While everyone will be making their March Madness picks this weekend, there’s another type of madness to watch out for when the Sprint Cup series heads to Bristol Motor Speedway on Sunday for the Food City 500, the first of two races to take place on the half-mile wrestling ring that is Bristol. Here are five drivers to watch for, providing they can stay out of trouble, which isn’t always easy here.NASCAR Betting – Sunday, March 21, 2:00 PM ET
Kyle Busch (+600)
The younger Busch brother won last year’s spring race at Bristol, leading 378 laps along the way. That makes two wins in this event for Kyle, although he still has to catch up to brother Kurt, who has won four spring races here. Busch has yet to break the top 10 this year as he sits 15th in the standings, and he’ll be on a mission this week.
Denny Hamlin (+700)
Busch’s teammate finished second to him here last year, and Hamlin is one of the best short-track racers in NASCAR. Hamlin has had some bad luck this year, coming into this race in 22nd place, but he has a finishing average of 9.0 in four spring races, and he’s finished in the top 10 five times in eight overall trips to Bristol.
Kevin Harvick (+1000)
The points leader is one of three drivers, along with Matt Kenseth and Greg Biffle, to finish in the top 10 in all four races after a ninth-place run at Bristol, and he won this race back in 2005. Harvick has seven top-10s in nine spring races at Bristol, but he finished 30th in last year’s event. He’ll be one to consider in your sportsbook.
Kurt Busch (+1200)
Kurt romped to the win at Atlanta last week, and he is one of two active drivers, along with Jeff Gordon, to win this race four times. He just missed the top 10 in last year’s event, coming in 11th, so look for him to find his way to the front.
Juan Pablo Montoya (+2000)
This is your value pick, and we can guarantee that watching Montoya carve his way through Bristol will be worth the price per head. Montoya’s road-course experience has made him a master of using the breaks, which you do more at Bristol than any other oval except maybe Martinsville, and his ninth-place run last year was his first in three Bristol spring races. However, his aggressive style may also get him in trouble.
Pick: Kevin Harvick is the play here this week, as he’s running as well as anyone in the series, and he’s comfortable at Bristol. He would definitely be a No.1 seed if this were odds on March Madness.
