The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, Calif., for Sunday’s 2022 Wise Power 400. The green flag is set to drop a little after 3:30 p.m. ET (on FOX). Below we analyze the 2022 Wise Power 400 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
The Cup Series returns to the California oval after 728 days due to the COVID-19 global pandemic. The most recent winner was Hendrick Motorsports’ Alex Bowman, driving to the checkered flag in the 2020 race after qualifying third.
Daytona 500 champ Austin Cindric will start on the pole Sunday. It’s the Team Penske driver’s first career Cup pole, which he claimed with an average lap speed of 174.647 mph in his No. 2 Ford during Saturday’s qualifying. Petty GMS Motorsports’ Erik Jones qualified second (174.157 mph) in the No. 43 Chevrolet.
In Saturday’s practice, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Denny Hamlin topped the charts at 173.415 mph, followed by teammate Kyle Busch (173.160 mph) and Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick (172.472 mph).
Busch was the 2019 winner, giving Toyota back-to-back victories at the track. JGR’s Martin Truex Jr. won from the pole in 2018, and Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson registered a victory in 2017 from the No. 1 starting spot.
Seven of the past nine winners at Fontana have come from a starting spot of ninth or higher.
2022 Wise Power 400: What you need to know
- Busch enters this race with four victories at the California track, easily the most among all active drivers. He has 11 top-5 finishes in 22 Cup starts with a 9.59 Average-Finish Position (AFP). He has led 807 laps at Fontana, also tops among all active drivers. He qualified third Saturday.
- Bowman, Kurt Busch, Brad Keselowski, Larson, Kevin Harvick and Truex are the other active drivers to record a win at ACS, each collecting one checkered flag.
- Kurt Busch is second among active drivers with 298 laps led at the track. He has eight top-5 finishes (among =14 top-10 finishes) in his 27 career Cup starts.
Who is going to win the 2022 Wise Power?
Odds provided by Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Saturday at 9:24 p.m. ET.
LARSON (+425) is the chalk at Auto Club. He looks to bounce back from a disappointing 32nd-place finish last week in the Daytona 500 after being collected in a crash. He has a 14.71 AFP in seven career Cup starts at the Fontana track, posting three top-5 finishes with 110 laps led. He’ll start 13th Sunday.
KYLE BUSCH (+650) is a tremendous value at this price given his impressive credentials at the Southern California run in the past. No one has dominated like the younger Busch brother. He just seems to have a better handle than anyone.
JGR teammate TRUEX JR. (+1000) is worth a play, too, as he has a victory in the past, while also leading 236 laps led and seven top-10 finishes with an AFP of 17.45. He starts 12th Sunday.
As for the elder Busch brother, Kurt, his car failed inspection three times in pre-qualifying, and he will have to serve a pass-through penalty once the race goes green. He’ll also be without crew chief David Bryant, who has been ejected for Sunday.
Harvick, Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Bubba Wallace and B.J. McLeod also failed pre-qualifying inspection at least once, and each had a crew member ejected for the race.
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Long-shot bets for the 2022 Wise Power 400
If you’re looking to think outside of the box a little bit, consider AUSTIN DILLON (+5000). The Richard Childress Racing driver has seven career Cup starts under his belt at Auto Club with two top-10 runs. He has never finished lower than 24th, so he appears to have a pretty good grasp on this track.
ERIK JONES (+5000) is also worth a small-unit play at this price tag, as he has a 12.0 AFP in four career Cup starts with a pair of top-10 runs, while never finishing lower than 19th.
Prop bets for the 2022 Wise Power 400
Take a chance on TOP-10 FINISH FOR AUSTIN DILLON (+200) at plus-money, as he has never finished lower than 24th in his seven career Cup runs. As mentioned above, he is worth a roll of the dice for a small play to win this race outright, but he is a better play for a top-10 finish as it’s a more realistic goal.
Look to JOE GIBBS RACING (+200) as the team of the race winner. With Kyle Busch and MTJ’s success in the past at this track, and the fact Toyota has won two of the previous three runs at ACS, JGR is a nice value for the chance to potentially double up your stake.
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