NASCAR Odds at North Wilkesboro: No big longshots in a short field for All Star Race
An abbreviated field for the All Star Race at North Wilkesboro — just 25 drivers will tee it up — would suggest a better chance at picking a winner.
But that’s assuming we’d ever plunk down even a wooden nickel on one of those 11 guys who won’t make Sunday’s final 200-lapper. With the possible exception of a plate race, and this most certainly isn’t a plate race.
North Wilkesboro stretched the tape to 0.625 miles. By my math, that’s roughly six steps longer than a kilometer, but trust me, those ol’ boys back in the late-’40s weren’t building that joint to please adherents to the metric system — they were rooting and gouging and clearing all the ground they could until the money ran out, which it did, damn near right smack-dab at a kilometer.
Frankly, right about now, I’m glad we’re not dealing with meters, and very glad we’re not dealing in the Europeans’ measure of dinero, because that most recent $100 I tossed away last week would come out to 108 Euros.
The odds board this week fields just 21 names. Would’ve been 22, but Alex Bowman is out of commission a while longer with a fractured vertebra.
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Three other drivers will make Sunday’s main event — unofficially the North Wilkesboro 200k, at least here. The two top finishers of Sunday’s 100-lap preliminary, as well as whomever the fans vote onto the grid will round out the lineup.
But obviously not knowing who those three will be (psst, Ty Gibbs will race his way in, but we can’t make our customary $10 wager on him without knowing for sure), our odds board is sitting at 21 drivers.
Let’s take a gander, and keep in mind, I’m getting OhSoClose to changing the rules here if something doesn’t hit soon and doesn’t hit relatively big.
The Favorites: Can Kyle Larson run a Chastain-proof Chevrolet this week?
Kyle Larson +650, Kevin Harvick +750, Joey Logano +750, Christopher Bell +900, William Byron +1,000, Martin Truex +1,000
Funny how things work with bettors. Kyle Larson keeps heading toward victory, only to get taken out, and he remains the favorite. Ross Chastain keeps approaching victory, bull-rushes into more trouble, and he falls out of the first group.
Semi-Faves: Ross the Boss and Billy Clyde Elliott at +1,400
Denny Hamlin +1,100, Wreckin’ Ross Chastain +1,400, William Clyde Elliott +1,400, Kyle Busch +1,600, Ryan Blaney +1,800
Anyone from this group could win and, with the possible exception of Blaney, no one would be mildly surprised. And the only reason we’d be mildly surprised at Blaney is that long winless skid, now at 59. But who's counting?
Mid-Level pack: Bubba Wallace ready for short-track breakout?
Tyler Reddick +2,500, The Other Chase, Briscoe +2,800, Bubba Wallace +2,800, Brad Keselowski +2,800
Are we in Motown or am I suddenly looking at some Temptations? “Ain’t too proud to beg,” as they famously crooned.
No chance? But Austin Dillon has some wins
Daniel Suarez +3,500, Chris Buescher +3,500, Austin Dillon +4,500
Nope, nope and nope.
Longshot Lounge: Erik Jones still crying in his beer
Ricky Stenhouse +6,500, Erik (With a K) Jones +6,500, Austin Cindric +6,500
This is what qualifies as the Longshot Lounge for this week. And no, the Temptations ain’t playing.
Last week
Went back-to-back with Joey Logano and I’m now done with him, which means he’ll win this week.
Wait! You think I’m falling for the ol’ self-reverse-psychology trick?
Nope, I’ve got many other ways to wee-wee away $100. Hey y’all, watch this!
This week
As declared a few weeks back, until something hits and pays off enough to cover earlier losses, I’m putting all $100 on one driver each week instead of splitting and hedging. Well, except for the customary sawbuck on Ty Gibbs, who isn’t on our board because he’s not guaranteed a starting spot.
You sitting down? Here we go, three words.
Brad
Kese
Lowski.
Compared to last year, his first with a newly branded team, Kez has been flat-out haulin’ the mail this year. He’s sitting eighth in points and keeps sticking his head into the picture frame when the closing laps are coming into focus.
Also, assuming Martinsville is the closest thing the Cup Series has to North Wilkesboro, there’s this: Kez has always been good at Martinsville when he had good wheels.
Of course, he’d rather win a points-paying race instead of an exhibition and therefore guarantee his place in the playoffs. But he’ll take it.
Lord knows, so would I.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Odds, North Wilkesboro: Kyle Larson favored, Ross Chastain not
