Even fans of online casino play know about the importance of the Sprint Cup night race at Bristol Motor Speedway, the half-mile bullring that can make or break a driver’s sports betting chances for the Chase, which is just three races away. Here are the top five drivers to watch in the Irwin Tools Night Race when the green flag drops.
Kyle Busch (+250): The younger Busch won at Michigan last week and he’s coming to a place that he has essentially owned by winning four of the last five races here, including in the spring when he led 153 laps. Busch also made some news as he has his license taken away for speeding (go figure), and he’ll be anxious to turn the negative news into positive.
Carl Edwards (+800): Some price per head customers will roll with Edwards, who won the pole in the spring race and he has a pair of wins in the Bristol night race from 2007 and 2008. He will be aiming to come back from a 36th-place run at Michigan due to mechanical problems, and “Concrete Carl” would love to get back on track here.
Kurt Busch (+1000): Kyle likely learned what he knows about Bristol from Kurt, who has five wins here, but none since 2006. Four of those wins came in the spring, so he has to carry that over to the summer race, but he hasn’t finished higher than 34th in his last two races. The No.22 driver has to get pick up a good finish here on Saturday night.
Kevin Harvick (+1200): Harvick has just one top-10 in his last six starts, but he loves Bristol with a win in the spring race in 2005 and he just won the Trucks race on Wednesday night, which is always good for confidence. We also know that Harvick has no problems moving someone out of his way to win, so he could turn this race into an episode of WWE Monday Night Raw (see the Darlington race earlier this year).
Brad Keselowski (+2000): The No.2 driver has been on fire since breaking his ankle, winning at Pocono the next week and he has finished in the top three in his last two starts. Keselowski has been sitting out Nationwide races to focus on the Cup program and it is really paying off for the entire organization as Kurt Busch can also attest. Keselowski finished 18th here in the spring, but he finished on the lead lap and you have to remember that this is only his second season in a Sprint Cup car. He has an aggressive style that suits Bristol and he won here in a Nationwide car before, so that is good for confidence. Brad Keselowski is definitely a dangerous online betting darkhorse this weekend.