Sports betting players are well aware of the hold that Jimmie Johnson has the Sprint Cup series in as the four-time defending champion is great on a number of tracks, and Phoenix International Raceway is one of them. The Subway Fresh Fit 600 will take place on Saturday night, and Johnson has won four of the last five races here. NASCAR Betting – Saturday, April 10, 7:45 PM ET
Johnson will be the favorite heading into Friday’s qualifying, and in five spring races in the desert, the No.48 driver has a win, three top-fives, and his 6.2 average is the best among active drivers. However, if you were going to bet against Johnson, it would be in the spring race, as he’s won three straight in the fall.
Last year’s winner, and Hendrick teammate, Mark Martin should push Johnson as the 51-year-old led 157 laps from the pole en route to the checkered flag. This win last year got Martin going in the right direction, and he desperately needs a good run to stay near the top of the sportsbook odds as he hasn’t finished higher than 21st in his last three races.
Even Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who fill out the Hendrick stable, should be in the hunt this week. Gordon has two poles and two top-10s in five spring races here, and he won in 2007, before the Johnson domination began. Earnhardt Jr. went back-to-back here in 2003 and 2004 before Phoenix received a second race, and the No.88 team has improved this year. If they can just navigate pit road, they’ll be up front.
Outside of Hendrick, your best bets in your online sportsbook are the Busch brothers, Kyle and Kurt, and the RCR duo of Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton. Kurt and Kyle split the 2005 races in Phoenix’s first year with two events, and Kurt finished third in last year’s spring race. If you had to pick on, it would probably be Kurt, who has been on a roll this year with a win at Atlanta, and he should have won at Bristol, as well. Harvick and Burton are fourth and fifth in the standings, just ahead of Kurt Busch, and both have a pair of wins in Phoenix as Burton went back-to-back in 2001 and 2002, while Harvick swept the 2006 races. We’re picking Harvick to take the checkered flag this week over Johnson, Martin and Gordon, as RCR has always fared well in the desert, and Phoenix is a flat track that takes a lot of skill, something that Harvick has in spades, and he’s been so close to a win this year. Take Kevin Harvick in your online sports betting picks.
