Toyota/Save Mart 350 Betting Preview
09 June 2023
Apparently, Richard Childress Racing-Chevorlet’s Kyle Busch (262.378) took the title sponsor of last weekend’s race in Madison very literally, Enjoying Illinois by claiming pole position, leading the most laps, and landing on Victory Lane for the third time this season.
With a stage win and a sixth-place finish, Team Penske-Ford’s Ryan Blaney (260.874) remains atop the NASCAR Cup Drivers’ Standings.
However, NASCAR leaves ovals behind and heads west to the famous Sonoma Raceway in California for the second road course of the 2023 season - a circuit where Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins, and Chevrolet won the first race on Sonoma’s new layout.
Not all drivers are equal, and certain drivers excel more than others on road circuits. The Dunkel Index has your Toyota/Save Mart 350 betting preview and picks.
Will success from COTA translate to success in Sonoma?
NASCAR has made one stop on road circuits this season: the Echopark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. While the last few laps of the Echopark Grand Prix were mired by chaos and caution flag restarts, there were a couple of drivers’ who were outstanding and outpacing everyone before the pack got bunched up.
23XI Racing-Toyota’s Tyler Reddick (264.933) and Hendrick Motorsports-Chevoret’s William Byron (261.881) engaged in a two-car race at COTA, building an impressive gap to the field while exchanging the lead back and forth. The Byron-Reddick battle started in qualifying, with Byron edging Reddick by 0.1 seconds in round 2 after Reddick was the fastest in round 1.
The restart chaos helped drop Byron to a fifth-place finish, while Reddick edged out last weekend’s winner Kyle Busch to win at COTA.
The race pace and racecraft shown by Byron and Reddick at COTA must be considered as you make your Toyota/Save Mart 350 betting picks.
The Rest of Team Hendrick Motorsports
Every race weekend, three of the four Hendrick Motorsports Drivers must be considered for your NASCAR picks.
Chase Elliott (266.510) will always find himself atop the betting favorites and is usually in the mix for a top-ten finish every week. After serving a suspension last race, Elliot has two top-ten finishes in his previous three races.
Kyle Larson (265.172) finished fourth last weekend, marking his sixth top-four finish of the season. However, in his last seven races, Larson has three top-four finishes, alongside three sub-30th place finishes.
All of Team Penske in the Mix?
It’s been a minute since we’ve considered all three Team Penske drivers as contenders to win a race. While Blaney has found excellent form recently, we’re including Joey Logano and Austin Cindric among our contenders to win.
Reigning Drivers’ Champion Logano (266.949) is currently outside the NASCAR playoffs but has two top-six finishes and a stage win in his last four races and needs an excellent points haul this weekend to keep pace for the playoffs.
Austin Cindric (268.019) doesn’t get much love from oddsmakers or NASCAR bettors most weekends being the third Team Penske driver. Cindric is a long shot to win, having two top-20 finishes in his last four races and not having the best results this season.
The Dunkel Index’s Pick to Win NASCAR’s Toyota/Save Mart 350
Here at the Dunkel Index, we have been very impressed with Team Penske-Ford’s Ryan Blaney’s (260.874) recent performances, and we’re taking Blaney as our pick to win at Sonoma despite his poor performance at the lone road race of the season.
Keep up with your latest NASCAR news coverage and betting pick previews at The Dunkel Index.
All Media on this page by Associated Press.
