OffshoreInsiders Handicapping Blog

Kyle Busch will be looking to extend his lead atop the driver standings on
May 25 when the Sprint Cup Series invades Lowe’s Motor Speedway for this season’s
Coca-Cola 600. Check out the latest href="http://www.offshoreinsiders.com/index.php?PageID=100">online sportsbook
odds for NASCAR.

Busch got his third victory of the year on May 10 at Darlington Raceway, as he took the checkered flag in the Dodge Challenger 500. Busch had previously won both the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta and the Aaron’s 499 at Talladega, and he now leads the driver standings by 79 points on Jeff Burton. Busch has seven Top-5 finishes through 11 races.

Carl Edwards was second at Darlington, followed by Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and David Ragan. Matt Kenseth, Denny Hamlin, Travis Kvapil, Dave Blaney, and Burton rounded out the day’s Top 10. Jamie McMurray ended up in 11^th place, Kurt Busch was 12^th, Jimmie Johnson was 13^th, Martin Truex Jr. was 14^th, and Clint Bowyer was 15^th.

Tony Stewart finished back in 21^st place in the Dodge Challenger 500, while Kevin Harvick wound up in 39^th place, and Greg Biffle’s car troubles dropped him into 43^rd.

Earnhardt Jr. sits third in the driver standings after 11 races; he’s 134 points behind leader Kyle Busch. Hamlin moved up two spots into fourth place with his result at Darlington, while Bowyer rounds out the Top 5 of the points race. Johnson, Edwards, Stewart, Harvick, Gordon, Biffle, and Ragan are the rest of the standings’ current Top 12. Ryan Newman (13^th) and Kasey Kahne (14^th) have both fallen out of Chase spots.

Casey Mears sits in 27^th place in the current standings, but he’s the defending Coca-Cola 500 champion. Gordon won the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s last season, while Kahne won both Lowe’s races in 2006. Johnson has five Cup victories at Lowe’s on his resume - he won the Coca-Cola 600 in 2003, then swept the events in 2004 and 2005.

Gordon has won three other times at Lowe’s - in 1997, 1998, and 1999. Burton and Mark Martin also have multiple Cup victories on that track; Burton won there in 1999 and 2001, while Martin turned the trick in 1998 and 2002. Stewart (2003), Kenseth (2000), McMurray (2002), and Bobby Labonte (2000) have also earned Lowe’s victories.

It’s Edwards, though, that has been pegged as the Vegas favorite to get the victory in the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend - he’s listed at just 6/1 odds to take the checkered flag. Gordon, Johnson, Earnhardt Jr., and Kyle Busch are all right behind him at 7/1 odds, with Stewart and Hamlin rounding out the top level of contenders at 10/1 odds.

Biffle sits at 11/1 odds for the Coca-Cola 600, with Kenseth at 17/1, Kahne at 19/1, and six drivers at 20/1 - Newman, Kurt Busch, Martin, Burton, Harvick, and Bowyer. Truex Jr. is back of that group at 22/1, with Mears and McMurray pegged at 40/1 odds to win.

Earnhardt Jr. and Kyle Busch are still tied as 3/1 favorites to win the Sprint Cup this season, with Edwards at 5/1, Johnson at 6/1, and Gordon at 8/1. Hamlin is next on that list at 9/1, and he’s followed by Stewart (10/1), Bowyer (10/1), Harvick (15/1), Burton (15/1), and Biffle (15/1). Kenseth is the last top championship contender; he’s at 18/1.

After spending two weeks at Lowe’s Motor Speedway the drivers of the Sprint Cup Series will head to Dover International Speedway for the Best Buy 400 on June 1. Other June events include the Pocono 500 at Pocono, the LifeLock 400 at Michigan, the Toyota/SaveMart 350 at Infineon, and the Lenox Industrial Tools 301 at New Hampshire.