Tag: JTG Daugherty Racing

‘I did what I felt like I needed to do’ Keselowski says about not blocking Stenhouse at Talladega

Brad Keselowski didn’t throw a block coming to the finish in Sunday’s Cup Series YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway, and among those surprised was winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Keselowski chose to remain on the bottom and hoped his drafting help – …

Brad Keselowski didn’t throw a block coming to the finish in Sunday’s Cup Series YellaWood 500 Talladega Superspeedway, and among those surprised was winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Keselowski chose to remain on the bottom and hoped his drafting help – Kyle Larson – was enough to potentially drag race Stenhouse to the finish line. But Stenhouse had a better run on the outside lane, with help from William Byron, to make the pass and have enough to get to the finish line first.

The margin of victory was just 0.006s.

“They were going to split me, which is what I would do if I were them,” Keselowski said of his decision. “I didn’t feel like I had a shot to move up in front of the No. 47. We didn’t have enough smoke with the No. 24 pushing him; he would have just driven right around us and we’d have been swallowed.

“I did what I felt like I needed to do and got a good push from the No. 5, but it wasn’t enough.”

The field was largely in the same two-by-two formation coming to the finish as it was when the overtime attempt began. Keselowski chose the bottom while Stenhouse was on the outside. Larson lined up behind Keselowski while Byron was behind Stenhouse. Christopher Bell and Kyle Busch were in the third row, and Busch was shuffled out on the final lap when no one went with him to the third lane.

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Stenhouse led Keselowski, Byron, and Larson across the finish line. Erik Jones made it to fifth as Bell finished sixth.

“[I was] very surprised,” Stenhouse said. “I would say Kyle [Larson] and I are the best friends out there you could have, and Kyle wins a lot of races and I know that he’s probably going to help me out as much as he can, so I was really shocked. I was waiting for the block, and I was going to decide whether I was clear enough to get to his inside and get in front of the No. 5 or hang a right and take our momentum with the No. 24.

“Yeah, I was super shocked that he didn’t make that right-hand [move].”

Once again, it was another second-place finish for Keselowski at the Alabama superspeedway. In the spring race, he went for a final-lap move on leader Michael McDowell, but contact between the two allowed Tyler Reddick to drive by when a crash broke out.

“It’s a good finish for us,” Keselowski said. “We’ve been knocking on the door of these plate tracks. I hate that we didn’t bust through with a win, but I’m happy to be right there in contention.”

Stenhouse ekes out three-wide win in Talladega overtime

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off the field in overtime to claim the victory in a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – edging Brad Keselowski and William Byron by a mere 0.006s in a thrilling three-wide finish. …

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. held off the field in overtime to claim the victory in a dramatic NASCAR Cup Series YellaWood 500 at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – edging Brad Keselowski and William Byron by a mere 0.006s in a thrilling three-wide finish.

That heart-stopping finish was indicative of the afternoon of competition at NASCAR’s biggest track (2.66-mile), which once again lived up to its reputation and provided a thrilling Playoff race that has major implications for the championship contenders.

 

A massive 27-car accident with five laps remaining brought out a red flag and stopped the race for nearly 10 minutes. The incident affected eight of the 12 Playoff cars in varying degrees. There is only one more race remaining in this round to settle which eight drivers advance to the next round of championship competition.

Stenhouse, the 36-year-old Mississippi native who is not Playoff-eligible, hoisted his fourth career trophy – all coming at superspeedway tracks – and first in 65 races. His No. 47 JTG-Daugherty Chevrolet led 19 of the 195 laps, including the all-important last one after a side-to-battle with six-time Talladega winner Keselowski and this year’s Daytona 500 winner Byron.
This marks the third time in the five Playoff races that a non-Playoff driver has hoisted the race trophy.

“Felt really good. We had our Chevy teammates behind us and I was hoping Kyle [Busch] wouldn’t push the No. 6 [Keselowski] that hard, I knew the No. 24 was going to try to get to the line,’’ said Stenhouse, who scored his first career NASCAR Cup Series win at Talladega in 2017.

“Man, this team has put a lot of hard work in and obviously we haven’t won since the Daytona 500 in ’23. It’s been an up and down season, a lot of hard work this season trying to find a little bit of speed, but we knew this track is one of ours to come get it.’’

