The NASCAR Monster Energy Cup Series will make its way back to Pennsylvania this week for the Overton’s 400 from Pocono Raceway. The potential is there for plenty of dramatics once again after last week’s wild race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This event has produced 12 multiple winners with Bill Elliott holding the all-time record after capturing four victories in this race. While the focus remains on locking up crucial points ahead of this year’s playoffs, the field for the Overton’s 400 will also be hoping to avoid the type of disaster that we witnessed in last week’s Brickyard 400.
Details
Event: Overton’s 400
Category: Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Date: Sunday July 30th, 2017
Location: Pocono Raceway, Long Pond, Pennsylvania
Kyle Busch seemed destined to pick up his first Cup win of the season last week when he was screwed by Martin Truex Jr. down the final stretch. The overall points leader took out Busch when he got loose in Turn 1 and ended up taking them both out of the race. Kasey Kahne would go on to win his first Brickyard 400 and first win anywhere since August of 2014. 13 different drivers have won a Cup race this season. The fact that Busch isn’t on that list is absolutely incredible. Busch has never won before at Pocono but he fared well in the last race at this track and it really shouldn’t be a surprise that he is among the sports betting favorites to win this week’s race.
Past Five Winners
2016: Chris Buescher
2015: Matt Kenseth
2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2013: Kasey Kahne
2012: Jeff Gordon
What To Know About The Track
The Pocono Raceway is a 2.5-mile track that is known as, “The Tricky Triangle” because of the challenges that it presents. Experience should matter this week and it is a good idea to look back at the last race at Pocono to get a good idea of what to expect from this week’s field. The car setup at Pocono will be similar to the setup for each of the last two races at New Hampshire and Indianapolis. Flat track races like this week’s Overton’s 400 can often come down to fuel-mileage so running position will be important this week.
The Field
Despite his terrible luck, Busch is still the sports betting favorite to win this week’s Overton’s 400 at +350 odds. Truex is right there behind Busch as well as a +400 option. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Larson are both listed at +700 odds to win the Overton’s 400 outright. Meanwhile, Jimmie Johnson, Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin round out the list of sports betting favorites this week at +1000 odds. Chris Buescher, who won the 2016 edition of this race, is listed as one of the biggest long shots to repeat this week at +50000 odds.
A Good Matchup To Bet: Denny Hamlin over Brad Keselowski
Hamlin is in his best form of the season heading in to the second race at Pocono and the fact that he has dominated at this track in the past makes him a smart bet to deliver this week. Hamlin has won four races at Pocono and he has finished sixth or better 10 times here. He should be in the thick of things once again this week. We will take a chance betting on him to finish ahead of Brad Keselowski in the Overton’s 400.
Top-Five Pick: Kyle Busch
It’s only a matter of time before Busch finally captures that elusive victory. Perhaps this is the week that it happens. Busch hasn’t won a race since last season but he led 100 of the 160 laps at Pocono Raceway in the July race here and having older tires for the final restart might have been the only thing that kept him from winning that race. It has definitely been a frustrating year for Busch so far. However, with time running out before the Chase begins the urgency will ramp up once again this week. Busch has everything it takes to finally capture that elusive victory this week so it makes sense to bet on him to finish in the top-five in the Overton’s 400.
Odds To Win 2017 NASCAR Overton’s 400
Martin Truex Jr +400
Kyle Busch +400
Kevin Harvick +700
Kyle Larson +800
Jimmie Johnson +1000
Denny Hamlin +1000
Chase Elliott +1000
Brad Keselowski +1200
Matt Kenseth +1200
Joey Logano +2000
Ryan Blaney +2000
Erik Jones +2500
Kurt Busch +3000
Jamie McMurray +3000
Clint Bowyer +4000
Dale Earnhardt Jr +5000
Ryan Newman +5000
Kasey Kahne +5000
Field +2000
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