The regular season finale for the Dragon Energy NASCAR Cup Series is this weekend’s Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard, since NASCAR’s annual stop at Indianapolis Motor Speedway comes in September this year. Adjustments to the program have taken the July race to the second weekend in September. It won’t be as hot at IMS as usual, so teams will have to make some adjustments to what they remember about the monitor.
Speaking of adjustments, NASCAR, as a whole, needs some. The announcement that Furniture Row Racing will cease operations because of lack of sponsorship. NASCAR’s problems run deep, as even Jimmie Johnson, that stays a significant name in the sport despite a lack of consequences, does not even have sponsors lined up for next year. Martin Truex Jr. won last year’s championship with Furniture Row. He’ll stay with Toyota and go to Joe Gibbs Racing for 2019, but this really is a indication of larger problems for the sport.
While our primary focus is still the end of the regular season, NASCAR has a great deal of things to find out. CEO Brian France is still receiving treatment for chemical abuse problems and the sport is damaging financially with decreasing attendance and a lack of sponsors. Some may even consider the situation dire.
In any event, we are a gambling information site, so our attention is this weekend’s race. It is the 26th and last race of the regular season, with the playoffs beginning next week in Las Vegas Motor Speedway. This is among the most iconic venues in racing and milk consistently goes down good, irrespective of the temperature outside, for the winner of this one.
For those on the outside looking in for the playoffs, this milk goes down real, real good. Just two playoff places 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 all have one win apiece. Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Aric Almirola are in based on factors. Jimmie Johnson appears safe, using a 19-point edge on Alex Bowman. He’ll get knocked out if somebody below Bowman wins. If not, he has a tremendous points advantage on Ricky Stenhouse Jr.. Kasey Kahne won this jumble 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. are the top three on the plank in 5Dimes Sportsbook. Harvick and Busch are both +265 and Truex is +470. There really isn’t much to say about these men. Truex has some extra incentive to acquire each and every week for Furniture Row along with his hard-working team, but that might not be sufficient from Busch and Harvick to a big, fast track. Harvick has not won since 2003, Busch won here in both 2015 and 2016, and Truex has never won here.
Harvick won the Michigan race a couple weeks back and was next earlier in the year. That is the best barometer we have for this 2.5-mile monitor since Daytona and Talladega are all restrictor plate races and people are an altogether different creature. Busch was third and fourth. Truex was 18th and 14th. Truex did triumph the two-mile loop in Auto Club Speedway.
The obvious pick for investment this week is Kyle Larson. Larson does not have a win, but swept just about everything last week at Darlington. He just finished third rather than first. He led the most laps and won the two phases. He was third two weeks ahead at Bristol. Larson was 17th and 28th in Michigan earlier this season, 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 would not be the least bit surprising if he got it here.
Brad Keselowski, a week’s winner at Darlington, is +1300. Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano will be the only others under 20/1. That is another difficulty for NASCAR. It isn’t all that competitive anymore. Fans of drivers not named Harvick, Busch, or Truex don’t have a whole lot to watch on a weekly basis.
There are some non-household names which have won this race recently. Jimmie Johnson has four wins, with the last coming in 2012. Jeff Gordon won 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 somebody to measure as a very long shot, but it appears highly unlikely with the gear and the drivers who have mastered the sport this year.
Coverage of the 2018 Big Machine Vodka 400 at the Brickyard is going to 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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