2013 Toyota Owners 400 Predictions
NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series is back in prime time this week for the running of the Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond International Speedway. Saturday night’s race is set to get underway at 8 p.m. and it will be broadcast nationally on FOX.
NASCAR Sprint Cup Toyota Owners 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: Toyota Owners 400, Richmond International Speedway
Date: Saturday, April 27, 2013
Time: 8 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: FOX
Odds: Bovada
Matt Kenseth became the third two-time winner this season in the Sprint Cup series by taking the checkered flag in last Sunday’s race at Kansas.
Kasey Kahne raced his way to second place and perennial favorite Jimmie Johnson ended-up third. The following is a closer look at our favorite, contender, and longshot picks for this Saturday night’s race with odds provided by Sportsbook.
The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)
Kyle Busch will be looking to bounce back quickly from last week’s disappointing 38th-place finish after winning twice in the previous three point races. The Oddsmakers must like his chances after opening him as the +450 favorite to win for the third time this season on Saturday night.
The No. 18 car fell to seventh-place in the Sprint Cup standings with 257 points but still has three other top-five finishes to go along with the two victories. The real value in these lofty odds is Busch’s past dominance at this track.
He has already posted four victories here and over the course of his 16 careers races at Richmond, he has finished in the top five an impressive 12 times.
The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)
The defending Sprint Cup Champion made his way to Victory Lane five times in the 2012 season and despite four top-five finishes in the first eight races this year he is still searching for his first checkered flag. [ad-8757089]
Brad Keselowski and the No.2 car has raced well enough to hold down the third spot in the current Sprint Cup standings with 273 points but this team is fueled by crossing the finish line first. He has been opened at +1000 to notch that first win on Saturday night.
Keselowski has only made seven previous Sprint Cup starts at this track and while the overall results are nothing to write home about, he did finish in the top 10 in both races here last season.
The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)
Trolling through the list of longshots to win this race, the pickings are slim as far as value. If you are still looking to take a flyer on someone with longer odds, then Greg Biffle at +2500 might be worth a second look.
He is currently fourth in the standings with a total of 264 points after posting four top-10 finishes in the first eight races of the year.
He has led 39 laps and came very close to winning two weeks ago with a fourth-place finish at Texas. The reason for the long odds this week is an average 16.3 finishing position at this track with no previous wins.
The No.16 car broke a string of 11 races finishing outside the top 10 with a ninth-place finish in the second race at Richmond in 2012.
Odds from Bovada
Jimmie Johnson 6/1
Kyle Busch 9-2
Denny Hamlin 7-1
Jimmie Johnson 8-1
Matt Kenseth 8-1
Kasey Kahne 10-1
Brad Keselowski 10-1
Clint Bowyer 12-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 12-1
Carl Edwards 12-1
Jeff Gordon 12-1
Kevin Harvick 15-1
Tony Stewart 20-1
Greg Biffle 25-1
Martin Truex Jr. 25-1
Mark Martin 30-1
Joey Logano 50-1
Ryan Newman 50-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 50-1
Kurt Busch 75-1
Marcos Ambrose 80-1
Juan Pablo Montoya 80-1
Jamie McMurray 100-1
Paul Menard 100-1
Danica Patrick 500-1
Field (All Others) 50-1
