The regular season finale for the Dragon Energy NASCAR Cup Series is this weekend’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, as NASCAR’s annual stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway comes from September this year. Adjustments to the program have taken the July race into the next weekend in September. It won’t be hot at IMS as usual, so teams will have to make some alterations to what they recall about the track.
Speaking of adjustments, NASCAR, as a whole, needs some. The statement that Furniture Row Racing will cease operations due to a lack of sponsorship. NASCAR’s issues run deep, as even Jimmie Johnson, who remains a significant name in the game despite a lack of consequences, doesn’t have sponsors lined up for next year. Martin Truex Jr. won last year’s championship with Furniture Row. He will remain with Toyota and proceed to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019, however that really is a indication of bigger problems for the sport.
While our principal focus remains the end of the regular season, NASCAR has a lot of things to figure out. CEO Brian France is still receiving treatment for chemical abuse problems and the game is damaging financially with diminishing attendance and a lack of sponsors. Some may even consider the situation dire.
In any event, we are a gambling information website, so our focus is that this weekend’s race. It’s the 26th and final race of the regular season, with the playoffs beginning next week at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is one of the most iconic places in racing and milk always goes down good, irrespective of the temperatures outside, for the winner of the one.
For all those on the outside looking in for the playoffs, this milk goes down real, real good. Just two playoff spots remain unclaimed. Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick, and Martin Truex Jr. have 16 of the 25 wins. Clint Bowyer includes two. Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chase Elliott, Erik Jones, and Austin Dillon have one win apiece. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Aric Almirola have been based on points. Jimmie Johnson seems secure, with a 19-point border on Alex Bowman. He’ll get knocked out if somebody below Bowman wins. If not, he has a tremendous points edge on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. Kasey Kahne won this mess of a race this past year, which had warnings, crashes, and bad weather. If that happens this week, then he’d be in.
Not surprisingly, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, and Martin Truex Jr. would be the best three on the board at 5Dimes Sportsbook. Harvick and Busch are equally +265 and Truex is +470. There is actuallyn’t much to say about these men. Truex has some additional incentive to win each and every week for Furniture Row along with his hard-working crew, but that may not be sufficient from Busch and Harvick on a big, fast track. Harvick hasn’t won here since 2003, Busch won in 2015 and 2016, and Truex has never won here.
Harvick won the Michigan race a few weeks back and was next earlier in the year. That’s the best barometer we’ve got for this 2.5-mile track because Daytona and Talladega are all restrictor plate races and people are a completely different animal. Busch was fourth and third. Truex was 18th and 14th. Truex did win the two-mile loop at Car Club Speedway.
The obvious choice for investment that this week is Kyle Larson. Larson doesn’t have a win, but swept nearly everything last week in Darlington. He simply finished third instead of first. He led the most laps and won the two stages. He was third two weeks prior at Bristol. Larson was 17th and 28th at Michigan earlier this year, but he owns three career wins at Michigan and has run well at Car Club Speedway. Larson is +660 to receive his first win and it wouldn’t be the least bit surprising when he got it .
Brad Keselowski, a week’s winner at Darlington, is +1300. Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are the sole others below 20/1. That is just another problem for NASCAR. It just isn’t all that competitive anymore. Fans of drivers not called Harvick, Busch, or Truex don’t have a whole lot to see on a weekly basis.
There are a few non-household names that have won this race lately. Jimmie Johnson has four wins, with the final coming in 2012. Jeff Gordon won here five times, with the last in 2014. Ryan Newman won in 2013. Kahne won last year. Paul Menard won in 2011. Jamie McMurray won in 2010. There’s the chance for someone to measure as a very long haul, but it appears highly unlikely with the equipment and the drivers that have dominated the sport this year.
Coverage of this 2018 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard will be on NBC Sports Network on Sunday September 9 with a two p.m. ET start time.
Odds at September 5, 3:30 p.m. ET:
Kevin Harvick +265
Kyle Busch +265
Martin Truex Jr +470
Kyle Larson +660
Brad Keselowski +1300
Ryan Blaney +1600
Joey Logano +1600
Erik Jones +2200
Denny Hamlin +2200
Chase Elliott +2200
Kurt Busch +2600
Clint Bowyer +2600
Aric Almirola +4400
Jimmie Johnson +5500
Daniel Suarez +6600
Alex Bowman +8800
Paul Menard +10000
Austin Dillon +11000
Ryan Newman +11000
Jamie McMurray +11000
William Byron +20000
Matt Kenseth +30000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +30000
Chris Buescher +50000
Kasey Kahne +50000
AJ Allmendinger +100000
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