There have been 30 previous races at the Phoenix International Raceway and starting up front definitely helps. The pole sitter has won four times while a driver starting from a top-10 spot has won 15 of the races. This will be the first race since the track has been repaved so it should be interesting to see if past trends hold true. Carl Edwards won this race last fall while Jimmie Johnson won the fall race in 2007, 2008 and in 2009. Dale Earnhardt Jr. should not be overlooked this week as he won this race in 2003 and in 2004 and he is way overdue for a win.
Tony Stewart 5.5-1
He has been pretty solid at Phoenix with one win and seven top five finishes. There is no doubt he is the hot pick in NASCAR betting as he is now just three points back of Edwards.
Jimmie Johnson 6-1
His resume at Phoenix is fantastic with four wins but there is no question that Jimmie is not the same as in past seasons. He is not going to win the championship and there is better value this week than Johnson at 6-1.
Carl Edwards 6.5-1
He won this race last year and has five top five finishes. The pressure could be getting to Edwards so that is a concern if you back him at these low sporting odds.
Jeff Gordon 7-1
He has three wins and 12 top five finishes at Phoenix. It is hard to argue with talking Gordon based on his previous success at this track.
Kyle Busch 7-1
He is the most overvalued driver this week as he has just one win and two top five finishes at Phoenix. He is also in major trouble with NASCAR and could be in jeopardy with Joe Gibbs racing as well.
Longshot Pick
We know that taking Dale Earnhardt Jr. to win a race is tough to do considering he has not won in seemingly forever but this is a good track for him as he has won twice in the past and at NASCAR odds of 30-1 he has some serious value in Kobalt Tools 500 betting.
