Tag: Kevin Harvick

Kevin Harvick puts $50k bounty on Kyle Busch in NASCAR’s Truck Series

Kyle Busch is on a seven-race win streak in the NASCAR Truck Series.

Kyle Busch, the defending NASCAR Cup Series champion, runs as many races in the lower-tiered XFINITY Series and Truck Series as he’s allowed to. He often dominates, and his haters don’t exactly love that.

In his first Truck Series race of the 2020 season, Busch won the Strat 200 at his home track, Las Vegas Motor Speedway, on Friday night, extending his win streak in the series to seven races going back to the 2018 season. He also became the winningest Truck Series driver last year and just keeps adding to his record.

NASCAR rules dictate that because of his experience as a Cup Series driver, he’s only allowed to compete in five total Truck Series races this season.

And Kevin Harvick wants to have a little fun with that. The 2014 Cup Series champion tweeted Saturday that he’ll offer a $50,000 prize to any fellow full-time Cup driver who beats Busch in a Truck race.

Now, it’s a little unclear whether that driver has to beat Busch once in his next four Truck Series races or all four times, but things could get interesting.

Busch’s four remaining truck races are at Atlanta Motor Speedway on March 14, Homestead-Miami Speedway on March 20, Texas Motor Speedway on March 27 and Kansas Speedway on May 30. He’s also planning to compete in the maximum five XFINITY races this season, starting with Phoenix Raceway in two weeks.

Not long after Harvick put down his $50,000, Marcus Lemonis — the CEO of Gander Outdoors, which is the Truck Series title sponsor — tweeted he’ll match the No. 4 Ford driver’s offer.

And with all of Busch’s Truck Series races coming in the next several weeks, this could get fun.

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NASCAR Betting: Pennzoil 400 odds, picks and best bets

Previewing Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, with NASCAR betting odds, picks and best bets

The NASCAR Cup Series moves to the Las Vegas Motor Speedway Sunday afternoon for the Pennzoil 400 at 3:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Pennzoil 400 betting odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and tips.

The weather won’t be a problem like it was in Daytona last weekend, when a surprise rain storm ended up pushing the race to Monday. The haulers had one less day to travel across the country, subsequently canceling the mid-week hauler parade down The Strip, but the cars and drivers will be ready to go Sunday with no interruptions.

Who is going to win the 2020 Pennzoil 400 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway?

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Friday at 3:30 p.m. ET.

The winner of the most recent Cup race at Vegas, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Martin Truex Jr. (+550), is among the favorites at this race. Only Vegas-born driver and teammate Kyle Busch (+500) and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick (+500) have shorter odds.

MTJ has posted two wins in 16 career starts in Vegas, with five top-5 showings and eight top-10 finishes with a 10.9 Average-Finish Position (AFP). He’ll be a very popular selection this weekend. Truex also tops the charts with a 123.8 Driver Rating across the past five starts in Vegas, according to NASCAR’s Loop Data. Busch has a win in 17 career starts, posting nine top-10 showings and a 12.7 AFP.

New to sports betting? A successful $10 wager on Truex to win would return a profit of $55.

Looking to place a bet on this race or other motorsports? Get some action in the NASCAR race through BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

Penske Racing driver Joey Logano (+700) will also be a pick many gravitate toward, as he has a 5.0 AFP and 116.8 Driver Rating across his past five starts at LVMS while running a circuit-best 95.4 percent of his laps inside the Top 15 during the impressive span. He also has eight consecutive top-10 showings at the track.

Logano’s teammate Brad Keselowski (+600) is also a solid play, as he has three straight finishes of third or best at Vegas, including a win. He is a nice selection to finish in the Top 3 (+150).

2020 Pennzoil 400 longshot bets

Keselowski and Logano’s teammate, Ryan Blaney (+2000), kicked off his 2020 campaign with a second-place run at Daytona. He heads into this one with a 95.6 Driver Rating over the past five Vegas starts while posting an 8.8 AFP. He has finished seventh or better in five of his past six starts at the track, too, including three top-5 showings in the previous four.

