With just 10 races remaining in the regular season, the NASCAR Cup Series is set to race at Nashville Superspeedway for the first time in series history. The 1⅓ mile concrete oval hosted NASCAR’s lower series from 2001 to 2011.
Without any trends or history at the track, betting the race will be more difficult. Still, Hendrick Motorsports has been the best organization this season and has three of the top seven favorites.
Here is everything you need to know to bet the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway, which starts at 3:30 p.m. EST on Sunday, June 20, on NBC Sports Network, which is owned by Comcast Corporation CMCSA.
Betting favorites (odds courtesy of BetMGM MGM:
- Kyle Larson +275 to win, -250 top-5
- Martin Truex Jr. +550 to win, -130 top-5
- Chase Elliott +750 to win, +100 top-5
- Kyle Busch +800 to win, +110 top-5
- Denny Hamlin +900 to win, +120 top-5
- William Byron +1000 to win, +135 top-5
- Joey Logano +1300 to win, +165 top-5
Larson, the winner of the last three races, is the overwhelming favorite to win at +275. He swept the stages at the Coca-Cola 600 and Sonoma and held off Elliott and Brad Keselowski to win $1 million at the All-Star Race. Dover, the other concrete track on the schedule, saw Larson lead over 200 laps and finish second. He has led the most laps with 1,162, a whopping 406 more than anyone else.
Truex, the other three-time points race winner (the All-Star Race is an exhibition race), has the second-best odds at +550 and has been the best non-Hendrick driver this season. His Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Hamlin and Busch have been fast this season as well. Hamlin is the points leader and still searching for his first win while Busch won at Kansas.
Byron is fourth in the championship standings and his 12 top-10 finishes are the most in the series. His breakout season continued with a good run at the All-Star Race as he ran up front for most of the race.
Good value picks
- Alex Bowman +1200 to win, +160 top-5
- Kevin Harvick +1400 to win, +190 top-5
- Ryan Blaney +1800 to win, +240 top-5
Bowman won at Richmond and Dover earlier in the season, marking the first time in his career he won multiple races in one season. His Hendrick power makes him a contender at any race track and at +1200 he has the worst odds of the four HMS drivers.
Harvick has not had the same speed as he did in 2020, but he has 11 top-10s and he has a better average finish than Truex or Busch. Blaney won earlier in the season at Atlanta, but does not have a finish better than 8th in the 10 races since. While that has pushed his odds all the way up to +1800, it makes a bet on Blaney one with a high payout. Team Penske is fast on 750 horsepower tracks, which should translate to Nashville.
Longshots to keep an eye on:
- Matt DiBenedetto +8000 to win, +1000 top-5
- Aric Almirola +15000 to win, +2000 top-5
Both drivers have disappointed in 2021. DiBenedetto is 17th in points while Almirola has completely fallen apart and is 28th.
DiBenedetto had put together a good streak of finishes before the last five races, where his best finish is 18th. In a contract year, DiBenedetto needs to start stringing together good finishes or risk losing his top-tier ride.
Almirola has just one top-10 this season, but he was fast at Texas, racing his way into the All-Star Race. He is the only driver at +10000 or more with a realistic shot at finishing up front and has been quick during the summer over the past few seasons.
Nashville race picks: It’s hard to bet against Kyle Larson and Hendrick Motorsports given their recent hot streak, and I’m not going to do that. Larson is on a tear right now and that is not going to end unless he has a problem of some sort.
Picking the race winner is difficult given the number of competitive drivers, so top-5 and top-10 bets offer better shots to payout. I like Larson, of course, to run well and finish in the top-5, along with Elliott, Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Harvick.
(Photo by Chase McBride on Unsplash)
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