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NASCAR Sprint Cup Sylvania 300 Preview and Prediction

New Hampshire – Sylvania 300 Predictions

The Chase to this year’s NASCAR Sprint Cup title is underway and the second of this 10-race playoff takes the series back to New Hampshire Motor Speedway this week for the running of the Sylvania 300.

Sunday’s race is set to start at 2 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

NASCAR Sprint Cup Sylvania 300 Preview and Prediction
Race: Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway
Date: Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013
Time: 2 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ESPN
Odds from Bovada

Matt Kenseth drew first blood in this year’s Chase with a win last week at Chicago. Kyle Busch turned in a strong showing by taking second and Kevin Harvick raced his way to 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)

Jimmie Johnson had been a forgotten man over the last few races leading up to the Chase, but he raced his No. 48 car to a fifth-place finish last week.

He is now in third place in the current Sprint Cup standings with 2052 points which is 11 points out of first. Johnson has been opened as this week’s odds-on-favorite to win at +450, which would be its fifth point-race victory of the year if he takes the checkered flag. [ad-8757089]

There is some solid value in these odds with three previous Sprint Cup victories at this track and an average finishing position of 9.4. He finished second in this race last year and sixth in the first race here this season.

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

Kevin Harvick has two previous Sprint Cup victories this season to go along with six additional top-five finishes including last week, so we see some tremendous value in his +1200 odds to win this race.

He has the No. 29 car sitting in fourth place in the standings and just 15 points out of the lead in the team’s quest for its first ever Sprint Cup title.

Recent form at this track has not been that impressive, but Harvick did win this race in 2006 and he posted back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the two races at New Hampshire in 2010.

The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)

The odds tend to drop-off rather quickly this time of the year with just 12 contenders left for the title, but one of those contenders sporting longer odds for this Sunday’s race is Carl Edwards at +2000.

He finished 11th in last week’s race, but he briefly led and ran with the lead pack all day long. The No. 99 car is currently in fifth-place in the standings and 23 points out of first.

Looking back at his past performance at this track, he has never won a Sprint Cup race here, but he posted an eight-place finish in the first race here this season.

Odds from Bovada

JIMMIE JOHNSON 9-2
MATT KENSETH 7-1
KYLE BUSCH 7-1
KASEY KAHNE 8-1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 10-1
JEFF GORDON 10-1
KURT BUSCH 12-1
CLINT BOWYER 12-1
KEVIN HARVICK 12
CARL EDWARDS 20-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 20-1
DENNY HAMLIN 20-1
JOEY LOGANO 20-1
BRIAN VICKERS 20-1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 25-1
RYAN NEWMAN 25-1
GREG BIFFLE 30-1
MARK MARTIN 60-1
JAMIE McMURRAY 60-1
JUAN MONTOYA 60-1
JEFF BURTON 60-1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100-1
PAUL MENARD 100-1
ARIC ALMIROLA 100-1
MARCOS AMBROSE 300-1
BOBBY LABONTE 500-1
DANICA PATRICK 500-1
FIELD 500-1

ODDS TO WIN 2013 SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP

JIMMIE JOHNSON 2-1
MATT KENSETH 2-1
KYLE BUSCH 3-1
KEVIN HARVICK 12-1
KASEY KAHNE 15-1
JEFF GORDON 18-1
CLINT BOWYER 18-1
KURT BUSCH 20-1
CARL EDWARDS 20-1
JOEY LOGANO 30-1
RYAN NEWMAN 50-1
GREG BIFFLE 50-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 60-1

*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.