(Press Release from New Hampshire Motor Speedway)
Kevin Harvick (Photo: Jason Getz/Getz Images for NASCAR)
LOUDON, N.H. – After a disastrous 42nd-place finish in the opening race of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship, reigning champion Kevin Harvick is basically in a “win or you’re out” situation as the Chase shifts to New Hampshire Motor Speedway for the SYLVANIA 300, the second race in the Challenger Round. That desperation has Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook oddsmakers salivating, as Harvick sits as a 9-2 favorite to leave the Magic Mile with an automatic bid into the next round.
“Kevin Harvick has been one of the most consistent drivers in the Sprint Cup Series all season,” said Jerry Gappens, executive vice president and general manager of NHMS. “It seems the Las Vegas oddsmakers are recognizing his tenacity and overall body of work this season in setting the odds for Sunday’s SYLVANIA 300. It’ll be interesting to see who cashes in at the pay window.”
Harvick has just one win (2006) in 29 career Cup starts in the Granite State and has gone more than six months since winning his last Cup race – March 15 at Phoenix Raceway, a similar flat one-mile oval to what he will race this weekend. Harvick has hardly been average this season, though, amassing 10 second-place finishes and a total of 18 top-fives in 27 starts.
While Harvick is the favorite this weekend, it’s hard to count out either one of the Penske Racing boys, or the four horsemen over at Joe Gibbs Racing.
Penske’s Brad Keselowski (5-1) won the July race here last year, while teammate Joey Logano (7-1) is the defending SYLVANIA 300 champion.
Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, the 5-hour ENERGY 301 race winner in July, is also a 5-1 favorite, while his teammates Matt Kenseth (8-1), Denny Hamlin (10-1) and Carl Edwards (12-1) have combined for three wins at the Magic Mile over their respective careers.
And let’s not count out the Hendrick Motorsports stable. Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Jeff Gordon, who will race for the last time in his career at NHMS, are both 20-1 favorites, while teammate Jimmie Johnson (10-1), a six-time Cup champion and three-time NHMS winner, will look to put some pressure on Harvick, who delivered a punch heard around the NASCAR world to Johnson following last week’s Chase opener.
Odds to win SYLVANIA 300
Kevin Harvick 9-2
Brad Keselowski 5-1
Kyle Busch 5-1
Joey Logano 7-1
Matt Kenseth 8-1
Denny Hamlin 10-1
Jimmie Johnson 10-1
Kurt Busch 12-1
Carl Edwards 12-1
Martin Truex Jr. 15-1
Jeff Gordon 20-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 20-1
Kyle Larson 35-1
Jamie McMurray 40-1
Kasey Kahne 6-10
Ryan Newman 60-1
Clint Bowyer 60-1
Austin Dillon 60-1
Tony Stewart 100-1
David Ragan 200-1
Paul Menard 200-1
Aric Almirola 200-1
Greg Biffle 300-1
A.J. Allmendinger 500-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 500-1
Danica Patrick 500-1
Casey Mears 500-1
Trevor Bayne 500-1
Sam Hornish Jr. 500-1
Field 500-1
Odds to win Sprint Cup championship
Kyle Busch 4-1
Matt Kenseth 5-1
Kevin Harvick 6-1
Joey Logano 6-1
Jimmie Johnson 7-1
Brad Keselowski 8-1
Denny Hamlin 8-1
Carl Edwards 10-1
Kurt Busch 12-1
Martin Truex Jr. 12-1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 25-1
Jeff Gordon 30-1
Ryan Newman 60-1
Jamie McMurray 100-1
Clint Bowyer 200-1
Paul Menard 300-1
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