Dixie Vodka 400 2022 Betting Preview/Prop Picks
22 October 2022
It wasn’t without some extracurricular activity between Bubba Wallace and Kyle Larson, but ultimately Joey Logano picked up the victory last week at the South Point 400 to become the first driver to officially punch his ticket to Phoenix for the Championship race.
The round of eight continues this weekend at Homestead-Miami in the Dixie Vodka 400, with one more chance at making the final four the following Sunday at Martinsville.
At the very least, Logano is a playoff driver getting the win, following Chase Elliott at Talladega and Christopher Bell getting the victory at the Charlotte Road Course.
Before that, this racing postseason had been marked by non-playoff drivers like Erik Jones, Wallace, and Chris Buescher being the first three winners of the postseason.
Let’s see if the trend of top drivers finding the winner’s circle continues in Dixie Vodka 400 betting according to who the Dunkel Index likes.
DUNKEL INDEX FOR THIS EVENT
The Dunkel Index shows these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following ten are:
1 Denny Hamlin 233.643
2 AJ Allmendinger 234.013
3 Tyler Reddick 234.067
4 Joey Logano 234.212
5 Erik Jones 235.009
6 William Byron 236.730
7 Chris Buescher 236.795
8 Christopher Bell 236.845
9 Justin Haley 236.945
10 Chase Briscoe 236.955
*index is subject to changes
Denny Hamlin (233.643)
Denny Hamlin has two goals this weekend - either get the outright win and punch the automatic ticket or just race well enough to hold on to his current fourth-place position.
Hamlin won this race in June of 2020 when the schedule was altered to account for the COVID pandemic, but he could only finish 11th here last year despite starting in the pole. He’s still finished no worse than 12th in his last seven starts at Homestead, so #11 has some value here.
A.J. Allmendinger (234.013)
A.J. Allmendinger is pulling double duty this weekend, with some work to do on the Xfinity circuit, trying to make the leap from sixth into the top four.
It’s somewhat interesting the numbers favor Allmendinger considering there are guys like Chase Briscoe and Ryan Blaney whose only chance to get into the Championship race is with a win.
Tyler Reddick (234.067)
William Byron dominated the 2021 Dixie Vodka 400, leading 102 laps en route to his victory. Tyler Reddick didn’t lead a single lap - but still ended up in a second place with a late rally.
Reddick got the big win at Texas the race after being eliminated from the postseason, and he’s picked up a couple of top 10s in the last two events as well.
Joey Logano (234.212)
The big question here is if Joey Logano goes full throttle knowing he’s already secured a spot at Phoenix for the championship, or if he eases off and lets one of the lower-tiered drivers pick up the win?
Logano had put together a run of five straight races inside the top six at Homestead, but he started second in the last two events here and finished 27th and 25th. Maybe Logano has to get rid of some recent personal demons at this track before he can move on to racing for the championship at Phoenix.
Erik Jones (235.009)
Jones played a spoiler in the first race of these playoffs; maybe he can do the same in one of the last races of the postseason as well? He’s coming off an eighth place at Vegas but has finished 21st or worse on four of his last five trips to Homestead.
Prop Picks
Top 5 Finish: Tyler Reddick (+100)
Reddick is a three-time winner this season, the most recent at Texas Motor Speedway in September. He’s had Top 10 finishes in each of his last two races at Charlotte and Las Vegas. The No. 8 car has finished in the Top 5 in his two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, including a second-place finish last year.
Rated No. 3 in this week’s Dunkel Index, take Reddick (+100) to stay in the hunt on Sunday at Homestead-Miami and finish in the Top 5.
Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.
All Media on this page by Associated Press.
