Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images. Pictured: A general view of Richmond Raceway
Following last weekend’s epic race at Martinsville Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series will visit another short, flat track for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 (3 p.m. ET, FOX) at Richmond Raceway.
While Martinsville and Richmond aren’t exactly carbon copies of each other, they both have little banking and measure less than one-mile in length.
And most importantly, both venues promote exciting, side-by-side racing, especially once the tires wear and the track gets slick.
For those who may have missed it, I already bet Kyle Larson earlier in the week at 9-1 odds, so the wagers below are in addition to Larson.
So with Larson in hand, here are two more bets I’m making for Sunday’s Toyota Owners 400 at Richmond.
NASCAR at Richmond Picks
*Odds as of Sunday at 7 a.m. ET
Christopher Bell (+2800) To Win
For years I couldn’t quit betting on William Byron, and now it appears that the torch has been passed to Bell.
I love his talent, he’s in the Cup Series’ best equipment and he’s consistently priced as a mid-tier option, in terms of odds, each week.
Throw in the fact that Bell was absolutely dominant at Richmond in the XFINITY Series and we have all the makings of a high-upside value bet.
The driver of the No. 20 Toyota has won three of his five XFINITY Series starts at Richmond, so he’s clearly no stranger to getting around this race track quickly.
In fact, in his final XFINITY Series race at this track, Bell led an incredible 238 of a possible 250 laps, while running 98 fast laps (the next closest drivers were Austin Cindric and Cole Custer at 30 fast laps apiece) en route to a dominant victory.
Additionally, Bell has finishes of ninth and seventh at Phoenix and Martinsville, respectively, this season, which is important because NASCAR will be using the same race package this weekend that it did in those two events.
Bell has been a top-10 performer at this style of track this season, and based on his history at Richmond could easily show up with top-five speed on Sunday, making him a very enticing betting option at 28-1 odds.
BetMGM is currently hanging 28-1, and I’m comfortable betting Bell down to 25-1.
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Austin Dillon (+140) for a Top-10 Finish
Over the last four Cup Series races at Richmond, Dillon has quietly finished in the top 10 three times, including last year’s stellar fourth-place run in which Austin had a car that was fast enough to win the race.
The No. 3 Chevy ran the most fast laps, led the second-most laps and finished with the third-best driver rating in that event, showing just how competitive Dillon really was.
And what’s most important about last season’s performance is that NASCAR will run the same race package and tire combination this afternoon that was used in that race.
There’s a bit of variance around the market regarding this price, so be sure to shop and snag the +140, which is available at DraftKings Sportsbook.
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