2020 Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Betting Preview

2020 Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Betting Preview

Jay Horne
Date: July 5, 3:30 pm
Location: Indianapolis Motor Speedway

Betting Odds

<p>Fresh off back to back races at Pocono, the Cup Series moves to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this Sunday for the running of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 at the Brickyard. Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be the site of the first triple-header in racing history this weekend, which will feature both NASCAR's Xfinity and Cup Series and the NTT IndyCar Series. Formerly, NASCAR visited Daytona International Speedway on the weekend of Independence Day, a tradition that stems back to the sport's roots starting in 1959. This year NASCAR's sanctioning body made several schedule adjustments bringing Indianapolis Motor Speedway to the epicenter and forefront of Independence Day weekend's racing festivities. Now with another big weekend of racing on the horizon, let's take the time to discuss Sunday's Brickyard 400 and dive into the drivers worthy of betting consideration!</p>
<h2>Indianapolis Track History and Trends</h2>
<p>The most famous track in motorsports is a 2.5 mile rectangular oval with a relatively flat surface at just 9.2 degrees of banking. NASCAR's Cup Series visits Indianapolis Motor Speedway only once each season and has done so since 1994. <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/nascar/driver/14043&quot; title="Jimmie Johnson 2020 Race Results">Jimmie Johnson</a> leads all active drivers with four career wins with the most recent victory coming back in 2012. Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch are the only drivers with multiple wins at the Brickyard. Both Harvick and Busch have a pair of victories. Harvick is the defending winner of the Brickyard 400 following a dominant 2019 performance where "Happy" led 118 of 160 laps en route to victory. For Busch, both of his wins reside in the last five races when he went back to back in 2015 and 2016. If you look at performance trends over the previous five races, it should be no surprise that both Harvick (120.9) and Busch (117.4) lead all drivers with the best average rating by a fairly wide margin.</p>
<p>In terms of analytical trends at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the winner of the race has started from the pole position in three of the last seven races. Though it is important to note, Sunday's starting line-up will be the result of a random draw and points combination as Cup Series teams will not have any practices prior to the race. A few other notable callouts from a trend standpoint include Chevrolet's historical dominance. Despite just one win in the last five races, Chevrolet powered cars have won 13 of the previous 17 races at the Brickyard. Lastly, over the past several years, cautions have flown frequently at Indianapolis in the Cup Series, which is somewhat surprising because the track is so big and cars often are spread out. However since the onset of stage racing in 2017, the Cup Series has produced caution totals of 14, 10, and 9 over the last three events which may be useful information if you find prop bets involving over/under total for cautions on Sunday!</p>
<h2>Brickyard 400 Betting Targets</h2>
<p>I think we had a pretty good performance gauge in the doubleheader at Pocono last weekend to help us narrow down our betting targets this week despite the lack of practices. Though they have some differences, Pocono and Indianapolis share a lot of similar qualities. Based on the trends and performance in recent weeks, I believe <a href="https://www.sportsbettingstats.com/nascar/driver/14285&quot; title="Kevin Harvick Driving Stats">Kevin Harvick</a> deserves to be the betting favorite. Harvick won at Pocono on Saturday and had the fastest car again on Sunday but came up just one position short in a runner-up result. The #4 team has been the best car in terms of "raw" speed this year, and I expect Harvick will be tough to beat on Sunday.</p>
<p>The problem with Harvick and Busch will be their betting odds, which are extremely saturated if you are looking to bet on drivers to win the race. Busch is still seeking his 1st win of the season, and the #18 team has just been a touch off in recent weeks. Busch has openly admitted that the lack of practices have played a factor. Despite the disappointing odds, Harvick should still be targeted sharply in H2H match-ups as the alpha driver on Sunday. For betting purposes, I am favoring a few drivers with more value and upside. A pair of dark horses that are on my radar this week include Erik Jones (+3000) and Clint Bowyer (+3300).</p>
<p>Since joining Stewart-Haas Racing, Bowyer has been strong at Indianapolis with 5th place finishes in his last two starts. In the 2018 version of the Brickyard, Bowyer actually had the fastest car for a large portion of the race but fell behind on strategy. At extremely favorable odds, Bowyer should be on bettors radars this week. Likewise, the same can be said for Erik Jones. Jones had trouble at Pocono on Saturday but rallied from the rear to a 3rd place finish on Sunday. The Joe Gibbs Racing and Stewart-Haas Racing cars were the class of the field in both Pocono races, which is another reason I like both Bowyer and Jones as dark horses this weekend. Indianapolis also fits into Jones' driving style. The young driver has excelled on flatter surfaces throughout his young career and posted a runner-up finish at the Brickyard in 2018. With some momentum flowing into the JGR Toyotas, Erik Jones has big potential this weekend!</p>
<p><em>*If you like to get the sharpest race day betting picks. Follow me at <a href="https://www.nascarwagers.com/&quot; target="_blank" title="Race Picks to Bet at NASCARWagers.com">NASCARWagers.com</a></em></p>

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