2018 KC Masterpiece 400 Betting Preview

Kevin Harvick is the most recent driver to travel Victory Lane, as he won at Dover last Sunday. That gives him is fourth win in 11 Cup Series events to start the year. Clint Bowyer almost paid off a big moneyline, as he came in second, and fellow dark-horse Daniel Suarez came in third. This week, the big race takes place on Saturday night, with the action starting at 8:00pm Eastern time on FS1. Check out our auto racing betting preview looking at your best wagering choices for this week’s race.

2018 KC Masterpiece 400 Betting Preview

It’s officially race week! RT if you’re joining us for the #37KindDays250 and the #KCM400! pic.twitter.com/5yvadzFWvw

— Kansas Speedway (@kansasspeedway) May 7, 2018

Martin Truex, Jr. is the defending Cup Series Champion, but he only has one victory in 2018. He has six finishes in the top five this year, though, and he has led for 264 laps in 11 events, which is why his team is in fifth place in the Cup Series standings, with 340 points over the 11 events. He has won the last two races at Kansas Speedway, as part of his six total wins during 2017. Brad Keselowski has not yet won a race in 2018, but Keselowski has cracked the top five twice this year, and Keselowski’s team sits in seventh, with 365 total points. He was the runner-up in Atlanta after holding the lead for 38 laps. At Dover last week, he led for 108 laps but then slipped back to sixth place. For 2018, he has led for 247 laps. Keselowski last won at Kansas Speedway in a Cup Series race back in 2011, but he was the runner-up last year here behind Truex. In four of his last six Cup Series races at Kansas Speedway, he has cracked the top ten.

Who Else Should You Keep an Eye On?

Matt Kenseth is likely to sit way down the odds list, but he won this race at Kansas Speedway at 2012 and 2013. Kenseth had retired at the end of the 2017 season after drifting down to seventh in the overall season, after winning 39 races in 18 seasons, but he has come back to racing for Roush Fenway. There could be a significant amount of rust, but it’s not beyond the realm of possibility for you to consider adding this high-value driver to your wager card. Ryan Blaney has finished in the top ten in four of his last seven starts. He has only raced at Kansas Speedway five times, but he has been in the top eight in four of those races. He averaged a finish of 3 ½ in his two races at Kansas Speedway last year and 4 ½ in his Kansas Speedway races overall, so this is a week when he could push through and get his first victory of 2018.

Another Few Drivers to Look At

Kyle Busch had a dreadful race in Dover last week, and has failed to break into the top ten in two consecutive weeks. However, he has still finished in the top three in seven of the last nine races. He won the KC Masterpiece 400 back in 2016 and his average finish at Kansas Speedway last year was 7 ½. He has six consecutive top ten finishes in his last six races at Kansas Speedway. Busch will bounce back, because his hot streak to start the year was not a fluke. He has had success at this track as well, so expect to see him close at the end. Kevin Harvick took the checkered flag in Dover, giving him four wins on the 2018 season so far. In nine of his 11 starts in 2018, he has finished in the top seven. In his last nine races at Kansas Speedway, he has finished in the top eight on seven different occasions — and at the KC Masterpiece 400, he has four consecutive top-three finishes. I don’t expect to see a lot of value on his moneyline, but I would definitely keep him on my wager card.