The finish was set-up after the vast incident that took out several front-running cars and affected all but four Playoff drivers. Team Penske’s Austin Cindric – who essentially needed a victory to earn an automatic berth in the next Playoff round – was leading the race, having exchanged the top spot multiple time with Stenhouse in the closing 20 laps.

With five laps remaining, Cindric’s leading No. 2 Ford was hit from behind on the backstretch by Keselowski’s No. 6 Roush Fenway Keselowski Ford which triggered an accordion-style accident from three rows behind the leader. Harrison Burton’s No. 21 Ford struck Joey Logano’s No. 22 Ford that then pushed Keselowski’s car forward and into Cindric.

The aftermath collected 28 cars in all, completely sidelining Cindric, who was credited with a 32nd place finish, his Penske teammate Logano (33rd), and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Chase Briscoe (30th).

“Obviously incredibly frustrated,’’ Cindric said. “Just really proud of my team and the full execution of the day. We got that stage win (second stage) and put ourselves at the front of that green flag pit cycle and had another shot [to win].

“I don’t feel like complaining right now; I’m too [angry] and it won’t do anything. But proud of the team. We’ve brought really fast race cars to every single race of the Playoffs and we’re going to have to bring another one next week and I need to go out and do my job.’’

His Penske teammate Logano, who was similarly frustrated, said there was nothing he could have done to avoid the accident.

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“I don’t think we could have done anything much different,’’ the two-time series champion said. “We had the bottom working fairly well and by the time we got off [Turn 2], the push from the No. 21 (Burton) that transferred to the No. 6 (Keselowski) that transferred to the 2 (Cindric) just at a bad angle. And off he went.’’

Other Playoff drivers affected in the accident included perennial Talladega race favorite Chase Elliott, who finished 29th after pitting for repairs following the accident.

Regular season champion Tyler Reddick was also in the accident and rallied to finish 20th. Alex Bowman, who was involved in two accidents on the day, finished 16th,

Reigning series champion Ryan Blaney ran among the leaders and scored points in both stages but was eliminated from competition mid-race in the day’s first multiple car accident, leaving him 39th of the 40 starters.
On the up-side, Hendrick Motorsports’ Kyle Larson finished fourth, tying his best ever Talladega finish — only his second top five at the track in 20 races.

Non-Playoff driver Erik Jones was fifth.

Another Playoff competitor, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell, was sixth, followed by Justin Haley, Austin Dillon, Bubba Wallace and Bell’s fellow Playoff driver and JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in 10th,

With Byron’s finish, he becomes the first and only Playoff driver to secure a position in the next eight-race round. Bell is next in the standings, holding a 57-point advantage on the Playoff cutoff line, followed by Larson, Hamlin, Bowman, Blaney, Reddick and Elliott.

Elliott is 13 points ahead of Logano going into next week’s road course race at the Charlotte ROVAL – the final race of this Playoff round which will set the next eight-driver round. Daniel Suarez, who rallied to a 26th place finish despite spending most of the race recovering from a pre-race penalty for equipment violations, is now 20 points behind Elliott for that final transfer position.

Cindric and Briscoe are 29 and 32 points back, respectively, essentially needing a victory at Charlotte.

The final race of this Playoff round is next Sunday, the Bank of America ROVAL400 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Road Course (2 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). A.J. Allmendinger is the defending race winner.

RESULTS

Underdog role suits Stenhouse

Ricky Stenhouse has been a NASCAR Cup Series racer since 2011, chalking up 430 races in that time, claiming three wins and 24 top-five finishes. The JTG-Daugherty Racing driver – Stenhouse recently re-signed a multiyear contract with the one-car …

Ricky Stenhouse has been a NASCAR Cup Series racer since 2011, chalking up 430 races in that time, claiming three wins and 24 top-five finishes. The JTG-Daugherty Racing driver – Stenhouse recently re-signed a multiyear contract with the one-car team he first joined in 2020 – is widely seen as the consummate NASCAR underdog, which is a perception he’s fine with.

