The drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series face a 2 ½-mile road course for the second week in a row as the series shifts from Pocono Raceway to Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Instead of racing around the “Tricky Triangle,” though, the drivers will face off on the regular oval at Indy. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick won on Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at Pocono last weekend. Harvick is also the defending champion of the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 and has a solid record at Indy. Don’t miss our NASCAR betting suggestions, along with driver odds for the race.
NASCAR Cup Series: 2020 Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 Preview (July 5)
Driver Odds
- Kevin Harvick 4/1
- Kyle Busch, Denny Hamlin 9/2
- Martin Truex Jr 7/1
- Brad Keselowski 8/1
- Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney 12/1
- Chase Elliott 14/1
- Erik Jones 25/1
- Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola, Clint Bowyer, Alex Bowman, Matt DiBenedetto 30/1
- Jimmie Johnson 50/1
- Christopher Bell 80/1
- Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr 100/1
- Chris Buescher, Cole Custer, Darrell Wallace Jr 300/1
- John Hunter Nemechek 1000/1
- Michael McDowell, Ryan Preece, Ty Dillon 2000/1
- Corey LaJoie 5000/1
- Brennan Poole, Daniel Suarez, J.J. Yeley, Joey Gase, Timmy Hill, B.J. McLeod, Quin Houff 10000/1
Brad Keselowski has looked sharp since NASCAR resumed, with two wins already. He also won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway two years ago. He will start this race in ninth, and he won the race in Charlotte when he started in ninth just a couple weeks ago. He offers more value than the top favorites, so he makes a lot of sense as your winning pick.
Kyle Busch had more bad luck on Sunday, as he looked headed for a victory. However, he ran into Ryan Blaney, leaving him on the outside looking in once again. He has not won yet in 2020, but he is getting closer. He has seven top-five finishes in the 15 2020 races. He has two wins in the last five races at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but he has also had a pair of results outside the top 30 in that stretch. He’s up near the top of the odds list for a reason, but be wary.
William Byron is a long shot to consider. He is still looking for his first career NASCAR Cup Series win. However, he came in seventh place on Sunday at Pocono Raceway, and road courses seem to be his thing, as he made it into the top five at last year’s Brickyard 400 at Indy. You could add him as a top-five or top-ten finisher if you didn’t want to put him as the overall winner, but this is a crazy year in terms of scheduling, and odd things have been happening all season long since the restart.
Clint Bowyer will begin in 22nd place on Sunday, which isn’t the best. However, he is another road course specialist, with two top-ten finishes at Pocono Raceway last weekend. At Indy, he has a fifth-place finish in each of the last two seasons. He offers a great deal of value if he can manage to sneak through the competition.
Kevin Harvick had a terrific weekend at Pocono Raceway, winning and coming in second in the two races. On Sunday, he had to come all the way back from a 20th-place start, as the Sunday race featured a reverse start. He has six consecutive top-eight finishes at Indianapolis Motor Speedway and 13 top-ten finishes in his last 18 starts.
Aric Almirola has four top-five finishes in his last four races — after failing to crack the top five in any of the season’s first 11 races. Last week, he was one of just three drivers to crack the top five in both Pocono races, along with Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. He led 61 laps on Saturday, more than any other driver.
