NASCAR stops at the ISM Raceway in Avondale, Arizona, just outside Phoenix, for the TicketGuardian 500. Last week, Kevin Harvick brought home the checkered flag, so let’s take a look at our best sports betting picks for this week. The ISM Raceway is a unique course, at is has an rregular D shape — and in the corners, the banking is flat, ranging between nine and 11 degrees. The straightaways are fast and totally flat, pushing into the large corners. So the drives have a much different experience than the ovals that they’ve seen lately. This is the 14th running of the TicketGuardian 500, and we’ve picked out a few drivers for you to consider on your card of NASCAR odds.
TicketGuardian 500 Betting Prediction & Picks
Martin Truex Jr
He appears on our list of recommendations again this week. He has finished in the top five in 11 of his last 13 races. He does not have a win so far in 2018, but he keeps showing up right in the mix when the leaders hit the final turn, so he will get his. The NASCAR circuit hits the ISM Raceway twice a year, and in 2017, he came in 11th and third in the two contests out there in the desert. In his career, he has finished in the top 10 on eight different occasions here. There’s also the fact that Truex has only gone over three races without a win a single time since he won the Quaker State 400 back in July 2017.
Joey Logano
Logano also in a bit of a dry spell as far as winning goes. In each of his last four races, he has finished no worse than seventh — and he’s hit the same level in six of his last nine races. Logano only has one career win at the ISM Raceway, but he has finished in the top 10 in nine different races on this track. He is one of the more consistent races over the last year, and Logano will end up taking a victory lap sooner than later.
Ryan Blaney
He might be the darkest horse that we would recommend in this race. He has made it into the top 10 in two of his last three races, and he has done well at the ISM Raceway. He has raced four NASCAR competitions here, and his average finish is 14th. When he raced here in the Xfinity series, he came in second on two different occasions. In the Camping World Truck Series, he finished no worse than seventh in three different races on this track. Blaney did win the pole for last week’s Pennzoil 400, so he may bring that motivation to bear down in the desert for this weekend’s race.
Ryan Newman
Newman has finished no worse than 11th in two of his last three races, and he’s cracked the top 10 in two of his last four. He is the defending TicketGuardian 500 champion — and has won the race twice. The ISM Raceway has been kind to him on other occasions as well, as he has finished in the top 10 for nine of his most recent 16 races here in Avondale. That win last year was his only one in the last few years, so coming back to this track could be the jolt he needs to get back to his winning ways.
Kevin Harvick
He has won the TicketGuardian 500 four times already — including three of the last four editions. He has also won two of the first three races he’s entered so far in 2018, including a big in Las Vegas at the Pennzoil 400. His car led 209 of 267 laps. He also looked dominant in Atlanta the week before. He has also won in Phoenix as part of the Camping World Truck Series. So if you’re looking for a favorite to stack your money on, then Harvick is the one to consider.
