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NASCAR Sprint Cup – Ford EcoBoost 400 Preview and Prediction

Ford EcoBoost 400 Lines

The long quest for NASCAR’s 2014 Sprint Cup title that began at Daytona International Speedway all the way back in February will finally be decided once and for all this Sunday afternoon at Homestead-Miami Speedway with the running of the Ford EcoBoost 400.

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NASCAR Sprint Cup- Ford EcoBoost 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Date: Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014
Time: 3 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ESPN

The green flag for four-man run to the championship is set to wave at 3 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

The original field of 16 has been pared-down through the first nine races of this year’s Chase to NASCAR’s final four; Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin and Ryan Newman.

The following is a look at each driver’s chances to post the best finish in this race along with their betting odds to win the 2014 Sprint Cup title as provided by Bovada.

Kevin Harvick- Sprint Cup Title Odds: 7/5

Consistency is crucial under NASCAR’s new format to win a Sprint Cup title and Harvick tops the list in that category.

While he needed a victory at Phoenix last Sunday just to get into the field of four, he now has the No. 4 car in excellent position to win a title because of his ability to stay on the lead lap.

This team claimed four checkered flags this season with last week’s win, but more importantly for this Sunday race, it has led an extremely impressive 2,083 laps over the course of the first 35 races this year.

A bit of value in these lofty odds is lost considering that Harvick has not finished better than eighth in his last three Sprint Cup races at Homestead.

Joey Logano- Sprint Cup Title Odds: 5/2

Logano’s name was well down the list when Bovada first released its futures odds to win this season’s Sprint Cup title, but despite his young age, he has proven he belongs in this elite field.

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The No. 22 car won five times this season including twice in the Chase with victories in New Hampshire and Kansas. Overall, this team posted 16 top-five finishes, which is tied for the most of any Sprint Cup driver this season.

The one downside is Logano’s lack of experience and success at this track. In five previous Sprint Cup races at Homestead-Miami, his best finish was eighth in last year’s event.

Denny Hamlin-Sprint Cup Title Odds: 7/2

Given the four-team field and the current odds, Hamlin is my top value pick to win the 2014 Sprint Cup title with the best finish in this race. He was able to stand toe-to-toe with Jimmie Johnson in the 2010 race at Homestead that left him a close second in the final point standings. This should give him an edge when things start to really heat-up in this Sunday’s race.

The No. 11 car only made one trip to the Winner’s Circle this season, but be careful not to discount the wealth of experience Hamlin brings into this race. It also helps that he is the only driver in the final four that has won a Sprint Cup race at Homestead with victories in this event in both 2009 and more importantly in last season’s race.

Ryan Newman-Sprint Cup Title Odds: 5/1

I used Newman quite a few times this season as my top longshot to win that week’s race and while he never did come through with an upset win, he has obviously done something right to have the No. 31 car in a position to win a Sprint Cup title. The fact that the driver with the best overall finish in this race claims this season’s title really plays to his strengths.

A top-five or possibly even a top-10 finish might be good enough to win the Cup and given how Newman has a knack for hanging around the front runners in most of the Sprint Cup races this season, there is some solid value in these odds.

The concern would be his past performance at this track with an average finishing position of just 17.0.

*SPRINT Cup Odds provided by Bovada (Click Here now – Open A free Nascar betting account today!)

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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.