Talladega and the Charlotte Roval are so different, it’s like we’re not even talking the same sport.
The difference between a mammoth tri-oval and this week’s road-course offering is reflected on the odds board.
A week ago, Ricky Stenhouse and Brad Keselowski finished 1-2 at Talladega, separated by several inches at the stripe. This week, if you believe Vegas and the other assorted gambling folks, you’d think those two will be turning laps in ox carts Sunday.
Try to find Ricky and Kez on the board below.
I’ll wait.
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NASCAR Odds for the Charlotte Roval
+375: Shane van Gisbergen
+650: Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger
+750: Tyler Reddick
+900: Chase Elliott, William Byron
+1000: Christopher Bell
+1100: Ty Gibbs
+1200: Chris Buescher
+1400: Michael McDowell
+1500: Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain
+1750: Alex Bowman
+2000: Daniel Suarez
+2250: Joey Logano
+2500: Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin
+3000: Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric
+4000: Chase Briscoe
+5000: Bubba Wallace
+6000: Todd Gilliland
+7500: Brad Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, Noah Gragson
+10000: Zane Smith, Josh Berry, Justin Haley
+15000: Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie
+20000: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., John Hunter Nemechek
+25000: Ryan Preece, Kaz Grala
+50000: Daniel Hemric, Josh Bilicki, Harrison Burton
Talladega leaders get no NASCAR love on the Roval
No, no, keep going.
Farther south.
A little farther.
There you go.
Kez, a former NASCAR champ and frequent lead-packer this season, is way down there at +7500 …
WIth Carson Hocevar and Noah Gragson!
And if you needed evidence of Stenhouse’s road-racin’ reputation, you found it down there at +20000, a rung he shares with John Hunter Nemechek. That’s right, a $10 wager would pay $2,500, and all you need is the winner from last weekend to win again this weekend.
Why Ricky Stenhouse is an underdog this week
For starters, Stenhouse has never finished better than 17th in his six Roval starts.
In 39 career road-course starts in the Cup Series, he has exactly one more top-10 finish than you do.
Shane van Gisbergen, Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger, however …
The top of that board is mildly surprising. SVG is a veteran road racer and damn good at it, as you may have noticed, but the gap between his +475 and the +650 of Kyle Larson and AJ Allmendinger (Dinger the Ringer!) is interesting.
Larson has become a great road racer over the course of his career, and Allmendinger cut his teeth on that form of racing and can run top-5 in a top-20 car.
Picking a NASCAR winner at Charlotte Roval
OK, who you like?
Assuming you want to slide down the board and look for a decent-paying bargain with a chance, Michael McDowell is always a road-course threat.
And Kyle Busch refuses to limp to the finish of 2024. Given half a chance, he’ll make noise Sunday.
But as for better bargains who can also win, I like Austin Cindric down there are +3000. And you gotta like Ryan Blaney at the same price.
— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com
