Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Kevin Harvick posted in Vegas as 5/1 favorite to win at Michigan

Westgate upgrades Harvick rating, downgrades Kyle Busch, Hamlin & Dillon 
LAS VEGAS -- Kevin Harvick has just one win on the season and his lone win at Michigan International Speedway came in 2010, but it's what he's done in the past three seasons during six races on the wide 2-mile layout that forced the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to make him the 5-to-1 favorite to win Sunday's FireKeepers Casino 400.

Harvick has been runner-up in five of the past six races at Michigan and the only time he didn't finish second over that span (this race last June), he led the most laps (63) before a flat tire relegated him to a 29th-place finish. He may have eventually erased the one lap deficit had rain not shortened the event by 62 laps, a race won by teammate Kurt Busch.

Sunday's race will feature changes to the low downforce package on a trial basis with the spoiler being reduced from 3.5 inches to 2.5 inches and the splitter will be cut down two inches. The effect will make the cars much looser around turns on one of the fastest tracks on the circuit, which will put even more of a premium on the drivers ability and they all seem to like it better that way. Kentucky Speedway will also feature this package next month.

Let's take a look at all the odds to win from the Westgate and how each of the drivers have fared at Michigan over their careers:

NASCAR at Michigan betting preview
Sunday, June 12, 1:18 pm ET


Kevin HARVICK 5/1
- The season point leader has a series-best 7.3 average finish position, one of only two drivers below a double-digit average. Although past results might not show that Michigan's sister track at Fontana is similar, they are almost identical layouts. Harvick finished second in the March 20 Fontana race leading a race-high 142 laps. He also finished second there last season leading 34 laps.

Martin TRUEX JR 7/1 - After a hiccup at Pocono last week, he gets to go back to an oval which suits his style best. Last season he finished third in both races. His career best finishes came in 2007 when he was runner-up in both events. Expect him to lead his fare share of laps; he's led a series-best 809 laps this season.

Jimmie JOHNSON 7/1 - He's the perfect example of a driver faring well at his home track at Fontana with six wins in 22 starts, including the March race, but struggling at Michigan with only one win in 28 starts. To be fair, struggling might not be the proper term because he has led a series high 633 laps there, but has had a variety of late race mishaps derail what looked to be a few victories.

“It's been a tough track for the No. 48 Lowe’s team historically," Johnson said. "We’ve had plenty of opportunities to win this race in the past and have figured out how to lose it with five to go. You want to win here for Chevrolet. I was pretty disappointed last weekend at Pocono to run up front and then have it end the way it did. I’m looking forward to this weekend and then a much needed off-weekend for Father’s Day.”

Read More Here....all the drivers odds posted at TheLinemakers.com

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