The NASCAR Cup Series race of many names returns to Phoenix Raceway this weekend! This year the title sponsor name is the Ruoff Mortgage 500 but you may remember some of the many past sponsors such as InstaCart 500, Fan Sheild 500, TicketGardian 500, Camping World 500, among others. Another thing that has changed is Kevin Harvick and other Ford drivers are not among the top favorites!

This year the Phoenix race has oddsmakers leaning towards a mix of Chevrolet and Toyota drivers starting with perpetual favorite Kyle Larson who is at +350 with the Martin Truex Jr. neat at +700. Larson drives a Chevrolet while Truex pilots a Toyota.

NASCAR Bookies

One thing that has not changed is that “500” refers to kilometers as the race is only 312 laps around the 1-mile race track. That means a short 312-mile race with plenty of action on what can be considered a track that’s a combo of high-banked short-track and an intermediate track with a few spots that mimic superspeedways!

Another factor that could come into play is that the track was reconfigured a few seasons ago and this will be the first time the new Gen 7 Cup Cars take to the track. That might be something that levels the playing field among Chevrolet, Ford, and Toyota teams. It will be interesting to see how the favorites fare when the checkered flag waves on Sunday.

Here are the top-five favorites through +800 to win the Ruoff Mortgage 500:

Kyle Larson +350

Martin Truex Jr +700

Kyle Busch +750

Chase Elliott +750

Denny Hamlin +800

NASCAR Bet Types

2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 Preview

Track: Phoenix Raceway / Avondale, Arizona

Type: 1.022-mile paved banked dogleg Oval

Race Distance: 312 laps / 312 miles (502.115 km)

Defending Track Winner: Kyle Larson

TV/Radio: Fox / MRN

The Cup Series race is on Sunday, March 13 at 3:30 pm Eastern Time while the NASCAR Xfinity race will be on Saturday, March 12 at 4:30 pm Eastern Time. The Truck Series and ARCA Series are off this weekend.

Fantasy NASCAR

2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 Predictions

Kyle Larson +350

Kyle Larson is the defending track winner as he won the Fall race at Phoenix. That was also the season- ending event for the NASCAR Cup Series and it sealed the Larson’s 2021 Cup Series Championship. Larson has also been solid at Phoenix over his career especially over his last six outings at the track. He’s finished 1st, 7th, 4th, 4th, 6th, and 3rd during those last six races. Larson won two weeks ago and finished in 2nd last week.

Denny Hamlin +800

Denny Hamlin suffered a DNF last week when he unexpectedly hit his shifter wrong coming out of the pits. The shifter in Cup Cars has changed since last year which caused the mistake. Hamlin does not often make the same mistakes over and over again. In his last ten races at Phoenix, he’s won a race and finished in the top ten seven times. He finished 3 rd at the last race at the track.

Joey Logano +850

Joey Logano won the Spring race two seasons ago and was the first winning Ford to do in the last six Phoenix races. In his last five starts at the tracks, he’s finished 10th, 9th, 1st, 3rd, 2nd, and 11th respectively. Ford’s seem to run well at Phoenix but also seem to fade in the end. Logano passed that hurdle with his 2020 Spring win and could do it again as he’s one of the strongest Ford drivers at Phoenix.

Others to Consider: I like Kevin Harvick (+2000) as a value pick as he should be considered a threat when he runs at Phoenix. But, he tends to fade in the closing laps. I hate to fade on Kyle Busch (+750) so early on the season but he seemed so strong last week only to let another race slip away.

7 NASCAR Stats to Follow

2022 Ruoff Mortgage 500 Betting Lines

Here are the odds heading into the Ruoff Mortgage 500:

Kyle Larson +350

Martin Truex Jr +700

Kyle Busch +750

Chase Elliott +750

Denny Hamlin +800

Joey Logano +850

Ryan Blaney +1200

William Byron +1400

Kevin Harvick +2000

Alex Bowman +2200

Tyler Reddick +2500

Christopher Bell +2500

Aric Almirola +2800

Brad Keselowski +3000

Austin Cindric +4500

Ross Chastain +5000

Kurt Busch +5000

Ricky Stenhouse Jr +5000

Chase Briscoe +5500

AJ Allmendinger +6000

Erik Jones +6000

Austin Dillon +6000

Daniel Suarez +8000

Cole Custer +10000

Chris Buescher +12500

Darrell Wallace Jr. +15000

Harrison Burton +20000

Justin Haley +25000

Ty Dillon +50000

Michael McDowell +50000

Corey Lajoie +60000

Todd Gilliland +100000

Josh Bilicki +100000

Garrett Smithley +100000

Cody Ware +100000

BJ McLeod +100000