posted September 25, 2009 at 17:49 EST in NASCAR Articles
NASCAR Update - Hamlin, Montoya and Busch Rise While Stewart and Gordon Fall
After the first race of The Chase it’s apparent that the old man isn’t going away. Mark Martin is hell bent on winning the Sprint Cup. By finishing first in the Sylvania 300, Martin proved that his move to Hendrick Motor Sports was a good one and that he was going to make the most of it now that he was in The Chase and was the point’s leader.
Martin just wouldn’t let Juan Pablo Montoya, Denny Hamlin or three straight Cup winner Jimmie Johnson, and fellow Hendrick Motor Sports teammate, by him. That’s how good Martin was this past Sunday.
Johnson finished second. Hamlin finished third and Juan Montoya finished fourth. Now, with a Chase race in the books, the Top 5 looks like this with NASCAR betting odds to win the Sprint Cup.
- Mark Martin +250
- Jimmie Johnson +250
- Jimmie Johnson +250
- Juan Pablo Montoya +1000
- Kurt Busch +2500
Juan Montoya and Kurt Busch are still overlays to win the Sprint Cup. NASCAR gamblers must be thinking that neither guy will be able to sustain the terrific runs they produced in the Sylvania 300. I’m not so sure that’s the case. Busch might have a let down, but Montoya definitely shouldn’t.
Montoya was fired up after the Sylvania and no doubt thought he could have won the race. He’ll be ready this Sunday when the drivers hit the Dover racetrack.
Two Giants Fall
Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon had less than stellar runs in the Sylvania 300. Smoke finished 14th and Gordo finished 15th. Stewart dropped to 6th in the Sprint Cup point’s standings while Gordon dropped all the way to 10th. Out of the two, Smoke probably has the best chance to turn things around. Gordon may have already put himself out of contention and would need to improve dramatically in the second race in order to get himself back into it.
He could, but because the 9 guys ahead of him are all battling for the same prize, Jeff’s year might be over. I had my doubts regarding Gordo’s ability to go a full year without that back hurting him. I’m hoping that’s not the case, but when a guy like Jeff Gordon, who just does his job and usually never has an excuse, admits to an injury you can almost guarantee that it’s worse than he’s saying it is.
As far as Tony is concerned, Burger King has really been pushing his sponsorship of their burgers on their cups and on television. Tony was everywhere during football broadcasts last week. Another finish out of the Top 10 and BK might start thinking about pulling him off the airwaves and going back to that weird, creepy King. Let’s cross our fingers and hope Tony gets back into this thing!
Dover Thoughts
“Move your bloomin’ ass, Dover!” That’s from My Fair Lady. In this case, it’s “Move your bloomin’ ass over that Dover track, Tony and Juan and Jeff!” Actually, the winner of this race on Sunday will probably be Jimmie Johnson. Jimmie won at Dover on May 31st and finished second to Mark Martin last Sunday. At odds of +500, it’s going to be hard for gamblers to not bet JJ. The guy has won three Sprint Cups in a row.
Mark Martin is also going off at +500. This is a huge race for Team Martin. If they can put together another victory, then they will be on the fast track to the Sprint Cup. I’m not sold on the idea of them winning this, though, and will keep my money in my pocket when it comes to Mark.
I do like Juan Pablo Montoya at +1200, Tony Stewart at +800 and good old boy Kyle Busch at +700. Busch is the second choice in the wagering even though he isn’t in the Sprint Cup Chase. That’s how good of a driver he can be at times.
The second race in The Chase is upon us! Let’s get some bets down and watch some racing!
