2013 STP Gas Booster 500 Predictions
After a week off, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series returns to action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the running of the STP Gas Booster 500. Sunday’s race is set to get underway at 1 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
NASCAR Sprint Cup STP Gas Booster 500 Preview and Prediction
Race: STP Gas Booster 500, Martinsville, VA.
Date: Sunday, April 7, 2013
Time: 1 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: FOX
Odds: Bovada
After a week off, NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series returns to action this weekend at Martinsville Speedway for the running of the STP Gas Booster 500. Sunday’s race is set to get underway at 1 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
It has been awhile since Kyle Busch made his way to victory lane in a Sprint Cup point race, but that drought ended with a wild first-place finish two weeks ago at Fontana. Dale Earnhardt Jr. posted his fifth-straight top-10 finish by taking second and our longshot pick for that race, Joey Logano plowed his way to a controversial third-place finish.
The following is a closer look at our favorite, contender, and longshot picks for this Sunday’s race with odds provided by Sportsbook.
The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)
Jimmie Johnson started this season with a bang by winning the Daytona 500 followed by a second-place finish at Phoenix and sixth at Las Vegas. However, the No.48 car has had its share of troubles since then; finishing out of the top 10 in its last two races. Overall, it remains in the thick of the point race battle with 183 total points which is currently holding down third place in the Sprint Cup standings. Johnson has been opened as the odds-on-favorite to win at Martinsville this week at +400 and for good reason. He has taken the checkered flag here seven previous times including a victory in the second race at this track last season. Overall, he boasts an average finishing position of 5.5. [ad-8757089]
The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)
With a total of just three drivers with odds of less than +1200, it is a good week to make a play on a contender. As part of a group of five drivers at +1200, the best value lies with Dale Earnhardt Jr. The No. 88 race team is off to a red-hot start with five top-10 finishes in the first five point races of the season including second at both Daytona and Fontana. This run has it in first place in the standings with 199 points. Dale Jr. has yet to win a Sprint Cup point race at Martinsville but he has come awful close lately with a top-10 finish in four of his last five races at this track including a third-place finish in last year’s race.
The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)
We are staying way from Logano at +2500 for this race as he is likely to get taken out by someone on the first lap after ending a number of driver’s chances to win at Fontana. The value in the longer odds this week go to Greg Biffle at +2000. The No. 16 car finished sixth its last time out to post its second top-10 finish of the year. While its current form may not be completely up to speed, this team led the Sprint Cup point standings for quite awhile last season and its recent performance at Fontana was encouraging to say the least. The drain on Biffle’s odds lie in his past performance at this track. He only has three top-10 career finishes at Martinsville but one of them did come in the second race here last season.
Odds from Bovada
Jimmie Johnson 4/1
Kyle Busch 6/1
Brad Keselowski 6/1
Matt Kenseth 12/1
Kasey Kahne 12/1
Tony Stewart 12/1
Jeff Gordon 12/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 12/1
Mark Martin 15/1
Clint Bowyer 15/1
Kevin Harvick 15/1
Carl Edwards 15/1
Greg Biffle 20/1
Joey Logano 25/1
Ryan Newman 25/1
Martin Truex Jr 30/1
Brian Vickers 40/1
Kurt Busch 50/1
Ricky Stenhouse 50/1
Jeff Burton 50/1
Jamie McMurray 60/1
Aric Almirola 60/1
Juan Montoya 75/1
Marcos Ambrose 75/1
Paul Menard 75/1
Danica Patrick 300/1
Regan Smith 300/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 50/1
*SPRINT Cup Odds provided by Bovada
