The NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono in the Tricky Triangle.
The race can be viewed on USA Network on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.
Last season, Denny Hamlin slammed Kyle Larson into the wall on the final lap to steal the win.
Hamlin leads all drivers in wins at Pocono with seven career victories.
Combine that with his speed in 2024 and it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone to see Hamlin at the top of the odds board.
Of the top seven drivers on the board, only Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr. (+750) have won at Pocono.
Here are my favorite bets:
Denny Hamlin to win (+450, FanDuel)
Hamlin is the kind of driver who can easily win at Pocono.
He was fast on the track from the start, winning the first two races of his career there.
Hamlin struggled at Pocono for much of the 2010s but has found his speed again in recent years.
In his last seven races, Hamlin has three wins and five top-five finishes.
He crossed the finish line first in the 2022 race, but NASCAR disqualified him after failing post-race inspection.
His 14th-place finish in 2021 was the result of him pitting from the lead just before the white flag.
He has the speed to win every race at Pocono since 2020.
Hamlin is one of the best drivers in 2024.
A trip to his best course could pose problems for other players.
William Byron finishes in the top five (+160, bet365)
Byron has been in a tough spot, finishing 15th or worse in four of the last six races.
Short, flat tracks aren’t his forte, but he was a top contender at Pocono.
Byron has finished in the top 10 in five of his 10 starts at the track.
He has led 13 or more laps in three of the last four races and led a race-high 60 laps in last year’s race.
Byron pitted from the lead with three laps remaining in the 2021 race.
Last season, he may have had a winning car, but his pit strategy led to poor results.
It’s about time Byron got a string of strong finishes.
Expect a strong performance from the No. 24 team at Pocono.
Bubba Wallace finished 14.5 or lower (-115, Caesars)
It wasn’t that long ago that Wallace was on the right side of the line for a playoff spot.
He currently sits 51 points down and a win is likely his only path to the postseason.
A win at Pocono will be a long shot, but hopefully Wallace, who has never finished lower than 14th in four races at Pocono with 23XI Racing, can put together a solid showing.
This included three consecutive finishes of 11th place or better.
Betting on Wallace to finish in the top 10 isn’t a bad choice, but I feel he’s much better off finishing 14th or better.
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Alex Bowman beat Joey Logano (-105, bet365)
Two weeks ago, Logano moved out of the playoff zone with a win in Nashville.
Bowman found himself in tough conditions but still managed to pull off a win at the Chicago Street Course.
Bowman and Logano showed similar speed in 2024, but Bowman was slightly better overall.
Looking at the numbers from Pocono, Bowman has the advantage.
He has finished 11th or better in four of his last five races, including a win in 2021.
Logano has finished lower than 20th three times during that span.
Overall, Bowman finished ahead of Logano in six consecutive races at Pocono.
That streak should continue on Sunday.
