As we get set for this year’s running of the Auto Club 400 at Fontana, it’s worth noting that there’s one particular name on the circuit this very moment that’s been on the tip of casual and die-hard fans’ tongues.
As such, even this here feature will have that one driver at the forefront of our coverage. Let’s hear it from the experts themselves below as for who this scorching-hot driver is (as if our featured image for this article wasn’t enough of a spoiler) and what this means for our NASCAR betting action for the week.
If you haven’t been keeping up with NASCAR’s latest news and developments lately, it’s about time that you start getting to know about Kyle Larson a whole lot more.
Fox Sports’ resident NASCAR fantasy guru, Chad Robb, provided a sound defense as for why Larson was an easy pick to win this week. He noted that the 2014 Rookie of the Year is having the best stretch amongst all drivers on intermediate tracks in a long while, having a surreal average finish of 2.2 on such tracks as a pro through four races.
Robb also mentioned that the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana is a course that’s very much akin to the one in Michigan, where Larson won his first and only Cup Series race. Considering that the 25-year-old is born and raised in California as well, Larson appears to not just be projected but rather destined to win it all this Sunday.
Beyond the Flag
Expert
Prediction
Mike Hutton
Kyle Larson
Although Beyond the Flag’s Mike Hutton didn’t necessarily state outright that Larson is his pick to win this week, he still placed the Elk Grove native at the top of Fansided’s weekly NASCAR power rankings.
At this point, there’s no denying that the Chip Ganassi Racing prodigy deserves to be that driver that everybody’s got to be on the lookout for. With an astounding three-race streak of runner-up finishes entering this Sunday’s race, it’s really hard to argue against all the hype that the season’s current leader in the drivers standings is getting right now.
TopBet
What else did you expect? Even we here at TopBet predict that Kyle Larson will win his second-career Cup Series race this weekend. Larson, who’s also a fantastic dark horse pick to become this season’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion with a price of +1,200, has momentum, youth and hometown advantage on his side.
On the other hand, we did place Larson as a mere sleeper candidate and not a bona fide favorite in our very own Auto Club 400 preview. So if you’re looking for a safer bet this week, perhaps you’d rather bank on a more time-tested driver instead, like the one and only Jimmy Johnson.
The future Hall-of-Famer has an unparalleled level of success and body of work in Fontana that Larson lacks. Johnson leads all active drivers with six wins, 980 total laps led and a driver rating of 119.7 at the Auto Club Speedway. By the way, he won this event just last season, so don’t ever count out this 41-year-old living legend from stealing the spotlight away from upstarts like Larson once more.