“Yeah, man, the underdog thing, it’s interesting,” said Stenhouse. “We show up to win just like everybody else. If you want to succeed at this sport, that’s the mindset you have to have. I think we re-evaluate once practice is over, where we are at on the weekend as a team and what realistic expectations are for the race. I think my team and myself, we’re up for that challenge of being an underdog and not being the favorite to go out and win each and every week. To me, I think it takes really strong confidence in yourself and in your team to take on that role.

“I think it’s easy being a favorite. You know, it comes with its different challenges, for sure. Mentally, and how you have to dig deep as a race team, I think being an underdog is pretty difficult. It takes a special group and I think we’ve got a good group to do that.”

Fully committed to the JTG-Daugherty organization, Stenhouse feel that the No. 47 Cup team is a unique team with calculated goals and a determined, fighting spirit.

“Yeah, we are a brotherhood,” said Stenhouse. “And we’ve got some cool things coming down the pipeline that I feel are going to make our team even stronger. When you’re an underdog, you’re not working race-by-race necessarily, you’re working for years in advance. Signing a multiyear deal there and knowing who our people are allows us to work on those goals together. It’s not trying to flip something and light the world on fire overnight. Having those things in place is definitely beneficial for a small team like us.

“Like this past weekend at Kansas, we were working on some things trying to get our cars faster and I think we achieved that. The results don’t show it because we got a flat tire in that third stage that killed our good run. I left the weekend bummed about the finish, but excited about the future. You’ve got to make sure you look at all aspects of the weekend and take that into consideration and move forward with it. It wasn’t a lost weekend, even though the results were not where I felt like we should have finished.”

With six races remaining on the ’24 Cup schedule, Stenhouse and company have a goal in mind they feel is realistic to achieve when the checkered flag waves at Phoenix next month.

“We’ve got our sights set on top 25 in points,” said Stenhouse, who currently stands 27th. “You know, we were there after Atlanta; we had a strong run at Atlanta. Then we got caught in that first-lap wreck at Watkins Glen; we were not as strong at Bristol as we needed to be, or what we normally are. At Kansas, we were back to running how we felt like we should and we got a flat tire. We’ve got our backs against the way when it comes to that, but we’ve still got six races left to achieve that and that’s more than enough time to get the job done. I would say that’s the number one goal on our list.

“The second is to trying to come up with a better package at different racetracks. So we’ve got Homestead and Las Vegas, which are the two mile-and-a-half racetracks that we have left. I think we learned a lot at Kansas that can prepare us for those racetracks. We’re trying to get those dialed in a little bit better. Our speedway racing is good. I’m confident in that. I think our road course program is close. We’ve got one of those races left this season, as well as two short tracks left this year with Martinsville and Phoenix. I would say those are two of our toughest racetracks as far as trying to get speed and a good balance in our car. That is something that we will continue to work on. I think we’ve got enough different racetracks left that hopefully we can hit on something that we can continue to work on in the off-season.”

There’s plenty of variety coming up, with this weekend on the 2.66-mile Talladega Superspeedway, followed up by the reconfigured 2.28-mile Roval at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

“Yes, it’s a crazy mixed bag!” said Stenhouse, who was a winner at Talladega in 2017. “Obviously, I’d love to be in the playoffs, but, man, I tell you what, being in the playoffs and going to two races like that is definitely treacherous, right? When you’re not in the playoffs, you go to a place like Talladega, you don’t want to cause an issue that’s going to mess up a playoff guy. But you’ve still got to go compete for your team and your partners and all your fans.

“Yeah, I’m looking forward to Talladega. Obviously we know how to win there. I think that’s our best shot before the season is up. So we are going to put a big effort into getting that done. We’ll see what shakes out, but the Roval, it’s a unique and fun racetrack. It’s difficult. They made some changes to the layout and the configuration, so everybody is kind of going to be learning that as we go throughout that weekend. All in all, it’s going to be a fun rest of the year.”

Looking back at his 2024 body of work, though, the underdog admits it hasn’t all been fun.

“No, I’m not happy with it. I think we’re disappointed, for sure,” he admitted. “But I think we’ve learned a lot more recently. I guess you can kind of sum up that as the more we learn, we can kind of see where we have been at a deficit. Now it is trying to make that deficit up. It does make us feel a little bit better about the potential in our cars if we do all the right things.

