As much as Denny Hamlin has been running up front in recent NASCAR Firekeepers Casino 400 races, he hasn’t been able to do what oddsmakers are favoring him to do this week. That would be win the race.
Twice, Kyle Larson has been taking the checkered flag in this race, but it was some time ago. He was winning the 2016 and 2017 Firekeepers Casino 400.
Depending upon which online sportsbook you check, you’ll find one of these two drivers sitting in the catbird’s seat as the betting chalk to win this race.
Last week’s NASCAR event at Richmond was also listing Hamlin as the chalk. He was looking set to fill that billing until Austin Dillon upset the form charts by wrecking Joey Logano and spinning Hamlin to get the win.
| NASCAR Firekeepers Casino 400 Odds |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +500 | +600 | +600 |
| Kyle Larson | +500 | +550 | +550 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +800 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Christopher Bell | +800 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Ryan Blaney | +900 | +650 | +725 |
| Tyler Reddick | +900 | +700 | +850 |
| Joey Logano | +1200 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Brad Keselowski | +1200 | +900 | +900 |
| William Byron | +1400 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Chase Elliott | +1400 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Chris Buescher | +1600 | +1600 | +1800 |
| Ty Gibbs | +1800 | +1600 | +1800 |
This week on the two-mile oval at Michigan International Speedway, oddsmakers are setting Hamlin and Larson as the +500 co-betting choices at Bovada. Both BetUS and Betonline are preferring Larson as the +550 race favorite.
For this article, SBS will be going over what to look for from each of the contending drivers, along with a predicted race winner, and offering additional information for your NASCAR wagers.
You’ll usually be finding NASCAR Cup Series leader Larson and his No. 5 Chevrolet among the contenders in this race. He’s wound up running among the top 10 in four straight races and among the top five in three of those events.
The Hendrick Motorsports driver won back-to-back Firekeepers Casino 400 races in 2016-17. Overall, he’s a three-time winner at MIS. Larson always performs well on the intermediate high speed ovals.
Over his last six races at MIS, Hamlin has been the runner-up twice. He’s never finished worse than sixth over that span, with an average race finish of 3.5.
The driver of the No. 11 Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing is a two-time winner at MIS. However, both his wins came in the now discontinued June race at MIS. Still, you have to go back to 2019 to find Hamlin finishing outside the top 10 at on this track.
You won’t find any Ford drivers among the top contenders for the NASCAR Cup Series title, or among the top betting choices to win the Firekeepers Casino 400. And yet, Fords have won the last seven races at MIS.
That includes last year’s winner Chris Buescher, who dominated the race. You can get a betting line on him as high as +1800 at some online sportsbooks to win the 2024 edition of the race.
There’s always a soft spot in the heart of Michigander Brad Keselowski for MIS. He’s never won there, though, finishing second twice. The RFK Racing driver can be had for odds of +1200 to win again this year.
Ryan Blaney (+900) and Logano (+1200) are other Ford drivers worth a look.
Both Larson and Hamlin persistently run up front at MIS, hence their status as the betting picks for this race. They’re well deserving of this status and difficult to be overlooking as race winners.
Larson is one driver who’s always right there in the thick of things at MIS. And yet his overall numbers of late take a back seat to Hamlin. The No. 11 Toyota has wound up in the top three of this race in four of the past five years. Eventually, that consistency is going to be rewarding Hamlin with a trip down victory lane.
Once you are done lining up all of your NASCAR bets for the Firekeepers Casino 400, you’ll also want to be taking a look through the massive array of sensational information SBS is providing to you. If you want even more in-depth NASCAR information, make sure to check into our NASCAR betting sites rundown, which analyzes the latest gaming markets on the sport.
If you’re someone who’s always on the move, a must-read page to keep tabs on is the best betting apps breakdown, which assesses the leading mobile betting sites that will assist you in staying on top of the action. Lastly, for those interested in some different payment options, look no further than the payment methods guide, which provides some excellent options. Featured here are everything from cryptocurrencies to more traditional banking routes.
About the Author
Theo is our NFL guy. He is the go-to man for all things football and has proven himself to be one of the most expansive writers here, with a broad knowledge of North American sports. He's a veteran journalist based in Ontario, and has covered the gambling and sports betting industry since 2016. He has written more than two dozen books and covered the NFL since the early 1990s.
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