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NASCAR Firekeepers Casino 400

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(@shazman)
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Betting news, trends, odds and predictions from various handicappers and websites for Sunday 6/9/19

 
Posted : June 9, 2019 10:35 am
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By Micah Roberts

Kyle Busch won three of the first eight races on the NASCAR Cup season and then he went winless for five races until taking the checkers last week at Pocono Raceway last week for the third time in his last four starts there. Now in Week 15 the series heads to Michigan International Speedway where Busch has just one 2011 win, but he's rolling so good with the new race package featuring aero-ducts and engines with 550 horsepower that the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook has posted him as an 11/4 favorite to win Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400.

Last week he was 3/1 at a place he's recently dominated at, but now he's lower than 3/1 at his third worst statistical track (18th-place average) behind Talladega and Daytona.

“I’m not entirely sure," Busch said regarding what to expect at Michigan. "We’ll just go into the weekend like we always do – keep working on our car to be the best it can be in practice on Friday and hope we have a shot to get back to victory lane there. We had a lot of struggles on the repave but turned that around a bit last year. Our whole team has shown how well we’ve worked together and Adam (Stevens, crew chief) has been able to make the right calls, so I’m looking forward to seeing what he has in store for me at Michigan this weekend. I’m hoping Michigan will be at least a little bit more worn in than when we were there last August."

Michigan's wide 2-mile D-shaped oval was repaved before the 2012 season and Busch had only one top-five in his next 12 starts there. But then things got better last season with fourth place in this race and third in the August race.

So the question we have to ask ourselves this week is whether Busch driving this new race package coupled with breaking the funk on the new surface last year outweighs his overall poor performances since last winning there. Also, it's important to note that Busch won at Michigan's sister-track at Fontana in March that was using the same package they'll run this week. It's the same package he won with at Pocono last week.

With all the data we have on Busch, I just can't bet him this week. He'll probably finish top-five again like he's done eight times already in 2019, but I had to throw him out of my wagering portfolio for the week. It's not like he's Jeff Gordon at 5/2 odds in the late 90s to win on a road course. This is Kyle's worst track that's not at a traditional restrictor-plate track. No way I can take less than 5/1 on him here, but I can tell you he worries me and I definitely won't be taking big prices in match-ups betting against him. I'm going to pretend he's not even racing and leave him out of everything.

The good thing about the SuperBook's odds with a desired 26 percent theoretic hold percentage is that when they post an option at such low odds like Busch, all the other options are bumped up in price to keep it balanced at 26 percent. Believe it or not, not all Nevada books follow this practice and most offer a theo hold at 40 to 50 percent. But with the SuperBook, they give you something back with other drivers almost like a dare so I'm centering my attention on Chase Elliott at 10/1 odds.

Elliott gave Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports their only wins of the season at Talladega and has been hard-charging ever since. He comes into this weekend with five straight top-five finishes.

“We’ve had some good NAPA Chevrolets the last couple of weeks," Elliott said. "We’ve been good, just not great and you have to be great to win these things. I’ll go to work and try to do a better job, and we’ll see what we can do (at Michigan)."

Okay, let's see what Elliott has done at Michigan. I know his dad, Bill Elliott, holds the record for four consecutive wins there sweeping the 1985 and 1986 seasons. I know that Chase has finished in the top-10 of all six of his Cup starts which includes three runner-ups. And I also know his 5.3 average finish is the best all-time at Michigan. All-time? Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Richard Petty, and Jeff Gordon? That's wild stuff because this will be the 100th Cup race held at Michigan -- lots of legends participated.

So yes, 10/1 sounds pretty fair to me, and it's probably a bit generous, but that's what happens at a fair book when they offer the favorite below 3/1 odds on a betting index featuring at least 30 options. Value sprouts up elsewhere.

I need a few other drivers to pair Elliott with in odds to win wagers and I'm going to start with Team Penske's Brad Keselowski (8/1) and Joey Logano (10/1) who have combined for four wins this season, including three using this race package. Keselowski won at Atlanta (no aero ducts) and Kansas and Logano won at Las Vegas. Logano also finished second at Fontana, an almost identical twin of Michigan, while Keselowski finished third. Logano is a two-time winner at Michigan.