“We’re definitely unhappy with it. I think we averaged basically a top-17 finish in 2023 and we have not achieved anywhere close to that this year. I think that’s a big bummer. It’s taking a step backwards. Obviously we know it is in us to get those good finishes. We did it last year, so that’s something that we’ll keep striving for.”

That striving will continue in the offseason.

“Us as a team, we will just continue to define our process. I think that is another thing we can get better at,” he said. “It’s just refining and getting our process dialed in. I think we have a decent process, but it can better. That’s something that is just kind of trial and error. We did things different towards the end of last year in hopes of being a little bit better this year and I think it has helped in some aspects of our season, but there are also some areas that still need some work. We’re just continuing to do that and we’ll figure those things out in the off-season.

“I want to go back and do a deep dive back into some of these racetracks and races where we struggled. Hopefully we hit on a few things. That way when we roll out of the gate next year, we have a better starting point than what we did this year. A lot of things to work on. The good news is that the cars are not changing a whole lot, but we still have to keep up with the times and the setups and everything everyone is doing. I think we got behind on that, but we are trying to claw our way back.”

 

Stenhouse extends deal with JTG

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has signed a multi-year contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing to continue driving the No. 47 Chevrolet. “When I joined this team in 2020, I knew both the team and I were capable of putting the No. 47 in victory lane,” …

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has signed a multi-year contract extension with JTG Daugherty Racing to continue driving the No. 47 Chevrolet.

“When I joined this team in 2020, I knew both the team and I were capable of putting the No. 47 in victory lane,” Stenhouse said. “Although I wish it came sooner, winning the Daytona 500 last year proved that we can win together. We have a fantastic group of guys at the shop, great management, solid partners, and an ever-improving program. I’m very excited to continue my relationship with the team, I think everyone will be pleasantly surprised to see what we have in store for the future.”

Stenhouse has one win with JTG Daugherty Racing, which put them in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs last season. To date, Stenhouse has earned 22 top-10 finishes for the top with 220 laps led.

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“I am looking forward to continuing with Ricky as our driver of the No. 47,” owner Gordon Smith said. “He has been an asset to our team on and off the racetrack since joining us in 2020. Winning the Daytona 500 was a huge accomplishment for our small team, and I know we have more trips to victory lane in our future with Ricky at the wheel.”

JTG Daugherty Racing is a single-car operation.

“We are very excited to have Ricky locked in for years to come,” co-owner Brad Daugherty said. “Ricky has continued to grow and thrive as a competitor and he, along with the rest of our race team are pushing hard to get the 47 back into victory lane.”

Stenhouse has two top-10 finishes through 11 races. He is 27th in the point standings going into Sunday’s race at Kansas Speedway.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. signs multi-year extension with JTG Daugherty Racing

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has signed a multi-year extension to stay with JTG Daugherty Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series.

[autotag]Ricky Stenhouse Jr.[/autotag] has secured his future in the NASCAR Cup Series. On Thursday morning, [autotag]JTG Daugherty Racing[/autotag] announced that Stenhouse has signed a multi-year extension to stay in the No. 47 car for the foreseeable future. Stenhouse won the 2023 Daytona 500 and currently sits 27th in the point standings during the 2024 season.

The JTG Daugherty Racing driver has one top-5 finish and two top-10 finishes through 11 races in 2024. Stenhouse hasn’t been on the same level as in 2023, but his performance on superspeedway tracks could sneak him into the playoffs. Outside of superspeedway tracks, Stenhouse has one top-20 finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

The driver of the No. 47 car’s contract was set to expire at the conclusion of the 2024 NASCAR season. Stenhouse’s extension comes as Kroger’s future with JTG Daugherty Racing has become uncertain. Also, the Cup Series team could see ownership changes before 2025. However, Stenhouse will remain with the race team either way.

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NASCAR Cup Series team rumored for possible ownership changes in 2025

One NASCAR Cup Series team is rumored for ownership changes after the 2024 season. Which NASCAR team could be seeing major changes for 2025?

The NASCAR Cup Series has seen several new ownership groups over the last several years, such as 23XI Racing, Trackhouse Racing, and Kaulig Racing. Most current NASCAR ownership groups have been in place for several years; however, one organization could see a significant change heading into the 2025 season.

