2018 GEICO 500 Betting Preview

2018 GEICO 500 Betting Preview

The Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, is the site for the 2018 edition of the GEICO 500, which features 188 labs around a 2.66-mile course. The race — the tenth of the NASCAR season to this point — is set for Sunday, April 29 and will be broadcast on FOX starting at 2:00pm Eastern time. This will be the 49th running of this race, which is one of the faster events on the NASCAR circuit — since 2005, this event has featured an average speed at or above 140 miles per hour. As you fill out your auto racing betting card for this race, take a look at our thoughts about some of the drivers entered in the race.

2018 GEICO 500 Betting Preview

Any conversation about NASCAR betting has to involve Kyle Busch. He has drawn the checkered flag and taken home the big check three weeks in a row — and in his last seven starts, his worst finish is third place. Busch’s track record at the GEICO 500 isn’t so solid, as he has only one win (ten years ago), but he has finished in the top three in the last two years, and in the top five in five of his last eleven races at Talladega Superspeedway. But until Busch loses, it makes sense to add him to your card, because he is racing in a terrific groove right now. Then there’s Brad Keselowski. He returned to the top 10 in last week’s race after a couple of poor finishes, but he’s still hit the top 10 in five of his last eight starts. He has three first-place trophies from the GEICO 500 — the last one coming two years ago. In his last seven races at the Talladega Superspeedway, he has finished in the top seven five times, and in his career he has five first-place finishes on this course in the Monster Cup Series. He’s still looking for his first checkered flag of the season, and this looks like a promising week.

Looking for a dark horse?

Consider Ricky Stenhouse Jr. He has not done a whole lot so far in 2018 — and didn’t do a whole lot down the stretch in 2017, either. However, he did win the GEICO 500 a year ago, one of his two checkered flags in his career in the Monster Cup Series. Talladega Superspeedway has been a kind course for him, as he has cracked the top 10 in five of his last eight races there. If Stenhouse can repeat this year, he will be the first to defend his title since Jeff Gordon did it in 2004 and 2005. The odds on Stenhouse will give you quite a value, so consider adding him to your card. Clint Bowyer could well be due a checkered flag at the GEICO 500. In hist last four races, he has finished in the top 10 — as well as in six of the nine NASCAR races so far this season. Bowyre has never won the GEICO 500, but he has finished in the top seven in five of his last eight starts here. Given the fact that he almost always does well on this track, and given his relative value on the odds boards, he’s worth adding into one of your card slots. Paul Menard is someone to consider if you want to get a real value pick as far as high odds. He’s been way down the boards lately, without a top 10 finish since Las Vegas — and he hasn’t drawn a checkered flag in a long time. However, at the GEICO 500, he has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four races. At Talladega Superspeedway, he has finished in the top 13 in seven of his last nine races. This is one of his better racetracks, so he might well be worth a slot.