Sportsbook Website – Johnson Favored to Win at Phoenix. Just two races remain in the Chase for the Sprint Cup as the drivers head to Phoenix this week with Jimmie Johnson the favorite at the sportsbook website. Denny Hamlin has a 33-point lead over Johnson in the standings but Johnson has owned the Phoenix International Raceway and with a win he would make it very interesting in the final race at Miami. Johnson is 3-1 to win this week while Hamlin is the second choice at the sportsbook at 4-1.
Jimmie Johnson
There may be more attention on Johnson’s pit crew this week than on the car. Crew chief Chad Knaus swapped pit crews with Jeff Gordon so it will be Gordon’s pit crew who tries to win the championship for the No. 48 team. It is a radical move but it just might work. Johnson won this race last year as he led 238 of the 312 laps. J.J. is a deserving favorite in Sunday’s race as he has never finished outside the top 15 at the track. He has eight straight top-five finishes at the track and four wins in his last six starts. 3-1 sounds like a bargain.
Denny Hamlin
He has finished sixth or better in six of his last eight starts at Phoenix but he has yet to get a win. He has to play it safe this week so the 4-1 odds at the sportsbook might be a little bit low.
Kevin Harvick
He is 9-1 this week and third in the points standings. He simply has not been finishing races strongly enough and does not deserve to win the championship.
Kyle Busch
The third choice in the betting at the sportsbook website is Kyle Busch at 5-1. He has eight top-12 finishes in 11 starts at the track with one victory.
Jeff Burton
He got into it with Jeff Gordon last week and that might pump some energy into this team. He has run very well at Phoenix with a 9.9 finishing average which is fourth best among active drivers. He has some value this week at odds of 21-1.
Jeff Gordon
He is 13-1 this week and although he has not won in a long while this might be the race. He gets Johnson’s pit crew and they may want to go out and prove a point this week after they were benched.