With the NASCAR All-Star Race (Wednesday) in the books it’s back to business for all drivers, with the next points race on deck at Texas Motor Speedway for the 2020 O’Reilly Auto Parts 500. The results of the All-Star affair are a moot point, as that event gave drivers a chance to take their foot off of the gas (so to speak) and have some fun amidst the most “interesting” season of all time. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at some of the favorites, sleepers, and a long shot for this Sunday’s race.
Harvick has quite a momentum going for him. Over his past five races, he has not finished worse than 10th. During that stretch, he collected a pair of wins, getting the checkered flag at the Pocono 325 and at the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400. Harvick has also done well at Texas Motor Speedway, where he has three wins in 34 starts there. Moreover, Harvick has not placed worse than 10th in any of his past 11 starts there.
Kyle Busch (6/1 Vegas odds)
True to his late form, Busch finished 21st at the Quaker State 400, a disappointing follow-up to his sixth-place finish at the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400. That has been the narrative for Busch in recent races: a solid performance followed by a letdown one. But if that trend is to hold true, then he could be in for a nice finish at Texas Motor Speedway, where he’s also won three times before.
Denny Hamlin (6/1 Vegas odds)
Hamlin seems to have cooled off after a nice four-race stretch in which he picked up two wins and finished inside the top four in every start. After his win at Pocono 350, Hamlin went 28th at the Big Machine Hand Sanitizer 400 then 12th at the Quaker State 400. Nevertheless, Hamlin is always a threat, especially at Texas Motor Speedway. He has three wins and seven top 5s in 28 career races there.
SLEEPERS
Jimmie Johnson (30/1 Vegas odds)
Although he’s not won anything yet this season, Johnson remains the winningest driver at Texas Motor Speedway since 1997. He has seven wins and 16 top 5s there in 33 starts.
Matt Kenseth (100/1 Vegas odds)
Kenseth has two wins at Texas Motor Speedway and has a couple of top 4s in his last three starts there. Kenseth also has a 13.01 career average finish on intermediate tracks.
LONG SHOT
Corey LaJoie (5000/1 Vegas odds)
LaJoie has raced just five times before at Texas Motor Speedway. None of those starts was memorable, with his best finish being a 28th-place performance in last year’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
Writer’s Prediction
Jimmie Johnson wins the 2020 O’Reilly Auto Parts 500.
