Things are beginning to hit a groove when it comes to NASCAR Cup Series racing! It’s time for another short-track event and a familiar name is once again riding the top of the favorites list. That driver is Martin Truex Jr who comes into the Richmond race weekend as the lone favorite at +333.
Truex became the first two-time winner in the 2021 season after he won last week at Martinsville which was proceeded by a win earlier this season at Phoenix. Truex is joined by JGR teammate Denny Hamlin as one of the favorites this weekend as Hamlin comes in at +650.
The most interesting note about JGR drivers this week is that once again, Kyle Busch does not crack the top-five list. Busch has six wins at Richmond but he’s not been as strong as he has been in past seasons.
Brad Keselowski comes in at +600 and he’s the defending track winner at Richmond. Last time at the track the driver of the No. 2 Ford led 192 of 400 laps! That’s dominating, to say the least – but can Keselowski match that performance? Oddsmakers think he has the best shot at knocking off Truex!
Richmond is known as a short track that drives like a Superspeedway due to its “D” shape. That means teams approach set-up for Richmond completely different than they do for short tracks like Martinsville. Here are the favorite drivers to win the Blue Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 outright according to Intertops.
Martin Truex Jr +333
Brad Keselowski +600
Denny Hamlin +650
Chase Elliott +700
Joey Logano +750
2021 Toyota Owners 400 Preview
Date: Sunday, April 18, 2021, 3:00pm EST
Track: Richmond Raceway / Henrico Co, Virginia
Type: D-Shaped Oval, Asphalt, 0.75 miles
Race Distance: 400 laps, 300 miles.
Defending Track Winner: Brad Keselowski.
TV/Radio: FOX / MRN
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2021 Toyota Owners 400 Predictions
Martin Truex Jr +333
Last week I faded on Truex and pushed him to my “others” list as I was not sure if his team was hitting on all cylinders. It looks like they are! Truex now has two wins on two different styles of tracks and five finishes in the top-ten out of eight races to date. It’s an impressive start to the year which is quickly approaching the halfway mark of the 2021 regular season.
Kyle Larson +1000
Kyle Larson has one win this season and has won at Richmond before. That victory came in 2017 when he only led 53 laps. His victory came after the race lap leader (Truex Jr) crashed after leading 198 laps. Over his last five Richmond races, Larson has finished 7th or better four times.
Kyle Busch +1000
Kyle Busch has six wins at Richmond including back-to-back checkered flags in 2018. Granted, he’s not been the dominating driver that he has been in years past but there are promising signs including a top- ten finish last week at Martinsville. If Busch, and his team, keep things clean and mistake-free at Richmond then he could roll back into victory lane.
Others to Consider: I would like to be stronger on Brad Keselowski this weekend but the last three weeks have seen him slide back some when it comes to finishes. He’s finished 33 rd , 11th , and 28th respectively. For some reason, I keep gravitating towards Kevin Harvick at Richmond this weekend. His best stat at the track over the last ten races is that he’s finished in the top-ten eight of those ten times.
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2021 Toyota Owners 400 Odds
Bet on tomorrow’s NASCAR race at BetOnline.
Martin Truex Jr +333
Brad Keselowski +600
Denny Hamlin +650
Chase Elliott +700
Joey Logano +750
Ryan Blaney +1000
Kyle Larson +1000
Kyle Busch +1000
Kevin Harvick +1200
William Byron +1400
Alex Bowman +2500
Christopher Bell +2500
Kurt Busch +3300
Austin Dillon +4000
Tyler Reddick +6600
Aric Almirola +6600
Matt Dibenedetto +8000
Ryan Newman +8000
Darrell Wallace Jr. +10000
Cole Custer +12500
Erik Jones +15000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +15000
Chase Briscoe +20000
Daniel Suarez +20000
Michael McDowell +20000
Chris Buescher +25000
Ross Chastain +25000
Ryan Preece +50000
Justin Haley +50000
Corey Lajoie +50000
Anthony Alfredo +100000
Josh Bilicki +150000
James Davison +200000
