NASCAR Picks - All State 400 at The Brickyard Top 3

NASCAR: All State 400 at The Brickyard Top 3

Race-day: 4/26/2009

Race-time: 1:00 pm est.

Jimmie Johnson, last year’s winner of the All State 400 at The Brickyard, is favored in the BetUS online sportsbook to win again in 2009.

He’s also the favorite to get at least a Top 3 placing this Sunday, but there are a couple of drivers that actually make more sense to wager in this category than Jimmie. One of those drivers is Tony Stewart, the number one guy in the NASCAR Power Rankings.

Let’s take a look at some of the drivers who could finish in the Top 3 in the All State 400 at The Brickyard this Sunday.

1. Tony Stewart +180 - - Smoke is smokin’! An average finish of 7.6 with 11 top 5 finishes means that Smoke is the best bet in this race to get into the Top 3. He’s had a lot of success at Indianapolis. That means the hottest driver in 2009, so far, is going to a track where he usually does well. Tony is a tough guy not to bet in the All State 400.

2. Jeff Gordon +200 - - 10 top 5s on the year and 9 top 5s at The Brickyard means that Gordon could be an excellent bet to finish in the Top 3 on Sunday. Yes, Jeff has had some bad races, but last week he finished 2nd. If he can carry that over to this week, he could be very tough to keep out of the Top 3.

3. Jimmie Johnson +150 - - Jimmie won this race last year and because of that, he’s the favorite in this category in the sportsbook, but he really hasn’t had the overall success at The Brickyard that Gordon and Stewart have had. He could very well get into the Top 3 and he’s not a bad wager, but I prefer Gordon and Stewart at better odds.

4. Kasey Kahne +450 - - Kahne got into the Top 3 last week in the LifeLock.com 400. He finished third in that race and could be considered a “hot” driver after a victory, a 5th place finish, and a 3rd place finish in 3 out of the last 4 weeks.

5. Mark Martin +200 - - Martin usually wins or finishes off the board, but I’ve got he feeling that he will drive with more patience this week if he’s not in the top 5 early. He will have to because even though he has 4 victories on the year, he’s still only in 11th place in the Sprint Cup Points Standings.

6. Kurt Busch +350 - - Busch only has 6 top 5s this year. He has 1 top 5 at The Brickyard lifetime. He’s not the best bet in this category but because he finished 17th, he could surprise some folks on Sunday. Busch has a tendency to bounce back from bad races.

Best Long Shot

Juan Pablo Montoya +1200 - - Juan Montoya has finally gotten it together. He’s probably not ready to win the All State 400 at The Brickyard, but he’s driving well enough to make the Chase and he has done pretty good in 2009 with 9 top ten finishes. A move up the ladder to a third place finish isn’t out of the question.