It’s time for some adrenaline pumping, high-octane action when the Sprint Cup Series heads over to the Watkins Glen International for the Cheez-It 355. The hottest driver in all of NASCAR, Kyle Busch, suffered a temporary setback the last time around at the Windows 10 400. But he’s back and ready to add another win to his late season resurgence.
But it’s not all Busch. A.J. Allmendinger has been a killer at road courses in the Sprint Cup Series, especially at Watkins Glen where he’s had plenty of success. There are plenty of other racers capable of winning this big race at Watkins Glen. Read on for a look at the top racers heading into the Cheez-It 355.
The race is also on in Major League Baseball. Some of the league’s teams are putting out their best games to nail a postseason spot by winning their division or by clinching a wild card berth. Check out the race for the National League and American League Wild Card spots.
If he can do it once, he can do it again. A.J. Allmendinger is the favorite at this year’s Cheez-It 355. Allmendinger was neck-in-neck, fender-to-fender against Marcos Ambrose in winning last year’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International. He and Ambrose are two of the best road course drivers in the Sprint Cup Series.
[sc:NASCAR240banner ]Ambrose departed to stay in his native Australia, leaving Allmendinger as the runaway best road course driver in the series. It’s hard to ignore Allmendinger in this race; he has the second-best average finish position (7.8) at Watkins Glen and the third-best driver rating on the track. He has finished in the top 10 four consecutive times. Judging how he drives on this course, you can’t go wrong with Allmendinger at +450.
Kyle Busch
Kyle Busch had won three straight races and four out of the past five entering the Windows 10 400 last week. He could have won five out of the last six entering the Cheez-It 355, but ran out of gas in the final lap at Pocono.
Busch is not just one of the hottest drivers in the series right now; he’s also one of the best drivers at Watkins Glen. The Joe Gibbs Racing export has the second-best driver rating and the seventh-best average finish position (11.3) at the track. Busch had eight consecutive top 10 finishes at Watkins Glen before colliding with Martin Truex Jr. last year. He’s a hot pick at +600 coming into Watkins Glen.
Jimmie Johnson
A six-time Sprint Cup champion, Jimmie Johnson may be even more determined to win at Watkins Glen. He’s never won at the road course, only one of four Cup tracks he’s yet to take the checkered flag. The other three are Chicago, Homestead and Kentucky. Johnson’s has a 13.92 average finish position at Watkins Glen, but he had three-straight top 10 finishes before placing 28th last season.
Johnson is +800 to win his first title at Watkins Glen.
It’s going to be a tight race at the Glen this coming weekend. Create a betting account now and get your fix of high-octane racing action.
Sleeper
Tony Stewart
Tony Stewart should be one of the favorites to win this race, but his terrible season makes him a sleeper at +1,500. He hasn’t won in 21 starts this season and only has two top 10 finishes, with one coming from Pocono just this past week. However, Stewart could show his best form at Watkins Glen for the Cheez-It 355. He’s won the most races by any driver at the track with five. His familiarity with Watkins Glen may be the spark he needs to turn his season around.
Long Shot
Casey Mears
If you’re looking for a long shot to win this race, Casey Mears pays a lot at +10,000 to win the Cheez-It 355. Mears is pretty reliable at the Glen. He’s cracked the top 20 in seven straight starts on the track, including two straight top 15 finishes. Mears’ best finish at the Glen is fourth, which makes a win for him not too far-fetched.
2015 Sprint Cup Series Standings
Place
Driver
Points
1
Kevin Harvick
780
2
Joey Logano
734
3
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
717
4
Jimmie Johnson
713
5
Martin Truex Jr.
694
6
Brad Keselowski
681
7
Matt Kenseth
662
8
Jamie McMurray
631
9
Kurt Busch
620
10
Jeff Gordon
617
11
Denny Hamlin
614
12
Paul Menard
591
13
Ryan Newman
584
13
Kasey Kahne
558
15
Clint Bowyer
574
16
Carl Edwards
553
17
Aric Almirola
534
18
Greg Biffle
502
19
Kyle Larson
485
20
Austin Dillon
484
21
Casey Mears
467
22
Danica Patrick
462
23
AJ Allmendinger
460
24
David Ragan
440
25
Tony Stewart
417
26
Sam Hornish Jr.
390
27
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
383
28
Trevor Bayne
370
29
Justin Allgaier
337
30
David Gilliland
331
30
Cole Whitt
331
32
Kyle Busch
318
33
Brett Moffitt
279
34
Alex Bowman
264
35
Michael Annett
248
36
Matt DiBenedetto
220
37
Josh Wise
186
38
Michael McDowell
124
39
Jeb Burton
120
40
Alex Kennedy
77
41
Reed Sorenson
41
42
Bobby Labonte
39
43
Brian Vickers
32
44
Michael Waltrip
26
45
Mike Wallace
8
46
Eddie MacDonald
7
47
Will Kimmel
6
48
Ron Hornaday Jr.
2
Writer’s Prediction
Kyle Busch (+600) edges Allmendinger to win the Cheez-It 355.
