NASCAR Odds – Gordon wants to take winning momentum into Las Vegas qualifying

Those who like to analyze NASCAR betting odds are still fans at heart, and they had to have felt good to see Jeff Gordon make it to Victory Lane last week at Phoenix, and he is going to try to take that winning momentum into qualifying this week in Las Vegas.

The Kobalt Tools 400, which takes place at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, is scheduled for Sunday at 3 PM ET on FOX.In a special head-to-head betting matchup for qualifying (Friday, 6:30 PM ET), Gordon is paired with his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, Jimmie Johnson, who is the -120 favorite in the NASCAR odds. Gordon is priced at -110.

NASCAR Odds

Kobalt Tools 400

Live at Las Vegas Motor Speedway

Las Vegas, NV

Sunday, March 6 — 3 PM ET

TV:  FOX

Qualifying Matchup

JIMMIE JOHNSON   -120

JEFF GORDON  -110

Jeff Gordon, who is -110 in the NASCAR odds to win this qualifying matchup, finally got the monkey off his back with a win at the Subway Fresh Fit 500 last week at Phoenix. And he feels he may be in good shape to pull off a back-to-back this week. Gordon, who won at this venue in 2001, has placed sixth or higher in Las Vegas in five of his last six races there, and if he finishes third in Sunday’s race, as he did last year, he will pay off at a price of +700 in the NASCAR odds.

Gordon led the race last year more than any other driver, but when it came time for the checkered flag to be lowered, it was his teammate, Jimmie Johnson, who was able to to the victory lap and hoist the trophy. That was all part of Johnson’s fifth straight Sprint Cup title, and even though Gordon owns a piece of that race car, it was not fully satisfying, as you may guess. Though you might say Johnson got off to a slow start, finishing 27th at Daytona, he was third last week, and bettors have a lot of faith, as J.J. is still the +250 favorite to win the Cup again in the NASCAR odds.

You could call Johnson the king of the Las Vegas track, as he is the king of many tracks. In the last six Cup races that have been contested there, he has won four times, and he has finished almost all his laps. But it needs to be noted that Johnson has not always started well. He has been in nine Las Vegas races, and he was not only never won the pole, but has started as high as third only twice. Five times he has been outside of the top ten, although his starting spot has never really been material to his ability to win this race. In the NASCAR odds, he is the +450 favorite to win on Sunday.

Gordon’s average running position in Las Vegas is better than anyone in this field (6.4), and he also has the best Driver Rating in this field. Like Johnson, he has not been known to have his best efforts in qualifying in Las Vegas, although in 2008 he started fourth and last year he started second. He’s got a little more of the hot hand right now, and that makes him an underdog to be respected at -110 in the NASCAR odds in this matchup, as well as +650 to win the race. .

JAY’S PLAY:  GORDON (-110) ***
(Graded on a scale of 1-4 stars)