Las Vegas Oddsmaker Favors Johnson in Coca-Cola 600
Even though he ended up second in the NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge, Station Casinos in Las Vegas has listed Jimmie Johnson as a 4 to 1 favorite to win the Coca-Cola 600 Sunday evening at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"In the Coca-Cola 600, most of the drivers will be using different cars than what they used in the NEXTEL All-Star Challenge," said Micah Roberts, director of race and sports for Station Casinos-Las Vegas. "Despite the chassis being different, those who were top performers in the non-points race should fare equally well in the longest race of the Cup season."
Driving the No. 48 Lowe's Chevrolet, Johnson will be chasing his fourth Coca-Cola 600 victory in five years when the green flag is waved Sunday evening at 5:40 p.m.
Jeff Gordon, Johnson's Hendrick Motorsports teammate, is second on the odds chart at 5 to 1. Jeff Gordon ran upfront for much of the Challenge, but slipped back in the closing laps and ended up 11th. Matt Kenseth, who saw his hopes for a $1 million victory dashed by a pit road speeding penalty, is listed at 9 to 1 for the Coca-Cola 600.
Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Tony Stewart and Denny Hamlin are next on the odds chart, both shown at 10 to 1.
Surprisingly, NASCAR NEXTEL All-Star Challenge winner Kevin Harvick is 11th on the odds chart at 18 to 1.
"The belief behind the big odds on Harvick is that over 600 miles he's likely to be closer to what he's shown over the long haul at Texas, Las Vegas and Atlanta than what he showed in the final 20-lap segment of the Challenge," Roberts explained. "His average finish on those three similar tracks this year is 27th."
Since Sunday is such a big day for auto racing enthusiasts with the Coca-Cola 600 and Indianapolis 500, Station Casinos has tied the two races together, taking bets on which driver will finish higher-Johnson in the 600 or Helio Castroneves in the 500.
"Castroneves is the slight favorite despite all of Johnson's accomplishments at Lowe's Motor Speedway," Roberts said. "The math of only having 33 cars starting at Indy to 43 at Charlotte, coupled with the large gap between the cars at Indy where it appears only five cars have a real shot at winning, give the Penske Racing driver the edge."
At the betting windows, Roberts expects the Coca-Cola 600 to out-write the Indy 500 in dollar amounts by a ratio of nearly 3 to 1.
