The NASCAR Sprint Cup Series speeds in to Talladega, Alabama for this weekend’s sportsbook race. After the spectacle at Texas Motor Speedway this past weekend was postponed from Sunday to Monday due to weather conditions, the drivers will have even less time to prepare for what has become known as one of the most dangerous tracks of the NASCAR season. Massive collisions marred last season’s pair of races at Talladega Superspeedway, and if Monday’s finish is any indication of what is to come this upcoming weekend, drivers will be wise to take the side of caution for this weekend’s race.
Denny Hamlin needed only 12 laps led to take the checkered flag at Texas the same night the NHL betting was on, his second win in three weeks after finishing first at Martinsville. A massive nine-car wreck provided Hamlin with enough room to make his move to the front of the pack after starting the 334-lap race in the 29th spot. Jimmie Johnson finished in the top-five for the second consecutive race, and although he couldn’t find a way past Hamlin for the lead, finished in the top-10 for the fifth time in his past six races.
Players looking to place their money on any single driver this race, like the Kentucky Derby betting, may find it difficult to predict just one sport betting favorite. The tracks on the schedule that require restrictor plates are both hard to predict, but Talladega may be the hardest. Often referred to as a, “high-speed chess match”, no one driver has dominated at the 2.66-mile tri-oval. Brad Keselowski and Jamie McMurray captured the checkered flag in the two races here last season, and McMurray took the season-opening race at Daytona International Speedway, the other restrictor plate course. However, McMurray has fallen off big time since his only win, with just one top-10 finish since, and three finishes 24th or worse to fall to 21st in the SCS standings.
Jeff Gordon is the all-time wins leader at Talladega Superspeedway among active drivers with six wins in 34 starts, and his performance at Texas was nothing short of impressive as his 124 laps led was the most of any driver on the day. Gordon looked as hungry as he has in years banging and bumping his way to the front of the pack before eventually colliding with Tony Stewart in that massive nine-car wreck that ended his day. Gordon’s teammate and perennial favorite Jimmie Johnson has just one win in 16 career runs at Talladega, but after failing to take the checkered flag in his last three starts after winning three of his first five, Johnson will be hungry to get back on top, as has been the case with Pittsburgh in the Senators vs Penguins odds series.
Perhaps the dark horse heading in to this weekend will be Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is third all-time in wins at Talladega behind only Gordon and father Dale Earnhardt with five wins in 20 races. Earnhardt Jr. had captured two of his three top-10 finishes over the past four weeks, and this would be a suitable track for NASCAR’s favorite son to finally break through for the win.
