NASCAR Sprint Cup Championship - Betting on the Banking 500

Jimmie Johnson is a Huge Favorite to Win Both the NASCAR Banking 500 and the Sprint Cup Championship

Race-day: 10/17/2009

Race-time: 7:00 pm EST

This week’s Sprint Cup race, the NASCAR Banking 500, won’t start under the lights but it will end under the lights. The favorite, as to be expected, is once again Jimmie Johnson.

Jimmie has won two of the four already run Sprint Cup Championship races. He could be looking at his 3 rd victory in the last 5 th championship races on Saturday as Jimmie no doubt owns Lowe’s Motor Speedway, where the NASCAR Banking 500 is being run. Jimmie has 5 victories over the Lowe’s Motor Speedway track and because he and his crew are on fire right now, could be looking at a 6 th. JJ grabbed the pole in Thursday’s qualifying round making a statement to any driver looking to take him down.

Another victory would all but shut the door on anyone else in The Chase to lift the Sprint Cup Championship Trophy in 2009. It would Jimmie’s 4 th straight Sprint Cup Championship. That’s amazing.

In the NASCAR sportsbook Jimmie is a huge favorite to take home both the NASCAR Banking 500 trophy on Saturday and the Sprint Cup Championship. The NASCAR odds on JJ to win the NASCAR Banking 500 are 5 to 2. The odds on him to win the Sprint Cup are +120.

Both are great wagers in my opinion. #48 and his crew have shown in the last three years that this is their time. Anything above even money is a good bet.

Tony, Jeff, Mark and Juan Look Stay Close

Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya will be looking to do two things on Saturday. First, they will want to either win the race or finish in the Top 5. Second, they will want to keep Jimmie from getting into the Top 10.

Both goals will be tough. Smoke’s odds to win the NASCAR Banking 500 are +800. They should actually be higher because Smoke only has 1 victory at Lowe’s. To win the Sprint Cup, Smoke is at +600 but he’s 84 points away from Jimmie which means that Jimmie would have to really blow it for Smoke to get to him.

Same thing goes for Juan Pablo. Montoya is only 58 points away, but he hasn’t won a race in 2009. Considering that Jimmie is comfortable at Lowe’s, Juan has a big mountain to climb in order to cut his deficit against Jimmie. At odds of +350, there’s just no way that anyone can bet on Montoya to win the Sprint Cup. At +1200 to win the NASCAR Banking 500, however, Montoya is an intriguing long shot.

Both of Jimmie’s teammates, Mark Martin and Jeff Gordon could give JJ a run for his money. The NASCAR odds on Martin to win the NASCAR Banking 500 are +500. Martin starts second to Jimmie at Charlotte on Saturday. He could do enough to put a scare in Team Johnson.

JJ’s mentor, the venerable Jeff Gordon, will start in 9 th place. Gordo finished second to Jimmie in last week’s Sprint Cup race, the Pepsi 500 at Fontana and does have success at Lowe’s having won 4 trophies there, but Gordon hasn’t really put together two great runs back to back in a row in 2009. If anything, he probably bounces in this race at those +800 odds to win the NASCAR Banking 500.

It’s time to make some racecar bets, grab a cold one and watch NASCAR!