Which Drivers Are Good Qualifying Matchup Bets for the Heluva Good 400?

NASCAR Sprint Cup drivers head to Michigan for the Heluva Good 400 this Sunday but before that they will have to qualify on Friday.

Last week, Kyle Busch took the pole at Pocono and then turned that into a 2nd place finish in the race.  He’s a big NASCAR betting favorite over Mark Martin in the sportsbook to win their qualifying matchup.

Another big favorite in the NASCAR sportsbook in his qualifying matchup is Jimmie Johnson who started 25th in last week’s race.  Can JJ have a better qualifying session this Friday than he did last week?

NASCAR:  Helluva Good 400

Where:  Michigan International Speedway,

When:  Qualifying – June 11th, 2010 at 11:30 am EST

Track:  2 miles D-shaped oval

TV:  Qualifying – Speed Channel

Qualifying Matchups

1. Jamie McMurray -105 vs. Clint Bowyer -125 – - Bowyer qualified 2nd at Pocono last week.  At Michigan, he qualified 9th in one of the 2009 races and 23rd in the other.  McMurray hasn’t started better than 18th at Michigan since 2007 but this is a different year for McMurray than year’s past.  At the NASCAR odds, he’s the bet.

           Pick:  Jamie McMurray -105

2. Juan Pablo Montoya -135 vs. Kasey Kahne +105 – - Montoya out dueled Kahne by a single spot last week starting 7th to Kahne’s 8th.  Montoya’s a big favorite to out duel Kahne again at Michigan.  Kahne started 8th and 10th at Michigan in 2009 while Montoya started 7th and 3rd.  I believe this is another close battle.  That means that I have to take the higher odds on Kahne.

           Pick:  Kasey Kahne +105

3. Jimmie Johnson -130 vs. Kurt Busch Ev – - JJ hasn’t started worse than 7th since 2007 at Michigan.  He’s started 2nd two times from 2007 to 2008 and started 3rd and 4th at Michigan in 2009.  Kurt Busch started 5th and 6th in 2009.  JJ started 25th last week while Kurt started 4th.  I have to give the edge to Kurt.  I just can’t put up that much money on JJ given how he did during qualifying last week.

            Pick:  Kurt Busch Ev

4. Kyle Busch -130 vs. Mark Martin Ev – - Kyle won the pole last week but Mark didn’t do badly.  Martin ended up starting 5th last week. At Michigan, Kyle’s usually okay during qualifying.  He started 2nd in the second race in 2009 and he won the pole in the first race in 2008.  Mark started 2nd in one race in 2009.  Other than that, he usually starts around 15th or so.  I’ll go with Kyle in this matchup.

           Pick:  Kyle Busch -130

5. Ryan Newman -135 vs. Jeff Gordon +105 – - Newman started 18th and 7th at Michigan in 2009.  Gordo started 21st and 27th.  I’m not going to argue against recent history.  Newman is a big qualifying matchup favorite for a reason.  I’m going with him.

           Pick:  Ryan Newman -135

6. Tony Stewart -120 vs. Joey Logano -110 – - Smoke started 18th and 11th in 2009.  Last week, Smoke started 6th.  Logano started 12th.  In 2009, Logano started 8th and 24th.  The biggest question regarding this matchup is whether or not Smoke is back to being his awesome self.  I’m not sure he is.  I’m going with Logano.

           Pick:  Joey Logano -110

This week, drivers travel to Michigan for the Helluva Good 400! Log onto the NASCAR sportsbook and make wagers on the Helluva Good 400