Subway 600 Picks
After taking a week off for Easter, NASCAR heads out West to Phoenix for the Subway Fresh Fit 600 at Phoenix International Raceway, which is the first night race of the year.
Phoenix International Speedway is known for its odd shape and very little banking with two completely different turns. This track is known for drivers who either love it, or absolutely despise it since it requires driving skills that most guys haven’t yet mastered.
Track position is a must at Phoenix and for those drivers that are stuck in the back of the field it usually turns into a very long day. So, finding drivers who generally start up front is what we will be looking at this week.
Jimmie Johnson 4/1
Johnson has won four of the last five races at Phoenix and has an amazing 4.3 average finish in his last 10 races here, with only one finish worse than seventh. We normally tend to stay away from the favorites, but betting against Johnson this week looks foolish, especially after a race where he was expected to run well but really wasn’t competitive. Over the years, Johnson and his team has shown they tend to bounce back in a big way after a disappointing race.
Kurt Busch 9/1
Kurt Busch has been one of this year’s biggest surprise, since most thought he might need some time to adjust to new crew chief Steve Addington. That, however, doesn’t seem to be the case – at least not in the early going. Under Addington, Kyle Busch has a history of starting the season strong and fading at the end, and so far that has held up with the way Kurt has ran so far this year. Busch has a solid history at Phoenix, with two top fives in his last three starts and he just missed another top five with a sixth place finish. If it weren’t for how dominant Johnson is at Phoenix, Kurt Busch would be our top pick this week.
Live Longshot
Kevin Harvick 15/1
With two wins at Phoenix, Kevin Harvick definitely knows how to get around this unique track. And with the turnaround at RCR this year, we could see him being more competitive than what he has shown the last few times he has raced here.
Posted: 4/7/10 11:30PM ET
