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Kobalt 400 - Mar. 12
By: Staff Writer - StatFox
Published: 3/9/2017  at  12:31:00 PM
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Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Kobalt 400

Sunday, Mar. 12 – 3:30 p.m. EDT
Las Vegas Motor Speedway – Las Vegas, NV

Odds to Win Race

(For the latest Odds, connect to Sportsbook.ag)

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series drivers will be competing in Las Vegas for the Kobalt 400 on Sunday. Last week, Brad Kesolowski won his first ever Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500. That victory snapped a two-race winning streak for Jimmie Johnson, but the veteran now heads to head another track that he has dominated. Johnson has won the Kobalt 400 four times in his career, which gives him more than any other driver in the history of the sport. There will, however, be three other drivers that have won more than once on this 400.5-mile track. That list includes Matt Kenseth, Carl Edwards and the previously mentioned Kesolowski. Kenseth has won this race three times, and he’ll be hoping to tie Johnson’s record on Sunday. Edwards, meanwhile, has won twice, but it’d be hard to imagine him winning here twice moving forward. Roush Fenway Racing is the team with the most wins in this race, as they have won seven times in the Kobalt 400. Hendrick Motorsports has five wins, and Team Penske has won two of the past three (both were Keselowski). The manufacturer that has enjoyed the most success is, however, Ford. A driver has won in a Ford car nine times, and Chevy is the next best with seven wins. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at who could be winning this race on Sunday:

Brad Keselowski (6-to-1) - Keselowski is a tough guy to pass up this week, as he really checks all the boxes for what you’d want when looking to play this race. Keselowski has had success at the Kobalt 400 recently, winning two of the past three races here. His other finish was a seventh place finish in 2015, and he also came in third here in 2013. Keselowski has not only had the success here, but he is also coming off of a victory at the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 last week. There will not be a more confident driver on the track next week, and he’s worth a shot at 6-to-1.

Jimmie Johnson (15-to-2) - Johnson has won the Kobalt 400 four times in his career, but he has not won here since 2010. Still, he has showed that he is still very effective on this course and is worth taking a shot on at 15-to-2. Johnson finished second here in 2012, and he was also third just a year ago. It’s also worth noting that Johnson can badly use a victory on Sunday. He finished in 34th at the Daytona 500 and followed that performance up with a 19th place finish at the QuikTrip 500. It’s still early in the season, but Johnson knows the importance of getting going soon.

Denny Hamlin (20-to-1) - Denny Hamlin has never won the Kobalt 400, but he has placed well in Las Vegas and should not be getting 20-to-1 odds. Hamlin has finished inside the top-five in this race on two occasions, and one of those was just two years ago. He also has three other top-10 finishes in this race. That might not seem like anything too special, but he clearly can be effective on this course and a win should not be ruled out for him. He also is in a similar boat as Johnson, as he could really use a nice finish after a rough start to the year.

Ryan Newman (50-to-1) - Newman is yet another driver that has not won the Kobalt 400 but has some really good results in the race overall. Newman has finished inside the top-10 of this race eight times, and four of those occasions were top-five finishes. He came in third here as recently as 2015, and somebody that was that close to winning should not be getting 50-to-1 odds. Even throwing a little something on him could pay off huge, and much crazier things have happened than him winning on Sunday.


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