According to Sports Business Journal’s Adam Stern, [autotag]JTG Daugherty Racing[/autotag] could undergo ownership changes as Kroger, the main sponsor of the No. 47 car, has been rumored to leave the team after 2024. Most notably, Joe Gibbs Racing has been labeled as a possible destination for Kroger. This comes as Tad Geschickter, a co-owner for JTG Daugherty Racing, helps Joe Gibbs Racing sell sponsorship.

This would be a major loss for JTG Daugherty Racing, as Kroger and Geschickter have been two cornerstones of the organization for years. In this scenario, Geschickter could bring Kroger to the Toyota-based organization while leaving JTG Daugherty Racing in the dust. It will be fascinating to see how this plays out for the 2022 Daytona 500 champions.

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JTG Daugherty Racing’s 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season preview

JTG Daugherty Racing enters the 2024 NASCAR season looking for more victories. Here, you can check out JTG’s 2024 season preview!

[autotag]JTG Daugherty Racing[/autotag] climbed to the top of the NASCAR mountain in 2023 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. won the Daytona 500. It was an amazing story for an underdog team, and Stenhouse’s success over the next 35 races proved it wasn’t a fluke. The driver of the No. 47 car has shown his ability to win races at the top level of NASCAR.

Going into 2024, JTG Daugherty Racing looks to repeat at the Daytona 500 but, most importantly, win another race. Will Stenhouse find himself back in the playoffs after a very successful year? It will depend on JTG Daugherty Racing’s equipment and whether it will be enough to compete at a high level.

‘It’s been a pretty cool year’ – Stenhouse continues riding the Daytona wave

Nearly two months after winning the biggest race of the year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says things have calmed down enough for the JTG Daugherty team to focus on racing. “We definitely were super busy there for a while, but I feel like things are back to …

Nearly two months after winning the biggest race of the year, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. says things have calmed down enough for the JTG Daugherty team to focus on racing.

“We definitely were super busy there for a while, but I feel like things are back to normal,” Stenhouse of everything that’s followed his Daytona 500 win. “It’s been really fun and really enjoyable. For us, we’re finally able to sit down and focus week to week on what we need to do at each racetrack, what we need to do going forward at racetracks ahead, and just learn as much as we can.

“I feel really good about a lot of the racetracks we’ve been to and our speed. Obviously, not every racetrack we’ve got the finish out of it that I feel like speed-wise we’ve had, so that’s a bummer at some points.”

Stenhouse’s third career win in the NASCAR Cup Series was the second for JTG Daugherty Racing, but winning the Daytona 500 was a first for all parties involved.

Since then, he’s been pleased with the speed in his No. 47 Chevrolet. The results have been up and down, though. A seventh-place finish two weeks ago at Circuit of The Americas was his first top-10 finish since the season-opening race.

Last weekend, Stenhouse got off to a fast start at Richmond Raceway using impressive speed in the outside lane before a mechanical issue forced him to the garage. He was running fifth at the competition caution before coming to pit road — where the day began going downhill. He finished 35th, his worst finish of the season and his first finish outside the top 25.

“We had a really good car at Richmond last week,” Stenhouse said. “Obviously we had an issue on our pit stop that knocked the brakes off of it, so that was a kind of a freak accident. But we got it fixed and went back out there and felt like we had a top-12 car.

“So stuff like that gives us a lot of confidence moving forward, especially since that was a short track, and we struggled at short tracks last year. I think things like that are definitely encouraging for us, so I feel like that’s what we’ve been able to focus on now that it’s slowed down a little bit.”

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Stenhouse has an average finish of 16.4 entering the Bristol dirt race (Sunday, 7 p.m. ET, Fox). The event is an opportunity race for the No. 47 team, the Mississippi driver not unfamiliar with dirt racing success.

Although the focus is back forward, that doesn’t mean Stenhouse and the JTG Daugherty organization haven’t gotten a lot of use out of their Daytona victory. Jodi Geschickter made it known it was a much-needed victory for the David of the NASCAR garage, and its loyal sponsors, up against the Goliath of the larger teams. In the days after the win, Stenhouse went on a victory tour, giving numerous interviews and exposure for the team owners.

“So far, it’s been a pretty cool year,” Stenhouse said.

