NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400

Odds to Win Race

The Round of 16 begins with the Sprint Cup drivers heading to Chicagoland Speedway for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. With the Federated Auto Parts 400 marking the end of the regular season, look for there to be some serious intensity when the drivers hit the track on Sunday. One guy to watch out for in this one is Denny Hamlin. Hamlin emerged victorious in last week’s race and he also happened to have won the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400 (It was known as the “MyAFibRisk.com 400” in 2015) last year. There are, however, some drivers that will be feeling even more confident than Hamlin coming into this one. Those guys are Tony Stewart, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski. Tony Stewart has won this race three times in his career (2004, 2007, 2011) and both Harvick and Keselowsi have won it twice (Harvick in 2001, 2002 and Keselowski in 2012, 2014). Stewart’s three wins are more than any other driver in this race. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at Sunday’s best value plays:

Denny Hamlin (17-to-2) - As previously mentioned, Hamlin is going to be coming into this race with a genuine belief that he should win. Not only did Hamlin win this race last year, but he also won last week’s Federated Auto Parts 400. Normally a driver presents value when they are either racing well coming into a race or have a history of doing well on a track, but Hamlin has both indicators signaling a big finish on Sunday. For that reason, backing Hamlin at his favorable 17-to-2 odds would be a wise decision. The fact that he is anything but a favorite coming into this one is surprising; so take advantage of it while you can.

Kyle Larson (9-to-1) - Unlike the other drivers you’ll find on this list, Larson has never won the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 400. He is, however, driving extremely well coming into this race. Larson finished second in the Federated Auto Parts 400 last week, marking his third straight top-five finish. He won the Pure Michigan 400 just three races back and came in third at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 before last week’s big finish. It appears as though Larson is going to be a real force moving forward and he could win in Illinois on Sunday. He finished seventh here last year and third two years ago. At 9-to-1, choosing Larson to win his first ever race here could be a very good decision.

Brad Keselowski (10-to-1) - Keselowski has absolutely dominated at this track recently and still finds himself with extremely favorable 10-to-1 odds coming into this one. Keselowski has not only won this race twice in his career, but those victories have each come within the past five years. Nobody else that has won here has had that type of consistent excellence at Chicagoland and Keselowski would surely love to tie Tony Stewart’s record on Sunday. He also happens to be racing well recently, as he has finished inside the top-five at two of the past three races and four of the past six.

Tony Stewart (30-to-1) - There are not many serious dark horse candidates to win this race, but Stewart is a guy that could end up paying off huge on Sunday. As previously mentioned, Stewart holds the record for most wins in this race with three. He also happens to have won it in 2011, so it’s not like he hasn’t proven what he could do here recently. At 30-to-1, taking somebody with his pedigree at this track is a very wise decision.