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NASCAR Sprint Cup Quaker State 400 Preview and Prediction

2013 Quaker State 400 Predictions

NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series makes its only stop of the season at Kentucky Speedway this week for the prime-time running of the Quaker State 400. Saturday night’s race is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on TNT.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Quaker State 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway
Date: Saturday, June 29, 2013
Time: 7:30 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: TNT

Odds: Bovada

Martin Truex Jr. showed-off his road course driving skills with a victory last Sunday at Sonoma with Jeff Gordon taking second and Carl Edwards finishing third.

The following is a closer look at our favorite, contender, and longshot picks for this Saturday night’s race with odds provided by our top sportsbooks.

The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)

While Jimmie Johnson did manage a top-10 finish last week on the road course at Sonoma, he has to be happy to be back racing on ovals as a +600 favorite to win this week’s race. The No.48 race team continues to hold onto first place in the Sprint Cup standings but its lead is down to 25 points after last week’s ninth-place finish.

The overall 2013 resume still looks pretty good with three victories and seven other top-10 finishes in the first 16 point races. This will be just the third Sprint Cup point race at Kentucky Speedway, which is a relatively new track. Johnson finished third in the inaugural race here in 2011 and sixth in last year’s race. [ad-8757089]

The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)

There is a wide variety of quality drivers with longer odds to win this week, but we tapped last year’s Sprint Cup Champion Brad Keselowski as our top contender this week at +1200. Things have not been going as planned for the No.2 car this season in defense of its title, but despite going winless in the first 16 point races, it has come close with five top-five finishes this year.

The value in Keselowski’s odds to win on Saturday night lie the fact that he comes in as the defending champion of this race as well.

The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)

Greg Biffle is one of those Sprint Cup drivers that quietly goes about his ways, yet every time you look at the current point standings he is always in the mix. Coming off a huge victory at Michigan two weeks ago, the No.16 car is in sixth-place with a total of 479 points.

Biffle has been opened at +2000 to win against this week at Kentucky and while he is coming off back-to-back 21st-place finishes in this race, he may still warrant a small play as a longshot given his current form.

Odds from Bovada

Kyle Busch 6/1
Jimmie Johnson 6/1
Matt Kenseth 7/1
Kasey Kahne 8/1
Denny Hamlin 8/1
Carl Edwards 12/1
Clint Bowyer 12/1
Kevin Harvick 12/1
Brad Keselowski 12/1
Jeff Gordon 15/1
Martin Truex Jr 15/1
Kurt Busch 15/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 15/1
Greg Biffle 20/1
Tony Stewart 20/1
Joey Logano 30/1
Brian Vickers 40/1
Juan Montoya 40/1
Jamie McMurray 50/1
Ryan Newman 100/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
David Ragan 200/1
Jeff Burton 200/1
Aric Almirola 200/1
AJ Allmendinger 200/1
Marcos Ambrose 200/1
Austin Dillon 200/1
Danica Patrick 200/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 150/1

*SPRINT Cup Odds provided by Bovada

By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.