It’s also a year that was completely shifted after Daytona. Stenhouse is looking at a potential playoff berth as JTG Daugherty capitalizes on the benefits of winning a prestigious event. It’s given the driver a chance to approach his job differently and perhaps from a little better perspective.

“I think the biggest thing is confidence,” Stenhouse said of what Daytona has done for the organization. “When you have a win, you show up to the racetrack with a little more pep in your step. Then the speed that we’ve had — I feel like I’ve been able to be a little bit more relaxed and probably get better finishes out of the car, sometimes, than what’s there, (compared to) what I would have done last year because we do have a win, and I’m a little more relaxed through the center potions of the race; even the beginning of the race when things aren’t going exactly as planned…

“So, it’s let me relax a little bit. On the team side of it, marketing (and other departments have) been quite a bit different. It’s really been good for us. It’s been really neat and special to see, and yeah, the confidence in the team has been super high.”

Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR analysis, picks and tips.

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to Bristol Motor Speedway for the Food City presents the Supermarket Heroes 500. The green flag drops Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.  Below, we analyze the Supermarket Heroes 500 odds and betting lines, with NASCAR picks and tips with odds from BetMGM sportsbook.

Supermarket Heroes 500: What you need to know

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated Friday, May 29 at 3:35 p.m. ET.

Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott (+900) was able to end his streak of bad luck by capturing checkers at the Alsco Uniforms 500 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Thursday night. He is among the favorites to win again Sunday.

  • Elliott leads all active drivers with an 11.5 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in eight career starts at Bristol. While he has never won at “The Last Great Colosseum,” he has three top-5 finishes, four top-10 showings and 199 laps led with no DNFs. He took third, 11th and fifth in his past three Bristol starts.
  • Joe Gibbs Racing driver KYLE BUSCH (+450) is the favorite, but he just hasn’t been himself. He’s only led 14 laps this season, and all of those occurred at the Daytona 500. That means the No. 18 machine hasn’t been out front in seven races dating back to Feb. 17. He leads all drivers with eight wins at Thunder Valley, posting a 13.45 AFP with 2,333 laps led in 29 career starts. He is sure to get it going at Bristol.
  • Ganassi Racing’s Matt Kenseth (+2500) is second among active drivers with four wins at Bristol. He owns 15 top-5 finishes and 22 top-10 runs in 36 career starts there with a 13.61 AFP and 1,583 laps led.
  • Kenseth’s Ganassi teammate KURT BUSCH (+1400) has managed six wins in 38 career starts at Bristol, second among active drivers only to his younger brother. The elder Busch has 12 top-5 finishes, 20 top-10 results and 1,095 laps led with only three DNFs.
  • Two of the past four pole sitters at Bristol have ended up winning, and four of the past 10 starters from the No. 1 position have come away with checkers.
  • Toyota has won four of the past five starts at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Who is going to win the Supermarket Heroes 500?

Both BUSCH BROTHERS would make for solid plays here – with a KYLE win paying 4.5 to 1 or better yet, a KURT victory scoring a nice 14-to-1 payoff.

Meanwhile, Hendrick Motorsports driver JIMMIE JOHNSON (+2000) is looking to snap a 103-start win drought. He is one of eight active drivers with two or more wins at the track.

The seven-time champ Johnson has a 13.28 AFP in 36 career starts with only 15 of his results outside of the top 10. He also has 914 laps led at Bristol and just one DNF.

Stewart-Haas Racing’s KEVIN HARVICK (+800) had a strong car Thursday night in Charlotte, but he faded late. He is also one of those multiple winners at Bristol, and figures to be right there in the end. He has 912 laps led and a 13.84 AFP in his career at the short track.

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BRAD KESELOWSKI (+1400) of Penske Racing had several years of ugly results at Bristol, but he showed well in last season’s summer “Night Race” with a third-place run. He has two career checkered flags at the short track, as does his teammate JOEY LOGANO (+600). The two Penske drivers have combined to lead 1,461 total laps at Thunder Valley, too. And don’t forget about Penske’s Ryan Blaney (+1600). He finished seventh, fourth and 10th in his past three Bristol runs.

Bristol Motor Speedway long-shot bets

Harvick’s teammate CLINT BOWYER (+2500) has never won in 28 career starts at Bristol, but he is always in the mix. He has seven top-5 showings, 15 top-10 finishes and a strong 14.07 AFP with only two DNFs and 281 laps led. Bowyer is eighth or better in each of his past four Bristol starts. A $10 wager would profit $250 if he claims the checkered flag.

