NASCAR Betting – What Everyone Needs to Know About Chicagoland

NASCAR bettors are always on a "need-to-know" basis, which is why we dug up a few interesting facts for you going into Saturday’s night’s race, the Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, IL. One fact that should be readily evident is that Jimmie Johnson, who is the four-time defending Sprint Cup champion, is the betting favorite at +325, and right on his heels are Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch. The race, under the lights, begins at 7:30 PM ET and will be televised live on TNT.

NASCAR Betting

LifeLock.com 400

July 10 – 7:30 PM ET (TNT)

Chicagoland Speedway – Joliet, IL

Some things you probably want to know about Saturday’s Lifelock.com 400 at Chicagoland Speedway:

First, the betting odds to win the race (of all drivers priced at 60/1 or less):

AJ Allmendinger +5500

Carl Edwards +2200

Clint Bowyer +1800

Dale Earnhardt Jr +2500

David Reutimann +3500

Denny Hamlin +500

Greg Biffle +2200

Jamie McMurray +2500

Jeff Burton +1100

Jeff Gordon +700

Jimmie Johnson +325

Joey Logano +2500

Juan Pablo Montoya +2200

Kasey Kahne +1400

Kevin Harvick +1100

Kurt Busch +900

Kyle Busch +500

Mark Martin +2500

Martin Truex Jr +3500

Matt Kenseth +2200

Ryan Newman +3500

Tony Stewart +1500

Field (Any Other Driver) +8500

• This race was originally known as the Tropicana 400 in 2001; in 2005 it changed to the USG Sheetrock 400 and took its present name in 2008.
• Both Nationwide and Sprint Cup racing have only been going on at Chicagoland since 2001. The drivers have run nine Cup races there, and Kevin Harvick (+1110 in the betting odds) and Tony Stewart (+1500) have each won two of them.
• When Harvick won for the second time in Joliet, he started from the #32 position, proving that you don’t have to start near the front to win.
• Only one driver has won the Lifelock.com 400 (or under previous names) from the pole, and that was Kyle Busch (+500 in race betting for Saturday) in 2008.
• The best average finish at this track for Sprint Cup action is Jimmie Johnson (+325 in the betting to win Saturday) who has an 8.1. Harvick is at 8.7, and Jeff Gordon (+1100) is at 9.2. Brian Vickers has a lifetime average finish of 8.8 on this track, but of course he is out for health reasons and Reed Sorenson, who finished in the top ten at Daytona last week, is behind the wheel of his car.
• The top three driver ratings are Johnson’s, at 112.8, Tony Stewart at 112.1, and Matt Kenseth, who is +2200 in Saturday’s betting, at 107.8.
• The track itself is 1.5 miles around, and is a tri-oval. The banking is not very severe in the turns, at least not what the drivers saw in Daytona. You’ve got 18 degrees there, and 11 degrees at the tri-oval itself.
• Mark Martin, who is a +2500 bet to win this year, took home the prize in last year’s race, and clocked 133.810 miles an hour.
• Harvick, in 2002, set the track record for a Sprint Cup race, winning the event with a speed of 136.832 miles per hour.
• Johnson, in the #48 car, set the record for fastest qualifying in 2005 with a blistering 188.147 miles an hour.
• One-time winners in this field include Gordon, Martin, Kyle Busch, Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+2500 in the betting) and Ryan Newman, who is +3500.
• Chevrolet has won six of the nine races that have been contested so far.