Hollywood Casino 400 2022 Betting Preview/Prop Pick
11 September 2022
Things step up a bit when the playoffs start, and NASCAR is no different than other sports, as was evidenced by Erik Jones racing past Denny Hamlin late to win the Cook Out Southern 500 last weekend.
Jones isn’t even one of the qualified 16 drivers in the playoffs, and high odds favorites like Chase Elliott, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex, Jr., and Kyle Busch were not even able to finish at Darlington.
Racing fans have learned to embrace the chaos with the Next Gen cars this season, but we will still rely on the Dunkel Index for the best bets who should contend this weekend at the Kansas Speedway.
Outright
Denny Hamlin +500
Risk Free Bet Up To $1,000
Dunkel Index For This Event
The Dunkel Index shows these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following ten are:
1 Tyler Reddick 218.874
2 Kyle Larson 218.693
3 Chase Elliott 220.050
4 Noah Gragson 222.590
5 Erik Jones 222.816
6 Martin Truex Jr. 223.619
7 Kyle Busch 224.465
8 Denny Hamlin 225.786
9 Austin Dillon 226.121
10 Austin Cindric 226.329
*index is subject to changes
Drivers That Could Win
Denny Hamlin (225.786)
On a weekend when big named drivers were getting eaten up by the Lady in Black, Denny Hamlin had a strong showing at Darlington, having the race in the bag until a late push by Jones.
Hamlin finished second but has bigger expectations at Kansas, where he has won in October of 2019 and July of 2020 and finished in the top five on his last two visits.
Hamlin is third in playoff standings with a great chance to climb higher in the Hollywood Casino 400.
Martin Truex, Jr. (223.619)
Martin Truex, Jr. led 48 laps at Darlington before a faulty water pump ended his day 31 laps short of the finish.
Truex, Jr. will be a dangerous driver in all of these playoff races since he was the last man out of the field of 16 and can simply go for the checkered flag in each race now.
Truex, Jr. swept in Kansas in 2017 and has finished in the top 10 in 10 of his last 11 races here. Barring any mechanical issues, he’s a near lock to contend on Sunday.
Tyler Reddick (218.874)
Tyler Reddick didn’t lead a lap at Darlington, but he still came in third place and sits fifth in the playoff standings.
It’s about time for Reddick to tame Kansas as he has finished in the top 10 in just two of his six races at the track, including a 30th place finish in the Spring event when he started second.
Kyle Larson (218.693)
Kyle Larson started seventh and finished 12th last week at Darlington, which was not the type of playoff opener he had expected.
That being said, Larson is the defending Hollywood Casino 400 champion and finished second here at the AdventHealth 400 this Spring behind Kurt Busch.
Austin Dillon (226.121)
The Index likes Austin Dillon this weekend as kind of a longer shot on the odds. Dillon had a top 10 finish at this event last season, but the highest he’s ever placed is sixth back in 2016.
Dillon is 14th in the playoff standings, so he’s going to have to make a move to avoid being part of the first round of cuts after next weekend at Bristol.
We will see if this hectic year continues with another longshot victor or if the Dunkel Index is dialed in and one of these bigger favorites takes the checkered flag.
Prop Pick
Head-To-Head Matchup: Kyle Busch (-115) OVER Denny Hamlin
Busch looked to be cruising to a opening-round playoff win at Darlington last week before his engine blew out with 23 laps remaining. His 30th-place finish did not reflect his dominant run as he led for 155 laps. Busch made more news off the track this week when he announced he was leaving Joe Gibbs Racing after 15 years.
Hamlin finished a strong 2nd at Darlington, but his inconsistent season has continued with 20th and 25th-place finishes in the previous two races at Watkins Glen and Daytona, respectively.
With Busch rated No. 7 in this week’s Dunkel Index and Hamlin at No. 8, take the No. 18 car (-115) to get the better of this matchup at Kansas.
Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.
All Media on this page by Associated Press.
