NASCAR Betting – LifeLock.com 400 Preview

NASCAR betting is in the second half of the season and heading to Chicagoland Speedway this weekend. The Sprint Cup Series’ top drivers rev their engines for the LifeLock.com 400 and oddsmakers have released their favorites to run up front Saturday:

Jimmie Johnson +350

Johnson is back in the hunt for his fifth Sprint Cup Championship, sitting in third in the points standings. The No. 48 car had a tough run at Daytona last weekend, finishing 31st due to an accident after starting in the first row. That snapped a streak of four straight Top-10 finishes including back-to-back wins heading into last week. Johnson is terrific at Chicagoland, posting an average finishing of 8.1 but not yet visiting Victory Lane. He’s come close, with two second-place and two third-place finishes there.

Denny Hamlin +500

Hamlin also struggled at the Coke Zero 400, dropping from fourth to 24th. After burning up the track in May and mid-June, Hamlin has fallen off the pace in the Chase for the Cup. He’s finished outside the Top 10 in three straight races, posting an average finish of 24th in that span. The No. 11 ride has only taken the track at Chicagoland four times in his brief NASCAR career. Hamlin finished fifth in last season’s race but boasts an average finish of 19th there.

Kyle Busch +500

The younger Busch brother was so close to the points lead he could smell it. Then the wheels came off the No. 18 car, posting four straight finishes outside the Top 10. Busch has an average finish of 27.5 over that stretch, including a 40th-place showing at Daytona after getting caught in a wreck. Busch has been hot and cold at Chicagoland, posting solid races followed by horrible outings. He won this race in 2008 but came in 33rd last season. In his nine career starts there, he owns an average finish of 12.8.

Jeff Gordon (+700)

The savvy veteran has himself in second place in the points after a strong run at Daytona last weekend. Gordon finished third in the Coke Zero 400, marking the fourth straight Top-5 finish for the famous No. 24 car. Gordon will be making some personal history this weekend at Chicagoland, officially starting his 600th career NASCAR race. He owns a victory at the 1.5-mile oval, coming back in 2006, and carries an average finish of 9.2 with him into the weekend.