NASCAR Cup Series Race at Phoenix Betting Preview /Prop Pick

Next Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race is approaching soon with some drivers that will be interesting to watch. As you look to consider what drivers could win for the Instacart 500 at Phoenix Raceway, be sure to keep some of the surprising names in mind. 

Race Details
Date: Sun, Mar 14, 2:30 PM
Watch on: FOX
Track: Phoenix Raceway

Dunkel Index For This Event 

The Dunkel Index is showing these top 10 drivers that could win this event. The following 10 are:

1. Denny Hamlin    101.761                                                                                                                       
2. Christopher Bell    103.122                                                                                                                       
3. Brad Keselowski    104.373                                                                                                                       
4. Michael McDowell    105.220                                                                                                                       
5. Kevin Harvick    105.553                                                                                                                       
6. Chase Elliott    106.249                                                                                                                       
7. Martin Truex Jr. 107.477                                                                                                                       
8. Joey Logano    107.493                                                                                                                       
9. Ryan Blaney    109.475                                                                                                                       
10. William Byron    109.621

*index is subject to changes 

Head to Head Matchup to Watch

Some interesting matchups will be present at this race. The two drivers to watch will be Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano. As you will see below, both of them have had a lot of success at this track. 

Drivers That Could Win 

Kevin Harvick

Harvick has the best finishing position average for this track. Looking at the number, he typically has placed around the 8.92 mark. 

He also has the most wins with nine at Phoenix, on top of the best winning percentage at 25 percent. In addition, he also carries the most total laps on this track by more than 400 ahead of the second place with 1,662.

Joey Logano 

Looking at Logano's 36 total races here, he has placed in the top five a total of 18 times with a rate of nearly 50 percent. On top of that, he has 25 top 10 finishes with the second-best rate at roughly 69 percent. 

Kyle Busch

On paper, with everything that Harvick has done here at this track, Kyle Busch is second behind him. Busch has a slight edge over Harvick when looking at their top-10 finishing rate as compared to the field at 70 percent. 

Busch also has the second-most wins with three, the third-best in top five finishing rate of 38 percent, the second-most in top-20 finishes with 26, and then the second most in laps led with 1,190. In his last six races here, Busch has the best average finishing position with roughly 3.33 and has the most wins with two.

Kyle Larson

Should you stick with the driver that has the best momentum going forward? Larson took over with a recent win at the Pennzoil 400. 

His recent races at Phoenix have been great, too, with the third-best average finishing position at seven. He does not have a win in 13 tries here, but he has placed in the top five in four out of his last five races in Phoenix.

Potential Winning Pick 

Kevin Harvick (105.553)

Harvick appears to have a very solid chance at winning this event. Based on his recent history and the solid performances he has put together this season, he has a shot at claiming victory here. 

Prop Pick

Christopher Bell (+105) Over Alex Bowman

It’s not often a driver gets the chance to replace one racing legend much less two. But that’s the case for Bowman. After replacing Dale Earnhardt Jr in driving the No. 88 Chevrolet following the 2017 season, Bowman replaced Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 car for Hendrick Motorsports this year.

Unfortunately for Bowman, the results have not been very Jimmie Johnson-like so far. He did have a 9^th-place finish at Homestead-Miami Speeday, but that was preceded by a disappointing 35^th at the Daytona 500 and followed by a 27^th last week at Las Vegas.

Bell was a rookie last year in the Cup Series following a Truck Series title in 2017 and back-to-back Xfinity Series Championship 4 appearances. It was a disappointing year as he finished 20^th in points and only a pair of top five finishes.

But this year has been a different story with his first career win at the Daytona Road Course followed by a solid 7^th-place finish last week at Las Vegas.

Dunkel has Bell ranked No. 2 coming into this week’s Instacart 500, while Bowman is 13^th. That makes Bell a nice underdog pick in our book. Take Christopher Bell (+105) to beat Alex Bowman on Sunday.

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