Richmond Betting – Saturday, May 1, 7:30 PM ET
Denny Hamlin (+600): Hamlin is one of the best short-track racers in the series, and he led 148 laps in the spring race at Richmond before a bad pit stop relegated him to a 14th-place finish. But Hamlin responded with a third-place run in the summer race, and he’s on a roll right now with two wins in his last four races, which also includes a fourth-place result at Talladega.
Kyle Busch (+800): Busch led 53 laps in last year’s race, and in five spring races at Richmond, he’s finished in the top all five times, which leads to an outlandish finishing average of 2.8. He also managed to come in 15th in the summer race, and he has four top-10s in his last five races. The No.18 driver is on the cusp of a win.
Tony Stewart (+1200): Stewart has nine top-10s, including a pair of wins, in 11 spring races at Richmond, and he has three wins overall on the ¾-mile track. However, taking Stewart’s odds would be like taking Boston’s NBA championship odds as he hasn’t finished higher than 16th in his last four races. However, you know he has the talent to win, and he finished second in both Richmond races last year.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+1500): Junior leads to another NBA comparison: taking his odds would be like taking Cleveland’s NBA odds, as they have the most popular player in the league, but he has yet to win a championship. However, Earnhardt has been more consistent this year, and he has three wins at Richmond, with all three coming in the spring race. But he has to take the next step: in his last seven races, Earnhardt hasn’t finished lower than 16th, but he also has just two top-10s. Will Richmond be his breakthrough?
Ryan Newman (+3500): Newman is surprisingly good at Richmond, particularly in the spring race with seven top-10s in eight starts, including a fourth-place run last year. He’ll just be happy to get away from Talladega after yet another wreck on the monster superspeedway.
Pick: We’re going with Kyle Busch to go back-to-back in the Richmond spring race, as Joe Gibbs Racing always brings good cars to this track. All three of Stewart’s wins came when he was with JGR, and they usually find their way to the front here. Busch hasn’t won since the summer race at Bristol, another short track, and with his aggressiveness, he loves coming to places like Richmond, which is why you should have him as your online betting pick.