Jimmie Johnson has won three of the last four Brickyard 400s and he is the sports betting favorite to win on Sunday.Four other drivers have single-digit sports betting online odds including Tony Stewart who is the second choice at 7-1. Between them, Johnson and Stewart have won the last five Brickyard 400 races.
Sports betting odds are really tilted towards Johnson as he is 2-1 to win Sunday’s race. Stewart is the second choice at 7-1 followed by Kyle Busch Denny Hamlin and Jeff Gordon. If Johnson can get the win on Sunday he would tie Gordon for the most wins at the track.
Dark horses to consider at Indianapolis include Mark Martin who is 20-1. Martin finished second to Johnson last year and even though he has not been as good this season, he could turn things around this week. Kurt Busch drives for Roger Penske who has won the Indy 500 a total of 15 times. Penske has never had a driver win the Brickyard though but Busch could be the one. He is having a very good season and is 10-1 to win on Sunday.
Starting up front is very important at Indianapolis. Seven of the 16 winners of this race have started in the top four. Three of the last seven winners have come from the front row. In nine of the sixteen races the winner has started from within the top ten. The farthest back anyone has come to win was in 2001 when Jeff Gordon won from the 27th starting position. Chevy has won this race a total of 11 times including seven in a row. Ford has three wins in the race while Pontiac and Dodge have one win each.
It is hard to make a case for a long shot this week considering how dominant Johnson and Stewart have been in this race. Martin at 20-1 in sports betting NASCAR odds is one of the few drivers who might be able to give Johnson a run. Kasey Kahne could be worth considering as he has finished in the top 10 in four of his six starts at the Brickyard. Another long shot that at least deserves a look is David Reutimann who is coming off a win. He was eighth last year at the Brickyard.
A driver that probably is not worth a bet is Dale Earnhardt Jr. He has only two top-10 finishes in 10 career starts at the track.