JTG Daugherty’s RICKY STENHOUSE JR. (+4000) turned in a top-5 finish in Thursday’s Charlotte race, and he’ll arrive at Bristol brimming with confidence. He has always showed well at the short track, posting a 14.43 AFP in 14 career starts and just one DNF, although he has never led one lap here. Last season was a train wreck, as he was 33rd in both starts, but he averaged a 7.3 AFP in four starts from Summer 2016 to Spring 2018 at BMS. Backing the 40-to-1 long shot is worth a roll of the dice.

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NASCAR Betting: Daytona 500 odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s Daytona 500 sports betting odds and lines, with NASCAR betting picks, tips and best bets.

The Monster Energy Cup Series kicks off the 2020 NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway Sunday afternoon for the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Daytona 500 betting odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and tips.

The weather forecast is always important for NASCAR races, particularly in the early part of the season when the rains are a little more prevalent in the East. The good news is the temperatures will be in the mid-70’s with just a 20%  chance of precipitation for the first Monster Energy Cup Series race, and really the worst day for weather for Speedweeks appears to be Friday. While the Gander Outdoors Truck Series race might be affected Friday night, the Xfinity race Saturday and MENCS race Sunday look to be good to go barring a change to the forecast.

Who is going to win the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway?

Feb 9, 2020; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA;NASCAR Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Mike Dinovo – USA TODAY Sports)

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Last season’s Daytona 500 winner, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin (+1000), as well as Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson (+2000), are the only active drivers with multiple victories at the Daytona 500.

According to NASCAR’s Loop Data, Johnson has an 85.3 Driver Rating over his past five starts at DIS, which includes the July summer races, to rank fifth among active drivers while leading 14 laps and running 57.1% of his rotations inside the Top 15.

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If you look at the Loop Data for just the past five Daytona 500 races, Hamlin goes from outside of the Top 10 in Driver Rating for all races, to second. He has a 99.4 Driver Rating over the past five February races at the track while leading a circuit-best 151 laps. He has also run 70.2% of his laps inside the Top 15 in the past five Daytona 500s. Hamlin not only won the 2019 installment of the Great American Race but also the 2016 version, too.

Penske Racing driver Joey Logano (+1000) is actually listed as a co-favorite with Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, Hamlin and JGR’s Kyle Busch (+1000). Logano tops the charts over the past five Daytona 500 starts with a 102.7 Driver Rating while leading 61 laps and running 80.7% of his laps inside the Top 15. He has managed a 4.2 Average-Finish Position (AFP) during the five-race span, too. Logano averaged 161.939 mph in his 2015 victory at Daytona, the fastest average speed since Dale Earnhardt Sr. won Feb. 15, 1998 with an average speed of 172.712 mph.

2020 Daytona 500 longshot bets

Feb 9, 2020; Daytona Beach, Florida, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (right) wins pole award and driver Alex Bowman (left) is the runner up during qualifying for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. (Photo Credit: Mike Dinovo – USA TODAY Sports)

JTG Daugherty’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2000) is on the pole for Sunday’s race, the eighth consecutive season a Chevrolet leads the pack out. He’ll be right ahead of Hendrick’s Alex Bowman (+2000), who will be on the outside of Row 1. In the past four Daytona 500 starts, Bowman is closing in on a winner. He has averaged a 1.5 Average-Start Position while registering a 9.5 AFP. That’s good for a 93.4 Driver Rating, so he’ll be one to watch as he looks to earn his first checkered flag in the Great American Race. His best-ever finish in the 500 is 11th, so he’ll be looking to improve upon that dramatically.

Stenhouse leads all drivers with a 95.9 Driver Rating across his past five starts overall at Daytona International Speedway, leading 97 laps. While he isn’t rostered on one of the ‘power’ teams at JTG, he does have a Hendrick motor under his hood, so don’t discount him. Traditionally he has fared well at the superspeedways.

Don’t forget about Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (+3500), the 2018 winner of this race. In 15 career starts at DIS he leads all active drivers (at least two starts) with a 15.1 AFP with seven Top 10 finishes in 13 starts.

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