Hendrick Motorsports’ William Byron (+2500) and Alex Bowman (+3000) finished in the Top 10 in the second Vegas race last season, with Byron seventh and Bowman sixth. Those two are worth a small-unit bet with rather moderate odds. Tossing a little change on their veteran teammate, seven-time Cup champ Jimmie Johnson (+3000) is also worth a shot. He has four career wins at Vegas to lead all active drivers, and he is 12th or better in seven of his past 10 starts at the track.

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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44-year-old Kevin Harvick explains why he signed NASCAR contract extension through 2023

Kevin Harvick will be in NASCAR for (at least) four more years.

Kevin Harvick is already one of the oldest full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers — he turned 44 in December — and the next time he’s in a contract year, there’s a good chance he’ll easily be the oldest on the track.

The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing driver was previously under contract through the 2021 season, but Saturday at Daytona International Speedway, he confirmed that he signed an extension taking him through the 2023 season, shortly after which he’ll turn 48.

The 2014 Cup Series champion has expressed an interest in the broadcast side of NASCAR following his eventual retirement from racing, but that’s clearly not an option for a few more years.

Harvick explained his decision regarding the two-year contract extension to the media Saturday:

“The TV and radio stuff is definitely something that I’m extremely interested in doing. But I talked with some of my friends over the offseason just about where I was at with things, and everybody told me the same thing: If you’re not done with that competitive side of it, just keep chasing that side. And I’ve got everything around me I need to be competitive, so just gonna continue doing that.”

Harvick has raced for Stewart-Haas Racing since 2014, and has won 26 of his 49 career checkered flags with Tony Stewart’s team. He has also advanced to the Championship 4 race in five of the six years under the current format, including in the 2019 season when he finished third in the final standings behind champion Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr.

However, Harvick did seem to imply that he’ll be calling it quits when his new contract expires, which lines up with a new TV broadcast contract. He said, via NBC Sports:

“That timing works well for me from a media standpoint just because of the fact you have the TV contract coming up (in 2024). I think at that particular point you’ll have a fair amount of experience in the new car. You will have hopefully been through the engine change, the vehicle change. There were a number of things that go along with that. I really like racing with the group of guys and the organization that I’m at.”

While Harvick fans are surely happy with their driver confirming he’ll be racing for four more years, his wife, DeLana, might feel a little differently and tweeted her response to the news becoming public:

But his crew chief, Rodney Childers, is obviously digging it:

The 2020 NASCAR season begins Sunday, February 16 with the Daytona 500.

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NASCAR Betting: Ford EcoBoost 400 betting tips

Breaking down Sunday’s NASCAR Monster Cup Series Ford EcoBoost 400 with predicted picks and betting tips

The Monster Energy Cup Series wraps up the 2019 season at Homestead-Miami Speedway Sunday for the Ford EcoBoost 400 at 3 p.m. ET, and we’ll crown a series champion after the sun goes down.

The four drivers eligible for the championship are Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick against the Joe Gibbs Racing trio of Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. Harvick won the series title in 2014, Busch won in 2015 and MTJ won in 2017. Only Hamlin has yet to nail down a championship, but he comes in hotter than anyone.

Who is going to win the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway?

For a full-set of today’s sports betting odds, access them at USA TODAY Sports.

Harvick enters Sunday’s race with a win, 10 top-5 finishes and 16 top-10 showings across 18 career races at Homestead with a 6.6 Average-Finish Position (AFP) with 373 laps led and zero DNFs.

NASCAR’s Loop Data shows Harvick with a 124.6 Driver Rating across the past five starts at HMS while posting a 2.6 AFP. He also leads all drivers running 99.6 percent of his laps inside the Top 15.

Busch ranks fourth in Driver Rating (111.1) across the past five starts at Homestead, leading 106 laps while posting a 10.4 AFP. He has also run 87.4 percent of his laps inside the Top 15. He has had mixed results over the years at this track, posting a win with four top-5 finishes and seven top-10 results, but he has two DNFs and a 17.4 AFP in 14 career starts.

Looking to place a bet on this race or other motorsports? Get some action in the NASCAR race through BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

As far as Hamlin is concerned, he has two career victories at Homestead-Miami Speedway while posting an impressive 10.6 AFP in 14 career starts. He has led 254 laps, too. Across the past five starts he has a 102.6 Driver Rating while running 92.6 percent of his laps inside the Top 15. He is just as good a bet as any to win and claim his first championship. MTJ has a 98.2 Driver Rating, and he has a 13.6 AFP across the past five stops at Homestead while running 83.3 percent of his laps inside the Top 15.

