NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Quaker State 400

Odds to Win Race

One of the newest races on the schedule will take place this week for the fifth consecutive season when the Sprint Cup Series drivers take on Kentucky Speedway at the Quaker State 400 on Saturday night. Typically this race was held before the Coke Zero 400, but was moved back a few weeks in 2015, following the race in Daytona that featured a pole win and eventual event victory by Dale Earnhardt Jr. after 96 laps led. This race will be just over 400 miles as they traverse the tri-oval, asphalt track which runs 1.5 miles and features 14-degree turns. The field will be looking to take down Brad Keselowski this week as he is the defending champion here and only two-time victor in the short time that the event has been in existence. He holds the two best race times with his wins and also had the fastest average speed when he won here back in 2012; zipping around the track at an average of 145.607 MPH. With the Sprint Cup standings heating up, there will be plenty of drivers looking to take down one of the usual top racers (Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Dale Earnhardt Jr.) who have topped the leaderboard eight times already on the year.

Brad Keselowski (8/1) - As mentioned in the introduction, Keselowski has been the only multiple-time winner at this track over the four years of it hosting this race and in that time he has the third-best driver rating of 116.1. In his other two starts he has one top-10 and one 33rd-place finish as he has an average running position of 10.234 (fourth-best). In 2015, Keselowski ranks seventh in the Sprint Cup Standings behind nine top-10s in 17 races (53%) while earning a victory in California back in March. He has just one of those top-10s in his last five races, but should come back around at a track he is clearly comfortable at when Saturday night rolls around.

Matt Kenseth (12/1) - Kenseth is another winner on this track as he did so in 2013, a race that was postponed till Sunday due to rain, with the slowest winning time (3:02:07) in the four years. It was no fluke that he took the checkered flag, though, as he has yet to finish outside of the top-10 in his four visits to the track and has a tremendous average finish of 4.5; tying him with Kyle Busch for the best in the field. He’s done so well thanks to his average green-flag speed of 172.189 MPH (fourth-fastest) and has a series-best 181 quality passes in his time here. Kenseth owns one win already this year as he earned his 32nd NSCS victory at Bristol in April and has been in the top-six at five of the last eight events. The 43-year-old is the most consistent driver here and should continue his solid season with a nice performance on Saturday.

Kasey Kahne (18/1) - It has not been the best of seasons thus far for the 17-time NSCS winner, who has not taken down a checkered flag since last summer, as he has been amongst the top-10 just six times in 17 starts (35%) and has spent just 46 laps in the lead. He has been in the top-15 at six of the last seven events, though, and tends to do very well here with an average finish of 8.5 (fifth-best) despite starting on average at the 16.5 spot. He has the second-most quality passes (145) and runs at a speedy mark of 172.039 MPH during green-flags (fifth-fastest), so he should be able to have one of his better runs of the year in Kentucky.

Jamie McMurray (40/1) - McMurray’s odds seem rather high this week for a man who is just outside of the top-10 in the Sprint Cup standings and is coming off a streak of 13 races inside of the top-20. His consistency has been solid, but he has yet to break through for his first win of the year, and eighth of his career, with just 14 laps led in his 17 starts. His average finish of 22.5 at this track in the past four years will not really jump out at anybody, but he showed he has it in him to compete when at Kentucky as evidenced by his runner-up performance in 2013 when he started all the way back in 23rd. The 39-year-old is on pace for one of his best seasons in the NSCS and he should be able to continue it when he hits the track on Saturday.

Danica Patrick (250/1) - Patrick has improved over the last few years in the NSCS, and is looking to crack into the top-20 this week with a solid showing. She has fared pretty well here in the past with a 23rd and a 21st finish while starting in 10th behind a qualifying speed of 185.803 MPH last year. Her 2015 season has featured two top-10 finishes and she has been able to get a top-25 in five of the last seven events. Although she has yet to win in her short career, there will be a time that she competes and if she can build on a few decent showings in Kentucky, this could be the week.