NASCAR Betting - Food City 500 Selections

After a week off, the online NASCAR betting action resumes on Sunday, as the Sprint Cup series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City 500 on the world's fastest half-mile track, starting at 2:10pm EST. If you bet on NASCAR, buckle-up for a wild ride on a track that punishes drivers for other’s mishaps. It's short track racing at its best, making for exciting NASCAR wagering in what's one of the sport's most anticipated events. Before getting to your selections, here's a look at the BetUS NASCAR odds on the top-five favorites.

Carl Edwards is oddsmakers selection with sports betting value of +450 to win the Food City 500. Kyle Busch is oddsmakers second choice priced at +500 followed points leader Jeff Gordon (+600), Kurt Busch (+700) and Denny Hamlin (+850) rounding out the top-five favorites to take the checkers on Sunday.

When wagering NASCAR online, value is always present and as bettors we want the most. Though, there's a lot of money to be made on Sunday's Food City 500 via sleepers, I expect modest but a solid return produced from a win by one of oddsmakers top-choices. Bristol is a grueling driver's track that demands experience, patience and raw talent. Something all of which the favorites have in common, more so than any of the dark horses or rookies.

Edwards is a very legitimate favorite to win his first Cup race of 2009 on Sunday. Edwards started strong last season, winning two of the first three events, and finished even stronger by winning three of the final four events in 2008 but has yet to make any noise. Bristol is the most aggressive and physical track on the circuit, which Edwards can handle because he's one of the sport's fittest athletes. He owns two Bristol wins, three top-fives and four top-ten runs with a respectable 13.8 average of finish on the high-banked half-mile oval that generates 16 second laps.

Gordon has five wins at Bristol, so he certainly knows directions to Victory Lane. Bristol, like no other track on the circuit, punishes drivers for other’s mishaps that often makes them victims. With a wall inside and out surrounding the entire track, drivers have very little margin for errors or to avoid spins and crashes.

However, Gordon is experienced, savvy and aware of the importance of running near the front to stay out of trouble there. Gordon is still in search of his first win in 45 races, making him the hungriest driver on the circuit that's nearly tasted victory twice this season. The four-time Cup champion remained atop the standings after another strong run at Atlanta in the latest race, resulting in his second runner-up finish in the season's first four races. If you wager on NASCAR, don't overlook Gordon because his winless drought could end this weekend.

Kurt Busch won the Atlanta race with odds of +1500, which was the first time he took the checkers since his one win in a rain-shortened race at Loudon in June of 2008, as the former Cup champion led more laps in that race than all of last season with 164. Busch's winning run earned him four spots in the point standings where he now sits third. He enters the Food City 500 carrying momentum on a track he's won at five times, tying him with Gordon for most Bristol victories among active drivers.