Kansas Speedway – Hollywood Casino 400 Predictions
The Chase to this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup title should really start heating up with the running of this Sunday’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in the fourth race of this 10-race playoff.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Hollywood Casino 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway
Date: Sunday, Oct. 6, 2013
Time: 2 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ESPN
Odds from Bovada
The action is set to get underway at 2 p.m. and the race will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
Jimmie Johnson closed the gap in the Sprint Cup standings with a victory last week at Dover. Our longshot pick for the week, Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned in a solid showing by taking second and Joey Logano finished 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)
Matt Kenseth stumbled to seventh place last week at Dover after taking the checkered flag in the first two Chase races at Chicago and New Hampshire, but he is still holding onto the lead in the current Sprint Cup standings by eight points with a total of 2149 points.
The No. 20 car has won seven times this season and remains one of the most consistent race teams in the Chase. What really adds value to Kenseth’s +350 odds to win again this Sunday is a victory in the first race at Kansas this season, which just so happened to follow a win in this race last season. Add in the fact that he finished in the top-five in two previous point races here before those wins and it is easy to see why he is the favorite.
The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)
When you think of legitimate contenders to win this year’s title the name Jeff Gordon probably does not come to mind. He has yet to win a point race this season but has still raced well enough to have the No. 24 car tied for fourth in the standings with 2110 points. This team has come close in a couple of Chase events this season with a sixth-place finish in Chicago and a fourth-place finish last week in Dover. [ad-8757089]
This week, Gordon has been opened at +1200 to get off the schneid with a win. His last few trips around this track have been forgettable, but from 2007 to 2011 he did not finish outside the top five in five consecutive races.
The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)
We went with Dale Earnhardt Jr. last week as our longshot on a gut feeling and it did not go away after his second place finish. So when he was opened at +2000 to win this race, we decided to go with him again. While the No. 88 car’s title chances are probably slim and none since it is sitting in 10th place in the standings with 2092 points, the competitive fire to win still burns bright for this team.
Kansas Speedway has not been one of Junior’s favorite tracks with an average finishing position of 16.4 over the course of his Sprint Cup career, but he did finish second in the first race at this track in 2011 and seventh in this race last year.
Odds from Bovada
JIMMIE JOHNSON 4-1
MATT KENSETH 7-2
KYLE BUSCH 6-1
KASEY KAHNE 6-1
JEFF GORDON 12-1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 15-1
KURT BUSCH 18-1
KEVIN HARVICK 18-1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 18-1
CLINT BOWYER 18-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 18-1
CARL EDWARDS 20-1
JOEY LOGANO 20-1
GREG BIFFLE 20-1
DENNY HAMLIN 30-1
BRIAN VICKERS 30-1
RYAN NEWMAN 30-1
JAMIE McMURRAY 60-1
JUAN MONTOYA 75-1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 75-1
MARK MARTIN 100-1
PAUL MENARD 100-1
ARIC ALMIROLA 100-1
JEFF BURTON 100-1
MARCOS AMBROSE 300-1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 500-1
DANICA PATRICK 1000-1
FIELD 500-1
2013 SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP ODDS
JIMMIE JOHNSON 6-5
MATT KENSETH 5-4
KYLE BUSCH 5-2
JEFF GORDON 30-1
GREG BIFFLE 40-1
KEVIN HARVICK 40-1
CLINT BOWYER 60-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 60-1
KASEY KAHNE 100 -1
CARL EDWARDS 100-1
JOEY LOGANO 100 -1
RYAN NEWMAN 100-1
KURT BUSCH 100-1
