NASCAR Preview - Ford 400 Odds

NASCAR betting wraps up with the Ford 400 on Sunday. The final race of the schedule hits the Homestead-Miami Speedway for what should be a anti-climactic finish to the Sprint Cup Chase for the Championship.

Points leader Jimmie Johnson is all but guaranteed his fourth straight Cup title and holds a 108-point lead over the closest driver. Those two men happen to be the race favorites for this weekend's event.

Johnson tightened his grip on the championship with a win at Phoenix last Sunday. Oddsmakers have priced him at +500 for the schedule finale. Johnson has yet to win in eight career starts at Homestead and finished 15th there last year under similar circumstances. His best showing there was a second-place finish in 2004. Bettors can expect the No. 48 team to finish strong but not take any chances.

On the other hand, Mark Martin will be going all out trying to pull off the impossible. The veteran driver will once again fall short of his first Cup title but did have one of his best years, finishing out front in five races this season. Martin rolled to a fourth-place showing last weekend for his eighth Top 5 performance in the last 12 races. At Homestead, the No. 6 has an average finish of 12th and has yet to win the checkered flag in nine career starts.

Two drivers come in at +700 for the Ford 400. Tony Stewart is currently fifth in the standings and has to be happy with his first season as driver-owner for Stewart-Haas Racing. He's coming off a disappointing showing at the Checker O'Reilly Auto Parts 500, finishing the race in 35th. The No. 14 team has two career victories at Miami – which happened to be their first two races there. Since then, Stewart has only finished inside the Top 10 in three of his last seven race at Homestead.

Kyle Busch is also listed at +700. Busch has been inconsistent since the Chase began. He just missed making the cut and hasn't finished inside the Top 10 in his last three races. Busch has also struggled at Miami. In just four career starts he boasts an average finish of 29.5 there, with his best showing coming in last year's finale when he placed 19th after starting in eighth.