Homestead-Miami Speedway long-shot bets

If you’re looking for a non-title contender to come and ruin the party, look to Hendrick Motorsports driver Chase Elliott. He has finishes of fifth, seventh and 11th in three career starts at Homestead. While he is certainly not returning big odds, and probably could have been in the hunt for a title if not for a wreck in Phoenix last week, he might have something to prove.

Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson is also a non-contender looking to capture checkers. He has six career starts at HMS, turning in three top-5s and three top-10s with an AFP of 8.5 while racking up 325 laps led. He has never won at Homestead, but he has a runner-up finish under his belt.

Now that you know which drivers you should consider to bet in the Ford EcoBoost 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, head to BetMGM and place your wagers today.

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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How Kyle Busch won around $1,000 off his fellow NASCAR drivers

Kyle Busch won an easy bet against his fellow NASCAR championship contenders — with a little trickery.

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. — Kyle Busch already beat his fellow NASCAR championship contenders this week and even made some money off of them.

In New York on Tuesday promoting Sunday’s season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Busch, Denny Hamlin, Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick were stuck in “heavy traffic” on their way back to their hotel. They were about five miles away but barely moving, so Busch decided to run it.

The No. 18 Toyota driver made a bet that he could arrive at the hotel on foot faster than they could driving. So Busch mapped it out, he changed his shoes and he, along with a cameraman — who works for Pro Sports Management, the company that represents Hamlin — got out of the van and took off running.

Hamlin said Thursday at NASCAR’s championship media day that it was his idea to get his teammate to jog through Midtown Manhattan with the temperature in the mid-30s, joking that he was “just trying to hamper my competition” ahead of NASCAR’s title race.

Busch was going to get a few hundred dollars from them just for doing it, Truex, told For The Win on Thursday at NASCAR’s Media Day, adding that he initially put down $100. But they were going to kick in a few hundred more if he actually won the bet. Truex said he would double his offer while Hamlin’s payout went from $100 to $300.

Sweating and panting by the time he was done, Busch won the race by a lot.

It took him about 20 minutes to get to the hotel, and he FaceTimed with the other drivers still in the van to prove he made it. But that’s when they guessed something was amiss.

“Somebody’s full of [expletive] here,” Hamlin said in a video posted to his social media channels.

Turns out that while the driving route said their hotel was about five miles away, Busch looked at the directions for walking, which dropped the distance to fewer than two miles.

“I’m glad I had a witness go with me, and he’s just as whipped as I am,” Busch told his fellow championship contenders while FaceTiming with them.

“[I was] zig-zagging in and out of traffic, and it was pretty awesome. And I was in the middle of the street for a while.”

Eventually, Hamlin, Truex and Harvick figured out how Busch got the best of them. Obviously, they were in disbelief that Busch ran a 4.5-minute mile in shoes borrowed from the cameraman who tagged along, but not even two miles in 20 minutes makes a lot more sense.

“We just realized we got whamboozled, absolutely whamboozled,” Hamlin said in a video afterward. “We Wazed it at 5.2 miles. That seems like a really long way. However, if you click the ‘walk’ button, he only had to travel 1.8 miles. … He still put a decent pace on it. It is 30-some degrees out here.”

In the end, they combine to owe Busch “about a grand,” Harvick said at media day. But the three NASCAR drivers weren’t the only ones to get in on the bet, Truex told FTW.

During the press conference for the championship drivers Thursday, Busch said Truex still hasn’t paid up yet, and the No. 19 Toyota driver joked he’s “on a payment plan.”

“Although Kyle’s run was impressive, would have been more impressive if he would have had boots on and carrying a camera like the other guy,” Hamlin said.

But in addition to owing Busch money, Harvick had another form of punishment Tuesday as they finished their commute back to the hotel.

“I carried [his] shoes,” Harvick said Thursday of the kicks Busch changed out of. “I felt like I was obligated in losing the bet to carry his shoes back.”

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