Dover International – AAA 400 Predictions
The Chase to this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup title enters Week 3 with a return trip to the Monster Mile at Dover International Speedway for the running of the AAA 400. Sunday’s race is set to start at 2 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
NASCAR Sprint Cup AAA 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: AAA 400 Dover International Speedway
Date: Sunday, Sept. 29, 2013
Time: 2 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ESPN
Odds from Bovada
Matt Kenseth remained the hottest driver in this year’s Chase with a victory last week at New Hampshire after winning the race in Chicago the week before. Kyle Busch remains in the title mix with back-to-back second-place finishes in the first two playoff races and Greg Biffle took third.
The following is a closer look at our favorite, contender, and longshot picks for this Sunday afternoon’s race with odds provided by Sportsbook.
The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)
All season long Jimmie Johnson was in the driver seat in the Sprint Cup standings on his way to a sixth career Sprint Cup title, but he knows that he has to start stringing together a few wins after falling 18 points of the pace after the first two races in the Chase.
The No. 48 car posted a fifth-place finish at Chicago and a fourth-place finish last week at New Hampshire so this team knows it is getting close. Johnson has been opened as a +350 favorite to win at Dover after finishing 17th in the first race here this season.
This is mainly because he has already won seven Sprint Cup races at this track and is sporting an average finishing position here of 9.0.
The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)
There are 10 other drivers in the Chase with odds 1000 or higher to win on this week’s list, but the one that caught our eye was Kurt Busch at +1800.
He has very quietly moved the No. 78 car into seventh place in the standings and even though this team is already 40 points out of the lead it knows that it still has a shot at making a run at the title if it can start winning some of the next eight races. [ad-8757089]
Busch’s current form leads you to believe this is possible with five top-five finishes in his last eight point races. It also helps that he won this race in 2011.
The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)
It has been another disappointing start to the Chase for Dale Earnhardt Jr. with a disastrous 35th-place finish at Chicago due to engine trouble. The No. 88 team bounced back with a sixth-place finish at New Hampshire but the damage was done and it now finds itself 62 points back in the standings.
While Junior’s past track record at Dover has been less than stellar, he may be worth the risk of a small play at +2500. You cannot help but get the feeling that he is ready to make a splash this week with a big win after finishing in the top 10 in the first race here this season.
Odds from Bovada
MATT KENSETH 9-2
KYLE BUSCH 9-2
KASEY KAHNE 7-1
DENNY HAMLIN 20-1
JEFF GORDON 12-1
KEVIN HARVICK 18-1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 12-1
KURT BUSCH 18-1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 18-1
CLINT BOWYER 18-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 25-1
CARL EDWARDS 15-1
JOEY LOGANO 25-1
GREG BIFFLE 25-1
BRIAN VICKERS 25-1
RYAN NEWMAN 50-1
JAMIE McMURRAY 60-1
JUAN MONTOYA 75-1
MARK MARTIN 75-1
JEFF BURTON 75-1
PAUL MENARD 100-1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100-1
ARIC ALMIROLA 200-1
MARCOS AMBROSE 300-1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 500-1
DANICA PATRICK 1000-1
FIELD 500-1
ODDS TO WIN 2013 SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
MATT KENSETH 6-5
JIMMIE JOHNSON 2-1
KYLE BUSCH 2-1
CARL EDWARDS 25-1
GREG BIFFLE 40-1
JEFF GORDON 40-1
KEVIN HARVICK 40-1
KURT BUSCH 40-1
KASEY KAHNE 50-1
CLINT BOWYER 50-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 50-1
JOEY LOGANO 75 -1
RYAN NEWMAN 75-1
