NASCAR Odds for Richmond: Is it time for Ty Gibbs? Oddsmakers smell it coming
They’re on to you, Ty.
You can sneak up on Victory Lane, as Ty Gibbs has done all season. But you can’t sneak up on the oddsmakers.
So young Mr. Gibbs sits fourth on the Richmond odds sheet, at +800, behind only Christopher Bell (+400), Denny Hamln (+425) and Martin Truex (+575).
If you keep up with these things, you’ll notice that all four of the drivers listed above drive Toyotas on Sunday afternoons. You might also know the official name of the upcoming Richmond race: The Toyota Owners 400.
Conspiracy much?
THRU THE GEARS Christopher Bell barks up the wrong Busch, has Rowdy returned? Could Denny Hamlin leave JGR?
Anyway, long gone is the NASCAR tradition of not racing on Easter Sunday. Technically, they’re racing on Easter Sunday night, starting shortly after 7 p.m. That's about the time you’ll start getting hungry again and consider the best thing to ever come off this holiday’s dinner table: The leftover ham sandwich.
Sourdough with hot mustard and a couple dill slices, please. With a small side dish of prop bets to get us through the night.
Four-man race
With many seeing the first Cup win for Ty Gibbs as just a matter of time, Martin Truex Jr. said Gibbs has a crazy amount of talent and will win a lot of races. He said Gibbs has never been afraid to speak up in team meetings even with a team full of veterans. @NASCARONFOX pic.twitter.com/xdPhuTFg26
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) March 24, 2024
One of the Hard Rock props involves grouping four drivers, and you pick which of the four will finish highest in the upcoming race. See those four guys who top the odds board? Guess who makes up Group 1 …
Bell +210; Hamlin +220; Truex +275; Gibbs +375
Gibbs led 57 laps and finished third at a similar track (Phoenix) three weeks back, led 137 laps at Bristol two weeks ago. All he has to do is finish ahead of these other three, and hell, sometime very soon he’s gonna finish ahead of everybody.
“Joey Logano … paging Joey Logano”
He’s gotta break out of it eventually, right? So why not Sunday, at a track where he almost never finishes outside the lead pack?
Sure, so far this year the No. 22 team has fouled up things at some other tracks where they usually run well, but how high must his payoff rise before he pays off?
Joey Logano opens at +110 on Fanatics Sportsbook for a Top 10 at Richmond Raceway. Logano has the 4th best finish at Richmond among active drivers in the Next Gen era. He has also finished 6th, 7th, and 4th in the last 3 races there. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/2zCNkpmuFS
— Dillon Gaudet (@GaudetWeather) March 26, 2024
Here’s his Sunday rundown:
+2000: To win (wow).
+425: Highest finishing Ford.
+250: First in a foursome including Tyler Reddick, Alex Bowman and Bubba Wallace.
You can make strong cases for and against all these, depending on whether you believe in the laws of reverse gravity, and believe Joey must rise to the occasion again soon. What, you're not sold?
Some guys I don’t hate
Alex Bowman +4000; Erik Jones +7500; Chase Briscoe +6000
Perusing the odds board, aside from Logano, I see these drivers who might be worth a small wager, which would pay off more than a bigger wager on any of that Toyota quartet up top.
I know what you’re thinking, but Briscoe finished fourth at Richmond just two years ago. I know what else you’re thinking: “A lot of guys were better in the Gen 7 than they’ve been in the Next Gen car.”
That’s definitely something you can take to the bank.
— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: NASCAR Odds, Richmond: Toyota drivers favored; look who's among them!
