Crown Royal Russ Friedman 400 Preview
by BetUS Staff
After a rough ride at NASCAR betting fans hope for a smoother drive on Saturday night when the Sprint Cup Series races under the lights of Richmond International Raceway in the Crown Royal Presents the Russ Friedman 400.
After a few large smashups took care of many notable names at Talladega last week, Brad Keselowski came out of nowhere to record his first career NASCAR win. It looked like Carl Edwards was on the way to his first win of the season with the lead on the final lap, but a slight bump from Keselowski caused Edwards to spin out and go airborne into the protective fencing in the spectacular crash. Keselowski went on to claim the checkers, while Edwards was rewarded with a 24th-place finish. Keselowski’s victory was surprising since he didn’t even receive individual odds on the NASCAR odds last week. Even after his win that hasn’t changed, and if you want to bet on Keselowski to make it two in a row this weekend you have to take The Field on the NASCAR odds at +3000.
Finishing behind Keselowski at Talladega last week was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in second with his best result of the season, and Ryan Newman in third. Kurt Busch crossed the line in sixth place and that was just good enough to propel him to the top of the driver standings. Former leader Jeff Gordon was involved in an early crash and finished well back in 37th place. Busch’s lead is not a comfortable one, though, as he leads Gordon by only five points.
Last year at Richmond Clint Bowyer won the Crown Royal Dan Lowry 400. That was Bowyer’s lone win of the season, and so far this year his best finish was fourth place in the Daytona 500. Bowyer finished near the back of the pack last week in 39th place and he returns to Richmond as a +3000 underdog on the NASCAR odds.
The favorite this weekend is Jimmie Johnson at +450. Johnson has a history of winning at Richmond having won three of the last four races held there. Johnson won this race in 2007 and he also won back-to-back Chevy Rock and Roll 400s at Richmond in 2007 and 2008. Johnson had posted four straight Top-4 finishes before having his streak snapped at Talladega last week; a crash ended Johnson’s day early and he ended up finishing in 30th place.
