NASCAR Picks - Toyota Save Mart 350 Top 3

Race-day: 6/21/2009

Race-time: 4:30 pm est.

Because NASCAR drivers will be trying a dirt course for the first time in 2009. It makes sense for fans to bypass betting one of these guys to win and instead to bet on one of these guys to finish in the Top 3.

As always, just because a driver makes sense as a win wager for gamblers, it doesn’t mean that he makes sense as a wager to finish in the Top 3.

Let’s take a look at some of the drivers and their chances to make it into the Top 3.

NASCAR: Toyota Save Mart 350 Top 3

1. Juan Pablo Montoya +200 - - An average finish of 3.5 means that Juan Pablo always excels at Infineon Raceway, the site of the Toyota Save mart 350. Juan Pablo isn’t ranked in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Futures Rankings, but he obviously knows what he’s doing on these dirt courses. He’s a great bet at 2 to 1 to get into the Top 3 in this.

2. Jeff Gordon +150 - - Gordon has dominated dirt course racing with 5 victories, 10 top 5s and an average finish of 9.3 at Infineon Raceway. He’s a definite player.

3. Tony Stewart +150 - - Smoke could easily pick up his second Sprint Cup victory of the year as, like Gordon and Montoya, he always does well on dirt courses. Stewart has 2 victories and averages a top ten finish at Infineon Raceway.

4. Kyle Busch +180 - - Kyle average finish on the track is 15th, but he did win both races at Infineon in 2008 and most NASCAR fans agree that it’s about time for Joe Gibbs Racing to turn things around. They can start by having their best driver pick up win number 4 for 2009.

5. Clint Bowyer +200 - - Talk about a discrepancy in the NASCAR odds! Bowyer is 40 to 1 in the Sportsbook to win, but 2 to 1 to finish in the top 3. Some of the discrepancy might have to do with Bowyer’s history of not winning the Toyota Save Mart 350 but his history of finishing 8th.

6. Robby Gordon +450 - - Gordon’s average finish at Infineon is a less than spectacular 22.1 but he does have two top 5s and a victory at the track. He could prove tough in this category on Sunday.

Best Long Shot

Ryan Newman +750 - - Newman had a terrible LifeLock 400 when he finished out of the top ten. It was a rare occurrence for Newman in 2009 because he’s driving exceptionally well this year. He might not bounce back this Sunday with a victory but he does have a decent shot to get into the top 3 as he has an average finish of 9.4 at Infineon.