Put away those Kentucky Derby odds for a minute and check out another kind of horsepower as the Sprint Cup series heads to Richmond International Raceway for the Crown Royal 400. After last week's wildness at Talladega, you shouldn't think that Richmond will be a break for the drivers, as it's a ¾-mile that rides like a superspeedway.
NASCAR Betting - Saturday, May 1, 7:30 PM ET
Denny Hamlin (+600): Hamlin finally won at his hometown track in last year's summer race, leading 299 laps along the way. Hamlin's 8.5 average in eight races is second among active drivers, and he's easily one of the best short-track racers in NASCAR.
Kyle Busch (+800): The younger Busch won this event last year, and in all five spring races he's run at Richmond, the No.18 driver has finished in the top five. Busch has three straight top-10s after a ninth-place finish at Talladega, and if you're talking horse, he would probably have a great Kentucky Derby post position: Busch's 6.0 average in 10 races at Richmond is the best among active drivers.
Mark Martin (+900): Martin isn't far behind the JGR drivers with an 11.8 average in 48 Richmond races, and he finished in the top five of both Richmond races last year. Like Busch, Martin is coming into this race on a roll as he has finished in the top six in his last three races. The No.5 driver is flying under the radar right now, just the way he likes it. Martin has one win here, way back in the 1990 spring race.
Tony Stewart (+1200): Stewart has three wins at Richmond, with two coming in the spring race, and his 10.4 average in 22 Richmond races is fourth among active drivers. He finished second to Busch in last year's spring race, and he has nine top-10s in 11 spring races at the Richmond bullring.
Ryan Newman (+3500): You would think that taking Newman's odds here would be like taking Frankie Edgar's UFC odds on April 10th, when he upset BJ Penn. But if you look closely at the numbers, you'll see that the No.39 in Victory Lane wouldn't be a big stretch. Newman finished in the top 10 of both races last year, and in eight spring races at Richmond, Newman has seven top-10s. He's eager to have a good run after he wrecked once again at Talladega.
Pick: The play here is Busch, who is excellent at Richmond, but he's even better in the spring. Joe Gibbs Racing has brought good cars to this track for years now (all three of Stewart's wins here came in the No.20 JGR now driven by Joey Logano), and Busch and Hamlin are two of the best short-track racers in the series. Busch hasn't been to Victory Lane in a while now, and if he's going to do it, this is as good a place as any to go with him if you're betting online.
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