Sprint Cup Series Preview from Lowe’s Motor Speedway

Tony Stewart hasn’t paid off for those doing any NASCAR betting by winning any points race so far during this Sprint Cup Series season. However, the veteran driver is currently second in the driver standings and coming off a win in the Sprint All-Star Race.

Stewart got the victory at Lowe’s Motor Speedway last weekend in the series’ annual All-Star event, holding off Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch for top spot. No points were awarded for that win, but Stewart did make a small dent in Jeff Gordon’s lead atop the driver standings the week before, finishing third in the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mark Martin visited victory lane in that event, while Gordon ended up in fifth.

So, as the drivers get ready for the Coca-Cola 600 at Lowe’s on Sunday, Gordon sits 29 points up on Stewart in the standings. Kurt Busch is third on the list, 55 points behind leader Gordon, while Jimmie Johnson and Denny Hamlin fill out the current Top 5. Jeff Burton, Kyle Busch, Ryan Newman, Greg Biffle, Matt Kenseth, Martin, and Carl Edwards round out the Top 12. Clint Bowyer is just below the cutoff line in 13th position.

Stewart wound up in 18th place in the Coca-Cola 600 last year, thanks to a blown tire while he was in the lead with just three laps remaining in the race. That handed the victory to Kasey Kahne, who had won the All-Star event the previous week. Kahne is pegged at +2000 on the NASCAR odds to pull out the victory again this year, while Stewart is bigger chalk at +1000. Kahne also won twice at Lowe’s Motor Speedway back in 2006, while Stewart scored his lone Cup victory on the track in the 2003 season.

Jimmie Johnson won five Cup races at Lowe’s from 2003 to 2005, and he’s tied with Kyle Busch as the +600 race favorite this week at BetOnline. Johnson had engine troubles in the race last year and ended up in 39th place, while Kyle Busch finished in third spot.

Points leader Gordon, who was fourth last year, is at +700 odds for this weekend, while Greg Biffle, last year’s runner-up to Kahne, is just behind him at +800. Gordon won the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s in 2007, and he also picked up Cup victories there in 1999, 1998, and 1997. Jeff Burton, who won the Bank of America 500 at Lowe’s last October, is pegged at +2000 odds at BetOnline to make it two straight victories in Charlotte.

Other odds to get the win in the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend: Edwards (+900), Martin (+1000), Kurt Busch (+1200), Hamlin (+1200), Kenseth (+2000), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+2500), Brian Vickers (+2500), and Ryan Newman (+2500). Newman has started from the pole seven times at Lowe’s Motor Speedway, but he hasn’t scored a Cup win there.

For the season, Gordon, Johnson, and Stewart are tied at +400 on the BetOnline NASCAR odds to win the Sprint Cup championship. Kyle Busch is next at +500, followed by Martin at +700, Kurt Busch at +800, and Edwards at +1000. Biffle is getting +1200 odds to claim the yearly title right now, which puts him just ahead of Hamlin (+1500), Newman (+1500), and Kenseth (+2000). Dale Earnhardt Jr. is farther behind at +3000.

Television coverage for the Coca-Cola 600 begins at 5:00pm ET on FOX on Sunday afternoon. Check the BetOnline NASCAR odds for the latest lines on all the entered drivers.