NASCAR Odds to win the Shelby American from Las Vegas

This weekend the NASCAR world (and the NASCAR betting world) descends upon Las Vegas, where the drivers will compete in the Shelby American, a 400-mile race that is scheduled to take place on Sunday, February 28 at 3 PM ET and televised by Fox. Hometown hero Kyle Busch tires to repeat his winning perfromance from last year.

Here is a listing of everyone at BetUS Sportsbook at 50/1 odds or less to win the Shelby American:

SHELBY AMERICAN
February 28 -- Las Vegas

• Brian Vickers +2000
• Carl Edwards +1500
• Clint Bowyer +1500
• Dale Earnhardt Jr +2500
• David Reutimann +5000
• Denny Hamlin +1000
• Greg Biffle +1500
• Jamie McMurray +5000
• Jeff Burton +1500
• Jeff Gordon +1000
• Jimmie Johnson +400
• Joey Logano +3500
• Juan Pablo Montoya +1200
• Kasey Kahne +2000
• Kevin Harvick +1500
• Kurt Busch +1500
• Kyle Busch +700
• Mark Martin +600
• Martin Truex Jr +5000
• Matt Kenseth +2000
• Ryan Newman +2500
• Tony Stewart +1000

The Shelby American will be contested at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, a versatile venue with capacity for 142,000 spectators that is home to many motor racing events. It is located a few miles north of the Las Vegas Strip, in the desert, and provides a full fan "experience" with the Neon Garage, a special area on the infield which offers access to the drivers and the event, is going to host a variety of entertainment on the weekend, and contains the victory lane as well.

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On the premises is a small paved oval (known as the "Bullring"), a dirt track, a drag strip (where NHRA events are held), and of course, the superspeedway, which was completed in 1996. The track will host the Sam's Town 300 in the Nationwide Series on Saturday as well as the Las Vegas 350 in the Camping World Trucks series.

It's a 1.5-mile oval, and it was re-adjusted back in 2006 to increase the bank angles in the turns. That has encouraged more side-to-side racing and made the track faster. There are 20-degree banks in the corners; it not as steep as Daytona, but it is more than Fontana, where the drivers just left.

The race, like many in NASCAR, has taken on various names throughout its existence. This year it takes on its fourth name in the last four years. From 2001 to 2007 it was known as the UAW-DaimlerChrysler 400, then was changed to the UAW-Dodge 400 in 2008. In 2009 the race took on a sponsorship from Carroll Shelby International and was increased to 427 miles in honor of one of Shelby's creations, the 427 Cobra. Consequently it was named the Shelby 427. Now it is back to 400 miles, and is named the Shelby American. By any name, it will go 267 laps around the course.

No pole sitter has ever won this race, and while that may be a consideration for NASCAR betting, I wonder whether the drivers have that in mind. Probably not, because it is a young event. Mark Martin (+600) won it the first year, in 1998, when it was known as the Las Vegas 400, and he set a speed record over the course of the afternoon (146.555 miles an hour) that still stands.

Jeff Burton (+1500 to win it this year in BetUS NASCAR) won the race in 1999 and 2000, with Matt Kenseth (+2000) winning in both 2003 and 2004. Jimmie Johnson, the +400 favorite to win this year's Shelby American, took home the checkered flag three straight years, from 2005-07. Last year he led the race for 92 laps, but couldn't hold on and actually got into an accident that caused him to leave the action and aggravated his slow start in the points standings.