Keselowski also has a knawing pain eating at him because he's yet to win a Cup race on his home track. He's got two Xfinity Series wins there, and been runner-up twice in the Cup Series there, but no wins and I'd bet he'd have a long pause before selecting what would mean more to him personally, a Daytona 500 win or a Michigan win. Keselowski finished second behind Busch last week at Pocono.

Another Michigan native I'll have a piece of this week is Erik Jones offered at 25/1. He's averaged an 11th-place finish in four Michigan starts with a best of third-place in 2017. I like the desperation with him on several fronts beginning with negotiating a new contract. A win will give him some leverage in negotiating. I also like that he's the only driver from Joe Gibbs Racing that doesn't have a Cup win. The other three all have multiple wins and have combined for nine of the 14 wins this season. He was third last week at Pocono and third at Kansas on May 11, two of the last three times the series used this package.

Another Gibbs driver I've played is Denny Hamlin at 16/1 odds. He's a two-time winner at Michigan and just ended a poor May with a sixth-place at Pocono last week. One of his two wins on the season was using this same package at Texas on March 31.

“I think the race at Michigan is going to be one of the best shows we’ve put on at that track," Hamlin said. "That track offers plenty of grip, and we should be able to keep the throttle wide open and close the gaps to make passes. Our FedEx team has had pretty good success there before, and it should be another good weekend for us.”

In 26 Michigan starts, Hamlin has seven top-fives and last fall he won his first pole there.

Another part of my wagering plan this week is Kyle Larson who just can't seem to finish races in 2019 after good starts. Last week at Pocono he won both stages and then had trouble late and finished 26th. He led a race-high 142 laps at Atlanta and had trouble late and finished 12th. Michigan is his house in the sense that three of his five career Cup wins have come at Michigan. The SuperBook certainly reeled me in with 14/1 odds.

I should mention that last season Stewart-Haas Racing swept the season with Clint Bowyer winning in June and Kevin Harvick winning in August. Harvick leads all active drivers with 12 top-fives at Michigan which includes six runner-ups in his last 12 starts. But all that stuff was with a different race package. In 2019, SHR has yet to win. And at 5/1 odds with Harvick, I just have to pass and give him the Kyle Busch treatment as if he doesn't exist while respecting him. Bowyer is at 20/1 odds and showed at Texas and Kansas with this package that he was capable of winning before settling with top-fives.

I've also thrown Martin Truex, Jr. at 6/1 odds out. He's won three of the last six races on the schedule and Gibbs cars have been the best, but he's never won at Michigan in 26 starts.

I'm also in search of the best odds on Alex Bowman who the SuperBook has at 30/1. I think this will be a good track for him and I expect his performance to be almost as good as Elliott's.

Good luck this week and don't forget that next week is Father's Day if you need to get that card and mail it out on time.

Top-5 Finish Prediction:

1) #9 Chase Elliott (10/1)
2) #2 Brad Keselowski (8/1)
3) #22 Joey Logano (10/1)
4) #42 Kyle Larson (14/1)
5) #18 Kyle Busch (11/4)

 
Posted : June 9, 2019 10:37 am
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By Dan Dobish

Each week during the Monster Energy Cup Series (MENCS) regular season through the Chase, we'll take a look at the best Fantasy plays, as well as Futures and Wagers when applicable, to get you ready for the upcoming race week.

The MENCS heads to Michigan International Speedway for the FireKeepers Casino 400 on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. ET. Ford has won each of the past two Michigan races, and three of the past six. The race winner has come from a starting position of 12th or better in each of the past seven Michigan races, and 10 of the past 11.

