CNBC 500 Gambling Preview
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series heads out west for the second point race of the season to for the running of the Profit on CNBC 500 at Phoenix International Speedway.
NASCAR Sprint Cup- Profit on CNBC 500 Preview and Prediction
Race: Profit on CNBC 500, Phoenix International Speedway
Date: Sunday, March 2, 2014
Time: 3:15 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: FOX
Odds By Bovada
The race is set to get underway at 3:15 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
Crowd favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally ended a streak of near misses at Daytona with a thrilling victory in last Sunday’s soggy Daytona 500 to get the new season off to a strong start.
Denny Hamlin raced is way to second and 2012 Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski finished third.
The following is a look at my top favorite, contender and longshot to win this Sunday’s race based on odds provided by Bovada.
The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)
Even though I went with Jimmie Johnson as my pick to win last Sunday, I was really high on Denny Hamlin’s chances to win that race as well. This week, both of these drivers have been opened as 13/2 co-favorites to take the checkered flag, but this time around I am going with Hamlin as my top pick.
The No. 11 car struggled through the entire 2013 season, but ended things on a strong note with a win at Homestead in the final race of the year. It started this season with a victory in the Sprint Unlimited before taking second in the Daytona 500.
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The main reason I like Hamlin this week is a solid racing record at Phoenix. He won this race in 2012 and he finished third in last year’s race. Looking back at his career record at this track, he has placed in the top three in seven of his 17 Sprint Cup races here.
The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)
I would normally jump all over Matt Kenseth at longer odds and this week in no exception with him listed at 10/1 to win on Sunday. The No. 20 car is coming off an extremely productive 2013 campaign in which it led the entire Sprint Cup field in point race victories with seven.
It finished in second-place in the Sprint Cup point standings, just 19 points behind Johnson for the title. This race team is off to another fast start with a victory in one of the Budweiser Duels and a sixth-place finish in the Daytona 500.
The one drain on these odds is Kenseth’s past struggles at this track. His 23rd place finish in the second race at Phoenix last season all but ended his title hopes and his average finishing position here is just 17.4.
The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)
If you are looking for even longer odds on a quality driver for Sunday’s race, my pick would be Greg Biffle at 33/1. He is the kind of driver that does not win all that often, but he hangs around the lead pack in almost every race he runs.
The No. 16 car finished ninth in last season’s standings and the team is off to a good start this year with an eight-place finish at Daytona.
When it comes to Biffle’s racing record at Phoenix, the results are mixed. Last season, he failed to crack the top 10 in both point races at this track, but the season before he finished third in this race and seventh in the second race.
Odds from Bovada
- JIMMIE JOHNSON 5-1
- DENNY HAMLIN 7-1
- KYLE BUSCH 7-1
- MATT KENSETH 8-1
- BRAD KESELOWSKI 8-1
- KEVIN HARVICK 8-1
- DALE EARNHARDT JR 12-1
- JEFF GORDON 12-1
- KASEY KAHNE 12-1
- KURT BUSCH 12-1
- TONY STEWART 12-1
- JOEY LOGANO 20-1
- CARL EDWARDS 20-1
- CLINT BOWYER 20-1
- RYAN NEWMAN 30-1
- MARTIN TRUEX JR 50-1
- GREG BIFFLE 40-1
- BRIAN VICKERS 40-1
- AUSTIN DILLON 60-1
- JAMIE McMURRAY 100-1
- RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100-1
- PAUL MENARD 100-1
- KYLE LARSON 100-1
- ARIC ALMIROLA 200-1
- MARCOS AMBROSE 300-1
- AJ ALLMENDINGER 500-1
- CASEY MEARS 500-1
- JUSTIN ALLGAIER 500-1
- DANICA PATRICK 500-1
- FIELD 200-1
