NASCAR Fontana 400 Predictions

NASCAR – Pepsi Max 400

Greg Biffle pulled off an upset in the third race of the Chase with a victory in the Price Chopper 400 at Kansas Speedway last Sunday. Four-time defending Sprint Cup champion Jimmie Johnson moved into first place in the standings with 5503 points after finishing second.

This Sunday, Oct. 10 NASCAR heads back to the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, CA. for the Pepsi Max 400. The race is scheduled for a 3 p.m. (ET) start. Johnson is the current odds-on-favorite to win this week but there are 11 other drivers still in the Chase that might have something to say about that.

Here is a look at the top seven drivers in the Sprint Cup point standings along with their odds to win this week at Fontana.

Jimmie Johnson            2/1

Johnson took another step closer to his fifth straight Sprint Cup championship with his second place finish last week at Kansas. He is the new Chase leader with 5503 total points. Earlier in the year at Fontana he continued his dominance at this track with his fifth career victory after starting seventh. He won has won this race the last three years (2007-2009) and has 11 top 10 finishes here in his career.

Denny Hamlin               15/1

A 12^th place finish last week gives Hamlin 5495 points, leaving him just eight points out of first. He finished 29^th in the first race here this season, after starting 25^th. Last year in this race he started on the pole but ended up a disappointing 37^th. Hamlin’s best finish in this race was in 2008 when he ended up third after starting 21^st. He has three top 10 finishes in nine career races at this track.

Kevin Harvick                10/1

Harvick moved into third place in the standings with 5473 points after a third place finish in last week’s race. He is now just 30 points out of the lead. Earlier this season here he finished second after starting sixth. Last year in this race he started seventh and finished 10^th. Harvick’s best career finish in this race was fourth in 2008 after starting 33^rd. He has six top 10 finishes at this track including two in this race.

Carl Edwards                   8/1

Last week at Kansas, Edwards finished sixth which gives him 5450 points; 53 points out of first. In the first race at this track this season he started 31^st and finished 13^th. Last year in this race he started 11^th and finished sixth. He took second in this race in 2007 after starting 19^th, which was his best finish ever. He has 10 career top 10 finishes at this track and has never finished out of the top 10 in this race in six starts.

Jeff Gordon                      8/1

Gordon remains winless on the year but now has 5445 points after a fifth place finish last week. He is now 58 points in back of Johnson. He finished 20^th in the first race at Fontana this season after starting 28^th. Last year in this race he started 10^th and ended up second, which happened to be his best finish ever in this race. For his career, Gordon has 10 top 10 finishes and three victories back when there was only one race a year at this track.

Kurt Busch                     12/1

A 13^th place finish at Kansas gives Busch 5433 points, leaving him 70 points out of the lead. Earlier this year at this track he finished sixth after starting 12^th. Last year he started 24^th and finished eighth for only his second career top 10 finish in this race. He does have eight top 10 finishes at this track.

Kyle Busch                      12/1

The other Busch brother finished a disappointing 24^th last week, dropping him to seventh in the standings with 5423 points and 80 points out of first place. Busch finished 14^th in the first race at Fontana this year after starting ninth. Last year in this race, he finished 24^th after starting 19^th. He won this race in 2005 after starting 25^th. Busch has eight career top 10 finishes at this track with four of them coming in this race.

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