Looking forward to Sunday, it should be no surprise that the Vegas favorite to win is five-time defending NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. Johnson has four career victories at Phoenix, including sweeping both of the 2008 races. Johnson's Vegas odds for Sunday are a field favorite 5-2.
Denny Hamlin had a tumultuous stop at Daytona, leading seven laps before coming home 21st. Vegas oddsmakers rank Hamlin second with 4-1 odds to take home the checkers at Phoenix. Hamlin's teammate Kyle Busch has 6-1 odds.
As mentioned, Carl Edwards is the only Ford driver to have won at Phoenix since 2005, winning last season's fall race at the one-mile speedway. Edwards might have won last Sunday had it been the Daytona 502.5, and enters Phoenix looking to build on his second-place finish in the 500. Edwards and the No. 99 car are 8-1 odds on Sunday.
At 10-1 are two drivers who can win anywhere, on any day: Tony Stewart and Kevin Harvick. Stewart finished 13th at Daytona while Harvick won this race back in 2006.
At 12-1 are Jeff Gordon and Greg Biffle, who between them share a sole victory in the desert, Gordon's victory in the 2007 spring race.
He's no Trevor Bayne, but consider Matt Kenseth a dark horse heading into this weekend. The 2003 Sprint Cup Series champion has never won at Phoenix, but finished sixth and seventh in the track's two races last year. Kenseth enters the weekend with middle-of-the-pack 18-1 odds to win on Sunday.
Follow me on twitter @darrenmsviews
No comments:
Post a Comment