NASCAR Predictions: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the favorite to win the Geico 500 on Sunday on ESPN with odds of about 11-1. It is the last race in the Contender Round so the pressure is on drivers near the bottom of the standings including Earnhardt Jr. In fact, four of the marquee drivers in NASCAR are in serious danger of not making it to the next round. Matt Kenseth, Brad Keselowski, Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. are currently 9-12 in the standings and only the top eight make it to the next round. Let’s look at Sunday’s race and NASCAR predictions.
Restrictor Plate Mess
NASCAR continues to run restrictor plate races because they are exciting for the fans. They are not, however, exciting to drivers who hate these races that are full of wrecks. It is just glorified bumper cars and the races are very difficult to predict. Last year it was Jamie McMurray winning at Talladega in the fall race while Matt Kenseth won two years ago. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the favorite but he has not won this race since 2004. Earnhardt Jr. has five total wins at Talladega but it has been a decade since his last win at the track. He did finish second in last year’s Geico 500.
Race Notes
This is the last race of the Contender Round in the Chase and the second race at Talladega this season. Denny Hamlin won the spring race. There have been 90 Sprint Cup races at Talladega with two races each year since 1970. Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with six wins at the track while Jr. has five wins. Richard Childress Racing has 12 owner wins while Hendrick Motorsports has 11 wins. The pole sitter has won this race 13 times but not since 2007 when Jeff Gordon won.
NASCAR Predictions
This should be wild on Sunday with so many drivers feeling the heat. Keselowski agreed that the race should tight. “It’s going to be a sight to be seen and a spectacle.” he said. Keselowski is the type of driver to win this race and we get him at odds of 12-1. It would also not be a surprise to see someone outside of the Chasers win so we’ll take a flyer on Jamie McMurray at big odds.
