Three-time defending Champion Jimmie Johnson has taken over the NASCAR’s Chase for the Championship lead, but we think he has a very good chance of losing it this week since he appears to have lost his magic here since the switch to the COT car.
Kyle Busch 12/1
The last time Kyle Busch was here he was the co-favorite to win the Coca-Cola 600 at 6/1 and now he is double that price. We think he offers tremendous value since he isn’t in the chase and has nothing to lose. We also think he will let it all hang out to get his team back on track with a win. While Busch has struggled here at times, he has competed, with five top-6 finishes in his last six starts here. It has been sometime since we have seen Busch dominate a race but we think that changes on Saturday night.
Kasey Kahne 20/1
After two good races, Kasey Kahne lost any chance of getting back in the chase last week after getting caught up in a crash caused by another driver. Like Kyle Busch, we think he will let it all hang out this week. Kahne has always done well here, with three wins, three top-10 finishes in his last seven starts here. In three starts in the COT car, Kahne leads all drivers with an average finish of 3.3 and we think he has a very good chance of picking up another win here.
Brian Vickers 18/1
So far, the Chase has been a disaster for Brian Vickers. While the price this week seems a little low, we still think that you are getting some value. No driver was hotter than Vickers down the stretch, but so far the tracks have not been the type that he runs his best at but all that changes this week. Since switching to the COT car, Vickers has led the second most laps here but has always seemed to run into some bad luck. However, with the pressure of the Chase off, we think he could finally get a good result here.
Posted: 10/14/09 11:59PM ET
