NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Coke Zero 400 Preview
We’ve got NASCAR Sprint Cup Series racing under the lights tonight, as the Sprint Cup Series celebrates the Fourth of July with the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Every race from here until Richmond is pivotal, as there are only nine more pre-Chase races to go. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson are pretty safe, and Kurt Busch has some nice separation from the pack as well, but the other eight spots in the Chase are well and truly up for grabs. Only 120 points separate fifth-placed Carl Edwards (367 back of Stewart) from David Reutimann, who’s in 14th. Reutimann could conceivably jump into the top 10 with a big night tonight, as he’s only 17 points behind Matt Kenseth, who’s currently in 10th.
For the second straight week and the third time in five races that qualifying was rained out, and once again, that means that points leader Stewart will start in pole position with Gordon in the front row beside him.
Gordon has to be pretty disappointed after rain cut short the Lenox Industrial Tools 301, when the rain thwarted his hopes for victory and forced him to settle for a runner-up finish behind rookie Joey Logano, who earned his first Sprint Cup Series win.
Gordon could quickly put that disappointment behind him tonight though, as he comes to a track where he’s won six times, three in this race and three in the Daytona 500.
The odds makers are keeping the faith with defending race champion Kyle Busch despite what has been an extremely inconsistent season, as the latest NASCAR odds have him as the favorite for tonight’s race at 6/1. Busch earned his first top-10 finish in five races by finishing 7th last week, but he’s still in a shaky position for the Chase.
What about Daytona 500 champion Kenseth? The last driver to win both races at Daytona in the same season was Bobby Allison in 1984, and Kenseth hasn’t exactly prospered since wining the season’s first two races. So, even though the odds don’t have him as a real longshot at 15/1, that statistic and his disappointing run of form don’t exactly work in his favor here.
Stewart won from the pole at Pocono, and you’ve got to like his chances to do it at Daytona tonight, as he owns two wins in this race. He comes in with 13/2 odds, with Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. both at 8/1 and Jimmie Johnson at 9/1.
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