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NASCAR Sprint Cup GEICO 400 Preview and Prediction

Chicagoland – GEICO 400 Predictions

The 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup series kicks off its 10-race Chase to this season’s title this Sunday afternoon with the running of the GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway. The green flag for this event is set to wave at 2 p.m. and the race will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.

NASCAR Sprint Cup GEICO 400 Preview and Prediction
Race: GEICO 400 at Chicagoland Speedway
Date: Sunday, Sept. 15, 2013
Time: 2 p.m. (ET)
Broadcast: ESPN
Odds from Bovada

Under a cloud of controversy that had a major impact of the final field of 12 for the Chase, Carl Edwards blew through all the smoke to win last Saturday’s night race at Richmond. Kurt Busch worked his way to second and Ryan Newman was awarded third.

The following is a closer look at our favorite, contender, and longshot picks for this Sunday afternoon’s race.

The Favorite (odd of less than 10/1)

Matt Kenseth comes into the Chase as the new Sprint Cup point leader which is basically the pole position for the start of these playoffs.

He has already raced the No. 20 car to a series-high five checkered flags so it is easy to see why this team has been opened at +600 to make it number six this Sunday. The value in these odds does get drained a bit in light of Kenseth’s recent performance at Chicago.

He has finished outside the top 10 in his last four trips around this track and he has an average finishing position here of 12.8.

The Contender (odds from 10/1 to 19/1)

When the Chase finally does roll around in a long and grueling Sprint Cup season, the best betting strategy is to stick with the top two or three favorites as the cream will rise to the top over the next 10 races.

An exception this week could be Joey Logano at +1500.

Possibly following in the footsteps of Brad Keselowski, who won this race last season on his way to the 2012 Sprint Cup title, Logano and the No. 22 race team have been in the mix all season long with one win and seven additional top-five finishes.

He starts the playoffs in sixth place and has just the right mentality to make some noise out of the gate this Sunday in his first ever race in the Chase. [ad-8757089]

The Longshot (odds 20/1 or greater)

Longshot winners are far and few in between in Chase races, but an intriguing driver this week at +2000 is Greg Biffle.

He is the kind of guy that just goes about his business without much fanfare or notoriety, but he has raced the No. 16 car to seventh in the current standings with one win and a total of 10 top-10 finishes.

The reason he is a longshot this week is a less than stellar record at Chicago. Biffle’s best finish in this race was fourth in 2008 and his average finishing position at this track is 18.2.

Odds from Bovada

JIMMIE JOHNSON 5-1
MATT KENSETH 6-1
KYLE BUSCH 7-1
KASEY KAHNE 7-1
KEVIN HARVICK 10-1
CARL EDWARDS 10-1
JEFF GORDON 15-1
BRAD KESELOWSKI 15-1
KURT BUSCH 15-1
MARTIN TRUEX JR 15-1
CLINT BOWYER 15-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 15-1
JOEY LOGANO 15-1
DENNY HAMLIN 20-1
GREG BIFFLE 20-1
RYAN NEWMAN 25-1
BRIAN VICKERS 30-1
JAMIE McMURRAY 50-1
JUAN MONTOYA 75-1
MARK MARTIN 75-1
PAUL MENARD 100-1
RICKY STENHOUSE JR 100-1
JEFF BURTON 100-1
ARIC ALMIROLA 200-1
MARCOS AMBROSE 300-1
AJ ALLMENDINGER 500-1
DANICA PATRICK 1000-1
FIELD 500-1
ODDS TO WIN 2013 SPRINT CUP CHAMPIONSHIP
JIMMIE JOHNSON 3-2
KYLE BUSCH 7-2
MATT KENSETH 7-2
KASEY KAHNE 10-1
CARL EDWARDS 12-1
CLINT BOWYER 12-1
KEVIN HARVICK 18-1
KURT BUSCH 20-1
DALE EARNHARDT JR 20-1
JOEY LOGANO 20-1
GREG BIFFLE 30-1
RYAN NEWMAN 40-1

*SPRINT Cup Odds provided by Bovada

By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.