NASCAR odds: Dodge Challenger 500

By Jordan Walters
WagerWeb.com Contributing Writer

Sports Betting at WagerWeb Online Sportsbook

Expect plenty of speed in Saturday night's NASCAR Dodge Challenger 500 at the "new Darlington."

Practice speeds have been off the charts at the recently-repaved 58-year-old facility, also known as the Lady in Black.

"It's pretty much a brand new racetrack," said Elliott Sadler, a pole winner at Darlington in 2003. "It's a brand new car on a brand new surface, so verybody is just trying to figure out what they want, what they've got. I think everybody's pretty much fighting the same thing. Everybody's pretty tight. Track position is going to be important. It's going to be a pretty wild race."

Bill Elliott, a former winner here, agrees.

"It's not the same Darlington," Elliott said. "It's going to be a little bit harder to race on, because everybody seems to be running closer to the same speed. The new (winged) car has probably made that a ot more apparent. The cars aren't going to give up as much (speed during a 100-mile run), and the times are not going to slow down as much."

Experience seems to always be a factor at egg-shaped Darlington: for example, last year 11 drivers finished within five spots of where they ran in 2006.

Thus you have to like Jeff Gordon, who won this race last year, and that came on the heels of three previous runs of third or second. Gordon once strung eight top-three results together on this track from 1995 through 1999. The WagerWeb.com betting favorite leads all active drivers with seven Darlington victories

 

Denny Hamlin remains the hottest driver on the circuit with five finishes of sixth or better in his last six races and is a solid bet on WagerWeb.com.

The last time NASCAR held two races at Darlington in 2004, Jimmie Johnson swept Victory Lane and his last two efforts on this track have been top fives; he has actually finished in the top five in the past six races. Last year, he was third, so expect another good run.

From 1997 to 2000, Jeff Burton was the man at Darlington - eight races, eight top fives with two wins. However, although he finished in the top 10 the past two years, he hasn't led a lap since the fall race in 2003.

Mark Martin could be worth a long-shot bet at WagerWeb.com. Martin has now posted three straight top 10 finishes. Running just a part-time schedule for the second straight year, Martin has been productive, recording 15 top 10s in 31 starts. He should be in store for another big night at Darlington - a track with which Martin is very familiar with as he has averaged a seventh-place finish in the last four races there.

Maybe Dale Earnhardt Jr. finally reaches Victory Lane. Junior is winless in 13 races at Darlington but has finished in the top 10 the past three years. In those three races he has had the most green-flag passes (176).

And you can't overlook points leader Kyle Busch, who He has seven top 10s and two wins in his first year with Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch is currently Public Enemy No. 1 to most NASCAR fans after his run-in with Earnhardt last week.

Busch raised his hands in a gesture of mock triumph when a reporter dubbed him the "most hated man in the Junior Nation" after contact between the two knocked Earnhardt from victory contention at the Dan Lowry 400 last Saturday night at Richmond.

Busch hasn't set out to be NASCAR's resident villain, but he certainly likes the attention from being able to contend virtually every week.

He apologized for the incident that deprived Earnhardt a shot at his first win in 72 races, but Busch seemed resigned to the harsh treatment from fans."It's nothing new to me anyway. I'm used to it," said Busch, who was second at Richmond.

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