2024 Toyota Owners 400 prediction: See NASCAR Richmond best bets, pick to win
Picks for this week's Toyota Owners 400 as the NASCAR Cup Series heads back to a short track in Richmond Raceway The Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond Raceway is a popular NASCAR track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule and tends to favor the elite drivers at the track. However, recent Richmond winners have not always been among the favorites due to tire wear, which played into the hands of the series' most proven drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, and Josh Berry are among the best bets to finish top 10 and No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. Kyle Busch and Joey Logano are also among the top five-to-1 to finish in top five at Richmond. Hamlin is the best bet to finish third place at Richmond, where Hamlin considers it to be his home track. Martin TrueX Jr. is predicted to win, despite not having won a race this season despite leading the regular season point standings.
Published : 4 weeks ago by Spencer Urquhart in Sports Auto
Richmond Raceway is a staple track on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule, and it’s one that tends to favor the elite drivers in the field. While the recent Richmond winners haven’t always been among the favorites, extreme tire wear occurred the last time the Cup Series went to a short track, which played right into the hands of the series’ most proven drivers such as Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Most of my best bets this week are among the favorites as a result of that trend, but I’ve also got a few outside the box picks for this Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400. Best bets to finish top 10- Alex Bowman, No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (+165 at BetMGM); Josh Berry, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford (+320 at FanDuel)
Bowman is a former Richmond winner and has been on a role lately having recorded top five finishes the past two races. While I’m not sure if he’ll be able to extend that top five streak to three in a row, I see him being able to crack the top 10 considering he did so in last year’s Richmond spring race. Berry’s got a strong track record here at Richmond having finished runner-up in his lone Cup Series start at the track last year and recorded strong results in his Xfinity Series starts. Berry was a contender at Bristol having led 25 laps and should continue his short track success this week. Best bets to finish top five- Kyle Busch, No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (+325 at BetMGM); Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford (+350 at BetMGM)
Busch was once the man to beat at Richmond having won at the track six times in the Cup Series, but his dominance has worn off some recently. Busch is still more than capable of running up front at the track though and appears to offer value from a betting perspective at more than 3-to-1 to finish top five. Logano’s another former Richmond winner that’s fallen from grace somewhat, but this week presents a golden opportunity for him to get his season back on track. I see the two-time champion Logano bouncing back at Richmond to where his top five odds are a prime value opportunity this week. Best bet to finish top three- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (+135 at BetMGM) Richmond is the place that Hamlin considers to be his home track, and he seems to have a home field advantage at this place considering how well he’s performed there over the years. Hamlin won the 2022 Richmond spring race and also prevailed at Bristol this year, so a top three finish feels like a safe play for arguably the best short track racer in the Cup Series right now.
Pick to win- Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota (+625 at BetMGM) Truex hasn’t won a race this season despite leading the regular season point standings, but I see this being the week that he breaks through to victory lane. Truex is a three-time Richmond winner, all of which have occurred in the past five years, and he’s running better than ever in powerful Joe Gibbs Racing equipment and has the mastered the art of managing his tires.
Topics: Motorsports, NASCAR