Tag: NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR Cup Series HighPoint.com 400

Posted on by Ryan Knuppel

While the NASCAR Cup Series has tackled a new street circuit, technical Grand Prix tracks, and a variety of series-defining ovals, the Drivers have another familiar challenge to face: the tri-oval at Pocono. With the NASCAR playoff cutoff six races away, there are still many points to put on the board and for Drivers on the bubble to make their cases for a playoff spot.

However, Martin Truex Jr. has already booked his ticket to the playoffs and likely enter as the betting favorite to win the 2023 Cup Series Championship, especially after cruising to a win in New Hampshire. BangtheBook goes inside the stats at Pocono, NASCAR odds, and recent performances to find the best bets for the HighPoint.com 400.

Toyota’s Pocono Dominance to Continue?

Depending on your sportsbook’s selection of NASCAR prop bet odds, you may be able to find a betting line for the winning manufacturer. If so, you’ll need to consider Toyota as your pick, considering Toyota has won six of the previous eight races at Pocono.

Moreover, Toyota would have won seven of the previous eight races had Denny Hamlin not been disqualified after finishing first in 2022. Hamlin is one of a few Toyota Drivers with past success at Pocono or is having great seasons sitting atop the HightPoint.com 400 betting favorites.

Toyota Betting Favorites

There are three Toyota Drivers atop the NASCAR standings and Highpoint.com 400 odds who could win this weekend in Pocono.

Martin Truex Jr. (+550) – the current Drivers’ standings leader – is among the betting favorites and has been on a run of form since Bristol. Truex Jr. has won two of the previous five races while having three top-two finishes in the last five. On the season, Truex Jr. has three race wins, seven top-five, and eleven top-ten finishes while having three top-ten finishes in the last five races at Pocono.

Denny Hamlin (+550) can surpass Bill Elliott as the winningest Driver at Pocono, currently sitting at four Cup Series wins on the tri-oval (2006, 2009, 2019, 2020). Hamlin has three top-five finishes in the last five races at Pocono, with one race win and eight top-ten finishes this season.

The third Toyota driver BangtheBook is favoring is Christopher Bell (+1600). Bell has two top-five finishes in the last five races at Pocono, one race win, and ten top-ten finishes this season. However, Bell only has two top-ten finishes in the last six races.

Hendrick Motorsports Leading the Chevrolet Charge

While Toyota has been very successful at Pocono recently, Chevrolet and Chase Elliott (+1400) were awarded the race win at Pocono in 2022.

Elliott’s charge toward the final NASCAR playoff spot continues, having missed six races earlier this season.  Elliott has two top-five finishes in the last five races at Pocono, having seven top-ten finishes in thirteen races this season.

Kyle Larson (+800) has two top-five finishes in the last three races and a win on the Xfinity Series at Pocono, scoring his tenth top-ten finish of the season at New Hampshire.

William Byron (+1000) has two top-ten finishes in the last five races at Pocono while having four race wins and eleven top-ten finishes this season.

Previous Winner and Perennial Betting Favorite, Kyle Busch

Richard Childress Racing’s Kyle Busch (+550) is always a contender to score top-ten finishes and has won at Pocono three times (2017, 2018, 2021). Busch’s streak of seven consecutive top-ten finishes ended at New Hampshire, but he has two race wins and twelve top-ten finishes in total this season.

BangtheBook’s Highpoint.com 400 Betting Pick

Busch and Hamlin had won the previous five races at Pocono, while had Hamlin’s win stood last year, that streak would’ve been extended to six. 

We’re taking Denny Hamlin to win, Busch and Hamlin for top-ten and top-five finishes at Pocono, alongside Truex Jr. and Byron to finish in the top ten.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 Betting Preview

Posted on by Ryan Knuppel

The NASCAR Cup Series returns to California this weekend with the Toyota/Save Mart 350 in the second of six road races on the schedule in 2023. The green flag will drop on Sunday, July 11, at 3:30 PM EDT from Sonoma Raceway in Sonoma, CA. 

Daniel Suarez picked up his first Cup Series win at this event in 2022 after leading for the final 26 laps. Martin Truex Jr. leads all drivers with three wins at Sonoma but hasn’t had a victory here since 2018.

Kyle Busch has two career victories at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 and is coming off a win at last week’s Enjoy Illinois 300. Three other drivers in the weekend’s field have at least one victory, including Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick, who has finished in the top ten in six of his last seven starts at Sonoma. Suarez finished better than 12th for the first time here and had a strong start last week at Gateway, finishing seventh.

Toyota/Save Mart 350 Odds

Tyler Reddick +450

BetOnline NASCAR odds have Tyler Reddick favored to win the 2023 Toyota/Savemart 350. He has been the best driver on road courses recently, winning three times in the last six NASCAR Cup Series road races. 

Reddick won earlier in 2023 at Circuit of the Americas, running away from the field in the final dozen laps. He finished 35th at Sonoma in 2022 and has never finished higher than 19th here, but has four top-tens in his last six starts in 2023.

Kyle Larson +475

Larson is once again near the top of the odds board at BetOnline. He finished fourth last week at Gateway but finished 15th last year at Sonoma after his 2021 victory. 

Larson already has five DNFs in 2023 but has top-four finishes in four of his previous nine points races. He’s been running fast all season in the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy, and if he can avoid another crash, he’ll be one of the best bets to win on Sunday.

Chase Elliott +550

Arguably the best road course racer in NASCAR, Chase Elliott returns from his one-race suspension to be among the Toyota Save Mart 350 favorites. After two straight top-ten finishes, he finished 34th at Charlotte two weeks ago after his incident with Denny Hamlin at the Coca-Cola 600. Elliot has a great chance to break out of his slump and get his first win of 2023 in Sonoma. 

William Byron +800

William Byron hasn’t had much success at Sonoma, finishing ninth in 2022, his highest finish in any road course race last season. However, he did place fifth at Circuit of the Americas this spring and is tied for first with nine top-tens and three wins in 2023. A strong performance would put him into the lead in the NASCAR Cup Series standings, where he trails Ryan Blaney by 13 points, so look for him to be among the leaders when the checkered flag drops.  

NASCAR Toyota/Savemart 350 Driver to Watch

Martin Truex Jr. +3300

Truex has three wins at Sonoma but struggled in the next-gen car in 2022 to finish 26th. He also finished no higher than 13th in his last seven road course races. However, Truex has four overall road course wins and has six top-ten finishes in the previous eight races in 2023. 

His No. 10 Toyota has run fast this season for Joe Gibbs Racing, as Truex ranks fourth in the Cup standings, 23 points behind Blaney. If his crew can overcome the problems they had last year at Sonoma, he could be a threat to surprise everyone who counted him out for this event.