Harvick Remains The One to Beat For Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400
NASCAR’s Cup Series heads to Michigan International Speedway for the next point race on the schedule. Coming off Brad Keselowski’s victory in New Hampshire last Sunday, this Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400 should be a good one. The green flag for this next race is set to wave at 4 p.m. (ET). NBC Sports Network will cover all the live racing action.
Why Does Harvick Remain The One to Beat in Saturday’s FireKeepers Casino 400?
Keselowski improved his position in the overall Cup Series point standings with Sunday’s win. Following his third victory of the year, he is second in the standings with 722 points.
Leading the way is Kevin Harvick with 803 total points. He has made four trips to the Winner’s Circle this season. Through 20 Cup Series races this season, the No. 4 Ford has placed in the Top 10 in 17 events. This includes a fifth-place finish in last week’s race. Since winning at Pocono several weeks back, he has placed in the Top 5 in his last seven races. This includes another victory at Indianapolis.
Harvick comes into Saturday’s race as a +350 favorite to win at MyBookie online sportsbook. Going chalk makes all the sense in the world given his current track record. Racing at Michiganonly adds value to those odds. He has won two of his last four Cup Series events at this track.
The next five drivers on the Sportsbook’s betting board to win are:
- Denny Hamlin +450
- Joey Logano +600
- Brad Keselowski +700
- Chase Elliott +750
- Kyle Busch +800
Looking at the next tier of contenders on this list, Keselowski offers some value coming off a win.
Hamlin has the most Cup Series wins this season (5) which also creates a value pick.
Logano placed fourth in New Hampshire coming off a wreck his previous time out. Up and down runs over the past few weeks drain some value from the No. 22 Ford. However, he did win the first race at Michigan last season. This was Logano’s third career victory at Michigan but his average finishing position is just 12.2.
Moving to Elliott at slightly longer odds might make some sense. He has his No. 9 Chevrolet in sixth place in the standings with 660 points. His lone win this season came at Charlotte. He has always raced well at Michigan with an impressive 7.6 average finishing position. Just one of his eight career trips around this oval in a Cup Series event placed outside the Top 10.
You can never count Kyle Busch out of any race he runs. However, he is in the midst of a cold spell with zero wins on the year. That is rather surprising for the defending Cup Series champ. The No. 18 Toyota got caught up in a wreck last Sunday to finish 38th. Busch now has just one Top 5 run in his last six races. Yet, he has finished sixth or better in his last four races at this week’s track.
