Livescore
Race 24 of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is on deck at a longtime racing playground, Michigan International Speedway.
The fast, 2-mile track almost always favors the Haves over the Have Nots (and even the Have Somes), so this isn’t the week to go bargain hunting for a winner. You might point to Chris Buescher’s win a year ago, but remember, he’d also won the previous week so it wasn’t out of the blue.
You’ll find nothing unusual on the odds board.
+550: Denny Hamlin
+575: Kyle Larson
+700: Ryan Blaney
+750: Tyler Reddick
+900: Martin Truex Jr.
+1000: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell
+1200: Chase Elliott
+1300: William Byron
+1500: Chris Buescher
+1750: Ty Gibbs
+2000: Bubba Wallace
+2500: Ross Chastain
+3000: Alex Bowman
+4000: Kyle Busch
+5000: Daniel Suarez
+10000: Josh Berry, Carson Hocevar, Erik Jones, Austin Cindric, Noah Gragson
+15000: Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon
+20000: Zane Smith, Ricky Stenhouse, John Hunter Nemechek, Corey LaJoie, Ryan Preece, Cody Ware, Daniel Hemric, AJ Allmendinger, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland, Justin Haley, Harrison Burton
No NASCAR sleeper pick for Michigan?
Not for the win, though given his solid finishes in recent races, perhaps Bubba Wallace should be one or two rungs higher on the board.
On the other hand, Martin Truex should be lower. He’s pretty much locked into the playoffs on points, but unless things change he’ll arrive there without even a half-gallon of momentum.
Any NASCAR nuggets for FireKeepers Casino 400?
The Hard Rock Bets menu for NASCAR races includes a chance to bet on the highest finishing driver in each manufacturer camp.
Let’s say we take a look at the Toyota driver odds board, where we’ll find the aforementioned William Darrell Wallace Jr. (yep, Bubba).
+230: Denny Hamlin
+350: Tyler Reddick
+375: Martin Truex
+400: Christopher Bell
+650: Ty Gibbs
+750: Bubba Wallace
+5000: Erik Jones
+15000: John Hunter Nemechek
Remember, your guy doesn’t have to win the race, just finish ahead of the others who are driving Toyotas. If forced to pick one, you’d obviously take Hamlin and, frankly, Reddick should be your next choice — he’s finished sixth or better in six straight races and eighth or better in nine of the last 10.
But for that payoff of +750 ($10 would net you $75 if you’re not overly confident), I wouldn’t mind sprinkling some currency on Bubba. He’s finished 10th, fifth and fourth the past three races, and over the past two years at Michigan, he’s led a combined 43 laps and two years ago finished second.
One more prop possibility for Michigan
You’ve gotten the impression I’m not opposed to leaning toward Tyler Reddick and/or Bubba Wallace, assuming the price is right.
Well, on the team odds board, their 23XI team is listed as the fourth favorite, at +575, behind Gibbs (+190), Hendrick (+240) and Penske (+425).
Yes, that pecking order is justifiable, not just for the quality but the quantity — 23XI is a two-man team while those top three favorites have four, four and three drivers each.
But again, at +575, and given their recent form, I don’t hate this play.
— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR odds at Michigan FireKeepers Casino 400. Denny Hamlin favored
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