NASCAR Weekend Preview from Pocono - Pennsylvania 500

The Sprint Cup Series makes its second stop at Pocono Raceway with the Pennsylvania 500 on Sunday afternoon, with Jimmie Johnson gunning for his second straight victory. Johnson comes into the weekend as the pre-race favorite on the NASCAR betting board, with Series points leader Tony Stewart and Mark Martin also near the top of the odds list.

JJ is currently priced as +500 chalk to cash at Pocono, where he has the best average finish (9.6) of any driver in the Series. History tells us that success at the first Pocono race coupled with a good showing at the Brickyard leads to a solid finish at the second Pennsylvania race of the season. The trend should hold up for Johnson, who has finished in the top 10 in the last four Pocono races.

Stewart (+600) was the winner at Pocono back in June, although he hasn’t won the late-summer race in the last four years. That being the case, Smoke’s worst finish over that span is seventh. Stewart has also had considerable success at Indianapolis, where he won on the 2.5-mile flat track in 2007.

Pocono Raceway is also a 2.5-mile flat configuration, something Hendrick Motorsports veteran Mark Martin (+600) knows all too well. Martin has the most top 5s (19) and top 10s (31) in Pocono history, and leads the Cup Series with four victories this season. Second last week at the Brickyard, Martin has finished in the top 10 in three of last four Pocono events held in August.

Jeff Gordon (+800) hasn’t cashed outright since April, so he might be a better play to finish in the top three (+250). The No. 24 driver has six top 10s in the past seven events, and came in fourth in Pennsylvania in June.

Juan Pablo Montoya (+2200) is a value play after finishing a disappointing 11th last week at Indy. Montoya led 116 of 160 laps before being penalized for going 0.1 miles per hour above the speed limit in the pits, and he never got back on track in the race. Eighth at Pocono 57 days ago, Montoya has five top 10s in the last seven races.

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Currently out of the Chase for the Cup, Kyle Busch is the favorite for Saturday’s stop in the Nationwide Series at Iowa Raceway. Busch (+140) currently leads the Series, but Carl Edwards (+350) is hot on his trail after winning last week at Indy. Brad Keselowski (+500) also figures to challenge the younger Busch on Saturday afternoon.