Penske Racing driver Joey Logano (9/1) starts from the pole after a best speed of 187.139 mph in qualifying. He is looking for his third-career win at the track. In 20 Cup starts he has the two wins, five top-5 finishes, 14 top-10 showings and an Average-Finish Position (AFP) of 12.5 while leading 357 laps. This is also his fourth-ever pole in the Irish Hills, something sure to make his teammate and Michigan native Brad Keselowski (6/1) just a little bit jealous. The Rochester Hills, Mich. native has the second-best AFP among all drivers with at least five starts at Michigan, posting an 11.9 AFP with six Top 5s and 10 Top 10s, but he is still looking for that elusive victory. Keselowski will go off eighth on Sunday.

The Stewart-Haas Racing drivers each looked good in practice, and Aric Almirola (33/1) carried over the momentum into Saturday, qualifying second right next to Logano. Almirola has 13 career starts at the track, but he has just been so-so in the past. Of course, he has only been in an SHR Ford for the past couple of seasons, and this is easily his best equipment yet, so the past numbers can mostly be avoided. They're not that bad, though, as he has an 18.5 AFP across 13 career starts with just one Top 10, but he is 12th, 11th and seventh over his past three outings in an SHR car, so he could be a nice sleeper.

Kevin Harvick (9/2) is right on his teammate Almirola's heels, starting third after posting a speed of 186.906 mph, giving the manufacturer Ford a 1-2-3 start right down the road from the Motor City. In fact, Ford's make up eight of the first 10 spots in the starting gird. Harvick has won twice before at Michigan, and he has 12 Top 5 finishes with an AFP of 12.1, third-best among all active drivers with at least five career starts at the track. Harvick also leads all drivers over the past five starts at Michigan with a 122.7 Driver Rating, according to NASCAR's Loop Data.

Ganassi Racing's Kyle Larson (11/1) and Kyle Busch (28/1) are two drivers to watch, too. Larson rattled off three consecutive victories at Michigan from Aug. 2016 to Aug. 2017, but he has a difficult season this year. He could turn things around in a hot hurry with a checkered flag at a place he has been very comfortable, however. In 10 career starts he has the three wins, 150 laps led and a 13.2 AFP. Busch has been a little more consistent this season, and he will be searching for his fourth-career win at the track. He is tied for the most wins among all active drivers with his teammate Larson. In 36 career starts he has 491 laps led, 13 Top 10s and an AFP of 18.6 Larson will go off 22nd, so the potential for plenty of Place-Differential points is there, while Busch will go off from the lucky No. 7 spot.

Of course, it's always a bad idea to discount or forget about the Joe Gibbs Racing team, even if the team didn't practice or qualify particularly well. Denny Hamlin (11/1) is the top Toyota, going off fourth on Sunday. He has 26 career starts with two victories at Michigan and 187 laps led, while posting 12 Top 10 finishes. He also has three DNFs and a 14.4 AFP. Erik Jones (19/1) has been a quick study at Michigan, posting a 11.0 AFP in four Cup starts while never finishing lower than 15th. He starts 14th, second among all JGR drivers right ahead of Kyle Busch (33/1) and Martin Truex Jr. (33/1). Busch has won just once in 28 Cup starts with an 18.4 AFP, not his best track. MTJ is still searching for his first-ever win at Michigan, although he does have a soilid 15.5 AFP in his 26 starts.

Don't sleep on Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (9/1), a driver who has never finished lower than ninth place at Michigan, posting a 5.3 AFP with 66 laps led. He will go off from the 17th position, so he could be a nice value play to rise through the field.

If you're looking for a sleeper, and who isn't, check out Wood Brothers Racing driver Paul Menard (150/1). He looked good in practice, and was solid in qualifying with a speed of 186.659 mph to notch a spot on the outside of Row 3. He has a respectable 17.8 AFP in 25 career starts, posting five Top 5s and seven Top 10s. Daniel Suarez (40/1) of SHR doesn't have as long of odds as Menard, but he might be the best longshot bet. He led all cars in practice speed on Friday in the first session, and he is set to go off ninth in his Ford after posting a qualifying speed of 186.471 mph. He has a dismal 25.5 AFP in his four career Michigan starts, however, so he is a risky play based on his struggles in the past.

 
Posted : June 9, 2019 10:39 am
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