NASCAR Brickyard 400 Predictions

The 20th Sprint Cup race of the 2010 NASCAR season takes us Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Brickyard 400. The race is set to get underway on Sunday, July 25^th at 1:00 P.M. (ET).

Two weeks ago in Chicago, David Reutimann upset the field to notch his first Sprint Cup point race victory of the year. Kevin Harvick remains in the top spot in the Sprint Cup standings with 2745 points. Jimmie Johnson is once again the odds-on-favorite to win at the Brickyard, but there are a few other drivers that might have something to say about that. The following is a preview of the top seven drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings along with their current odds to win this week.

Kevin Harvick 12/1

Despite a 34^th place finish in his last race, Harvick still maintains the lead in the standings with 2745 points. Last year in this race he started 19^th and finished sixth. He won this race back in 2003 after starting from the pole position. In his career, Harvick has six top 10 finishes in the Brickyard 400.

Jeff Gordon 8/1

Gordon continues to close the gap in the race to the chase as he is only 103 points behind with a total of 2642. Last year at Indianapolis he started 22^nd and finished ninth. Gordon has won this race four times in his career; 1994 starting third, 1998 starting third, 2001 starting 27th, and 2004 starting 11^th. Overall he has 13 top 10 finishes including eight in his last nine races here.

Jimmie Johnson 7/2

Johnson continues to keep things tight as he has 2557 points, 188 points out of the lead. He won this race last year after starting 16^th. It was his third victory here in the last four years. In 2006 he won after starting fifth and in 2008 he won after starting on the pole. Johnson’s only other career finish in the top 10 in this race was in 2002 when he finished ninth.

Denny Hamlin 8/1

Hamlin maintained his position in the standings and has 2542 points, 203 back. Last year in this race he finished a disappointing 34^th after starting 14^th. His best finish here was in 2008 when he finished third after starting 23^rd. In four career starts at Indianapolis Hamlin has two top 10 finishes.

Kurt Busch 12/1

After finishing a distant 26^th two weeks ago in Chicago, Busch now has 2524 points, 221 out of the lead. Last year in this race he started 40th and finished 27th. His best career finish in this race was in 2001 when started 34th and finished fifth. The Brickyard has not been kind to Busch as he only has three top 10 finishes in nine tries with the last one coming in 2004.

Kyle Busch 8/1

The younger Busch brother finished 17^th in Chicago and is currently 257 points back with 2488.

Last year here he started 20^th and finished 38^th. His best effort at this track was in 2007 when he started 18^th and finished fourth. Busch has three top 10 finishes in five career races at this track.

Jeff Burton 15/1

With a seventh place finish two weeks ago; Burton has 2465 points, 280 behind Harvick. Last year in this race he finished 25^th after starting 38th. His best career finish in this race was back in 1999, when he ended up fifth after starting 16^th. He has four top 10 finishes at the Brickyard including two in the last three years.