Continuing on with my thoughts about sports and odds, next stop is NASCAR. This sport is growing exponentially in popularity and if you watch a race all the way through you can't help but like it. Here are the current odds to win the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup courtesy of fieldgoal.com.
4-1 Jimmy Johnson
5-1 Jeff Gordon
6-1 Dale Earnhardt Jr.
6-1 Tony Stewart
7-1 Matt Kenseth
8-1 Greg Biffle
8-1 Casey Mears
10-1 Kasey Khane
10-1 Mark Martin
12-1 Carl Edwards
15-1 Kyle Busch
15-1 Jamie McMurray
20-1 Ryan Newman
25-1 Jeff Burton
25-1 Kurt Busch
25-1 Dale Jarrett
40-1 Elliot Sadler
45-1 The Field (any other driver)
50-1 Brian Vickers
65-1 Kevin Harvick
75-1 Denny Hamlin
75-1 Martin Truex Jr.
300-1 Joe Nemechek
300-1 Jeremy Mayfield
300-1 Scott Riggs
300-1 Ken Schrader
My take on these odds: Clearly the best bets are Jimmy Johnson and Tony Stewart but both have high odds as well. Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are awesome drivers but are favored a little too much after missing the chase (top 10 drivers with 10 races to go) last year. Casey Mears is another driver that has higher odds than his history should allow. I was shocked to see that Kyle Busch was favored so much more than his older more experienced past champion brother Kurt Busch. If I was going to lay money on anyone it would be Kurt Busch. At 25-1 these are fantastic odds and after his win today they won't be this low much longer. I also found it funny that some drivers were favored so much less than the field because it is pretty much impossible for someone from the field to come in and steal the Nextel cup crown.
