2014 NASCAR SPRINT CUP STANDINGS<\/a>\u00a0(Link)<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\nIt may have been a week too late to stay in the Chase, but Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued a very successful season of racing with a win last Sunday at Martinsville.<\/p>\n
Jeff Gordon once again remained right in the mix by taking second and another of the eight drivers left in the Chase, Ryan Newman ended-up third.<\/p>\n
The following is a look at my top favorite, contender and longshot to win this Sunday\u2019s race based on odds provided by Bovada.<\/p>\n
The Favorite (odd of less than 10\/1)<\/h3>\n
Last week I went Jeff Gordon<\/strong> as my top favorite simply because I think he is destined to end-up on the top of the heap when all the smoke clears in this season\u2019s final race at Homestead in a couple of weeks.<\/p>\n[dfads params=’groups=63791&limit=1&return_javascript=0′]<\/p>\n
Last Sunday\u2019s second-place finish just confirmed this belief considering that the No. 24 car has now placed either first or second in half of the last 14 Sprint Cup point races going all the way back to Indianapolis in late July. This week Gordon has been opened at 11\/2 betting odds to snag his fifth checkered flag of the year.<\/p>\n
He came close to winning the first race at Texas this season with a second-place finish in that Sprint Cup event.<\/p>\n
The Contender (odds from 10\/1 to 19\/1)<\/h3>\n
I am also going with the same driver as this week\u2019s top contender following Matt Kenseth\u2019s<\/strong> sixth-place finish at Martinsville at 12\/1 odds. This time around Bovada has opened him at 10\/1 odds to win at Texas.<\/p>\nIt is still hard to believe that the No. 20 car is still searching for its first Sprint Cup victory this season after crossing the finish line in first place seven different times in 2013.<\/p>\n
This is the true definition of overdue and Texas may be just the track to finally cash-in on this pick. Kenseth last won here in 2011 and since that point he has finished no worse than seventh in five of six trips around this track in a Sprint Cup event.<\/p>\n
The Longshot (odds 20\/1 or greater)<\/h3>\n
You have yet to see the No. 31 car in a Sprint Cup Winner\u2019s Circle this season, but Ryan Newman<\/strong> has been in the thick of things quite a few times this year with 15 top-10 finishes that includes four in the top five counting last week\u2019s race.<\/p>\nHe has been opened at 28\/1 odds to win this week\u2019s race that would guarantee himself a spot in the final four at Homestead. Draining some of the value in these longer odds is Newman\u2019s recent track record at Texas.<\/p>\n
He has finished outside the top-10 in 10 of his last 12 Sprint Cup Races here. This year he ended-up 16th<\/sup> in the early race at Texas after starting eighth.<\/p>\nFree 4* Texas AAA Picks<\/h3>\n
Ryan Newman, Matt Kenseth, and Jeff Gordon.<\/p>\n