posted April 25, 2008 at 13:45 EST in NASCAR Betting Trends

The drivers of NASCAR return to the track this weekend with the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. It’s been two weeks since the last NASCAR race, when Jimmie Johnson finally broke through in Phoenix to post his first victory of the season. That leaves NASCAR betting fans wondering if Johnson is ready to dominate again, or will his Hendrick Motorsports teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally post a win of their own this weekend?

If Gordon or Earnhardt Jr. is finally going to claim a checkered flag, Talladega seems like the place to do it. Gordon and Junior have combined to win 11 Cup races at Talladega in the past. Gordon owned Talladega last season, winning both the Aaron’s 499 and the UAW-Ford 500, which is being renamed the AMP Energy 500 this season.

Gordon has seen the checkers fly at Talladega six times before in his career. Earnhardt Jr. has five career wins at Talladega, which includes winning four straight races between the 2001 and 2003 seasons. Heading into Sunday’s race Junior is a +450 favorite, while Gordon is right behind him at +500.

Following Junior and Gordon on the NASCAR odds list are a pair of drivers looking for their first career wins at Talladega – Tony Stewart at +600 and Kyle Busch at +650. Thanks to some bad luck, Stewart is still looking for his first win of the season despite leading the majority of laps in a few races. Busch already has one win this season and has been one of the more consistent drivers on the Cup series this season with four Top 5 finishes so far, which has been good enough to place him second overall in points – just 80 in arrears of Jeff Burton. Speaking of the points leader, Burton is a big underdog in this weekend’s race at +2500.

The greatest value for bettors on the NASCAR odds list this weekend may be Johnson at +700. Not only is the back-to-back defending Cup champion coming off his first win of the season but he has also won at Talladega before, with a win in the Aaron’s 499 in 2006.

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