The Chicagoland Speedway Stars and Stripes Weekend comes to an end on July 1 as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series delivers the Overton’s 400 on Sunday, with race time at 1:30pm Central time. With Fox busy covering soccer from the World Cup, NASCAR moves over to NBC Sports for this week’s race. This is the 18th running of this event, which features 267 laps. Over the 18 editions of this event, four drivers have basically monopolized the first-place trophies. Take a look at our NASCAR betting insights on this week’s stock car racing imbroglio.
2018 Overton’s 400 Betting Preview
Jimmie Johnson is still a solid value pick — despite the fact that he has not won yet in 2018. This is his longest drought in his career in any season before getting a win. He has missed the top ten in a lot of races, which is why he’s sliding down the odds table. At Chicagoland Speedway, though, he has ten top-eight finishes in his 16 appearances overall, and he has finished in the top 12 seven races in a row. It’s hard to believe that Johnson has lost his mojo this badly at this point in his career. Ryan Blaney won his first race over a year ago, and we’re still waiting for him to follow up that breakthrough. However, in three of his last six races, he has made the top ten at the end. He has only raced at Chicagoland Speedway twice, with an average finish of seventh. Two years ago, he took runner-up at an Xfinity Series race at this track. This could be the week when this relative newcomer to the sport finds the checkered flag again. Kevin Harvick was close last week, taking the runner-up slot, but he’s finished second or taken the checkered flag in four of his last six starts, so he’s definitely locked in. He has won at Chicagoland Speedway in 2001 and 2002, and he has four top-five finishes in his last seven races at this track. Given his recent performance overall and his history on this track, this is definitely a week to pick him as he could provide another strong finish and end up taking the victory lap himself this week. Brad Keselowski is another driver who keeps coming close to winning but missing out on the checkered flag. However, he won the Overton’s 400 on this track in 2012 and 2014, and while he hasn’t won yet in 2018, this is his longest drought in a season since 2013. He loves this track, and he’s been knocking on the door to get a win, so consider adding him to your sports betting list for this week as well. Martin Truex Jr. has been the most consistent NASCAR racer in the last month, winning two of the last three races and finishing no worse than fourth in four of his last five starts. He won the Overton’s 400 in 2016 and 2017, and he is looking for a three-peat that would tie him with Tony Stewart for the most wins in this event. If we look at a longer history this year, he has 19 top-five finishes in his last 26 races. He might be the most locked-in driver right now, so leave him off your wager card at your own risk. Kyle Busch won here in 2008, going from the pole position to take the victory. He has carried the pole position in the last two races on this track and three of the last four, and he has cracked the top ten in five of his last six races here, leading 340 laps in the last five races on this track. He definitely has the form from earlier this year and has the track record on this track to take the checkered flag.Ready for showtime, @NASCARonNBC? TV schedule for the week ahead: https://t.co/Zb1jz8jDta pic.twitter.com/K9tGqxtTTi
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 27, 2018
