On to Phoenix…
The 2022 NASCAR season is officially back in action, and just a few races in, the season has already been pretty chaotic with the new Next-Gen cars.
Long story short… these cars aren’t doing the drivers any favors right now, and even the smallest mistakes can prove costly.
After a wild Daytona 500 that saw rookie Austin Cindric throw a monster block on his teammate Ryan Blaney and hold off a hard-charging Bubba Wallace to take home the checkered flag in only his second start in the Great American Race, we saw fireworks between teammates Chase Elliott and Kyle Larson at Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California, after Kyle appeared to throw a late block and put Chase into the wall.
Some last minute pit strategy saw Alex Bowman steal the checkered flag from Kyle Busch last week in Las Vegas, and today, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to Phoenix Raceway for the Ruoff Mortgage 500.
Penske Driver Ryan Blaney won the pole, and will start alongside Denny Hamlin in the front row, meanwhile odds favorite Kyle Larson will move to the back after an unapproved adjustment.
So without further ado… let’s get to the odds, picks and predictions:
Ruoff Mortgage 500 Odds:
Kyle Larson +450
Ryan Blaney +650
Denny Hamlin +650
William Byron +800
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Joey Logano +1000
Martin Truex Jr. +1400
Kevin Harvick +1800
Christopher Bell +1800
Austin Cindric +2000
Aric Almirola +2000
Chase Briscoe +2500
Alex Bowman +2500
Tyler Reddick +2500
Brad Keselowski +4000
Austin Dillon +5000
A.J. Allmendinger +6000
Ross Chastain +6000
Kurt Busch +6000
Erik Jones +7000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +8000
Bubba Wallace +10000
Daniel Suarez +15000
Cole Custer +15000
Chris Buescher +15000
Justin Haley +20000
Harrison Burton +20000
Landon Cassill +30000
Todd Gilliland +50000
Ty Dillon +50000
Michael McDowell +50000
Corey Lajoie +50000
B.J. McLeod +100000
Garrett Smithley +100000
Cody Ware +100000
Predictions:
Once again, I’m still high on the Penske boys as Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric both have looked stellar this season. After his early exit at the hands of Brad Keselowski last week, Blaney will look to rebound.
However, this week, it’s hard to bet against the favorite Kyle Larson.
The Cup Series points leader has two Top 5 finishes already this season, as well as a win. Team Hendrick has some other strong candidates with Alex Bowman, Chase Elliott and William Byron in the mix. I also like Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch to contend for the win.
As far as longshots go, I like Ross Chastain and Daniel Suarez
Picks:
Here’s what we’re going with for the Daytona 500:
Winner: Kyle Larson
Top 3: Denny Hamlin
Top 5: Ryan Blaney
Top 10: Tyler Reddick, Ross Chastain
LET’S GO.
