It wasn?t that long ago when open-wheel racing was the top dog in the United States, and stock car racing was strictly for fans of The Dukes of Hazzard (special guest star: Cale Yarborough). Now CART/Champ Car doesn?t even exist, and nobody jokes about turning left all the time anymore. But this Sunday afternoon (3:00 p.m. ET), you get the best of both worlds, as the Sprint Cup circuit visits Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. for the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Which means it?s time for the road racers to take their rightful place atop the NASCAR odds list.
First up is Marcos Ambrose at 4/1. He cut his teeth on the Australian V8 Supercar circuit in his native country, winning the championship in 2003 and 2004, and although he has yet to win a Sprint Cup race, Ambrose did take the checkered flag each of the last three years at Watkins Glen (another road course) on the Nationwide circuit. And making the move to Richard Petty Motorsports for 2011 means that Ambrose will have the vaunted Ford FR9 engine under the hood this Sunday.
Crowding Ambrose?s rear-view mirror at 15/2 are three of the most successful road racers on this side of the Atlantic: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya. Stewart has the best driver rating for Sonoma at 110.4 points out of 150, followed by Montoya (108.6), Ambrose (108.4) and Gordon (100.2). But those loop data stats only go back to 2005; Gordon is a five-time champion here, most recently in 2006, while Stewart has won twice (2001, 2005) and Montoya once (2007).
How about Jimmie Johnson? He may be vanilla, but that?s still a tasty and reliable flavor. Johnson won this race last year en route to his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title, and is available this week at the reasonable price of 8/1. Kyle Busch, who won this race in 2008, is also 8/1 for Sunday.
Get all your NASCAR odds at Bodog.
First up is Marcos Ambrose at 4/1. He cut his teeth on the Australian V8 Supercar circuit in his native country, winning the championship in 2003 and 2004, and although he has yet to win a Sprint Cup race, Ambrose did take the checkered flag each of the last three years at Watkins Glen (another road course) on the Nationwide circuit. And making the move to Richard Petty Motorsports for 2011 means that Ambrose will have the vaunted Ford FR9 engine under the hood this Sunday.
Crowding Ambrose?s rear-view mirror at 15/2 are three of the most successful road racers on this side of the Atlantic: Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Juan Pablo Montoya. Stewart has the best driver rating for Sonoma at 110.4 points out of 150, followed by Montoya (108.6), Ambrose (108.4) and Gordon (100.2). But those loop data stats only go back to 2005; Gordon is a five-time champion here, most recently in 2006, while Stewart has won twice (2001, 2005) and Montoya once (2007).
How about Jimmie Johnson? He may be vanilla, but that?s still a tasty and reliable flavor. Johnson won this race last year en route to his fifth consecutive Sprint Cup title, and is available this week at the reasonable price of 8/1. Kyle Busch, who won this race in 2008, is also 8/1 for Sunday.
Get all your NASCAR odds at Bodog.
