NASCAR Betting – Junior Revitalized and Ready to Attack

The career of "Junior" (i.e. Dale Earnhardt Jr.) has been revitalized, with a top ten standing at the moment in the Sprint Cup race, and NASCAR bettors know that he has been outstanding in restrictor plate racing in the past.

In fact, his boosters (and there are more with him than anyone in the sport) feel that he’ll have a golden opportunity to move up the ladder on Sunday when he takes to the track at Talladega for the Aaron’s 499.

Earnhardt is part of a four-man superstar combo at Hendrick Motorsports, which is also the residence of four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson.

Although Johnson has undoubtedly been head and shoulders above all other NASCAR drivers in recent years, he is not known to be the best when it comes to using the plates at the superspeedways. The field balances out as the drivers will most likely be traveling in a "pack," so it may turn out to be anyone’s race.

Qualifying is a slightly different story. Dale Jr. may have an advantage over Jimmie Johnson when the green flag is waved, but does that edge extend itself to the pursuit of the pole?

Qualifying Matchup

Aaron’s 499 – Talladega

Saturday, April 24

DALE EARNHARDT JR -125
JIMMIE JOHNSON -105

Some might be a little surprised to see Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the favorite here in this betting proposition between Hendrick Motorsports teammates, but you have the consider the circumstances. Dale Jr. has been just outstanding through the years at this racetrack, winning five times in Cup competition (including one stretch where he won four in a row).

In that respect he’s been just like his father, who won ten times at Talladega. It was part of the culture of the Earnhardts that success at ‘Dega was a must. All told, Junior has won seven times in 33 tries at superspeedways, and that is a pretty good record to take in against anybody.

Let’s throw in the fact that despite having some skirmishes with crew chief Lance McGrew, whom he takes great pains to point out isn’t his dinner buddy, he looks like he is on the verge of a comeback in 2010. The second-place finish at Daytona was a good omen, I guess, because he is now seventh in the points after a dismal 25th-place finish last season (missing the Chase in the process).

Johnson has won four Sprint Cups in a row, looks like he is in the driver’s seat to pick up a fifth, and now – as part of perhaps some useless trivia – he has led over 10,000 laps in Sprint Cup races, which places him fifth all-time.

But of his fifty career wins, only three of them have come at superspeedways, and despite one win at both Daytona and Talladega, his inability to do well on restrictor plate tracks is well-known throughout the sport.

His average finish on those tracks is 17. We will say this, however; when you start thinking of a guy slumping just because he’s been ninth, third and second the last three races, you know what kind of a formidable competitor you’re talking about.

In addition to that, in terms of qualifying, Johnson has an average start of 11.7 at superspeedways, while Earnhardt’s average start is 15.4. So while we might look for Dale Junior to have a slight edge in the race itself, Johnson matches up rather well when it comes to the race before the race.

JAY’S PLAY: JOHNSON (-105) ** > > JOIN NOW < <