Best of the NASCAR Sprint Cup Pennsylvania 400 Rain Delay

By Jul 31, 2016, 3:55 PM EDT
@NASCARonNBC
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Hydration is the key to survival, except if you’re the Pocono Raceway. In the Tricky Triangle’s case, water is a track’s worst nightmare, especially when it comes in the form of rain. A wet racetrack forced the postponing of the Pennsylvania 400 to Monday at 11 a.m., and it’s safe to say we all felt like Keelan Harvick as we chilled out waiting for the race to start.

Though NASCAR fans will have to wait one more day for the party at Pocono, the rain delay wasn’t lacking in solid entertainment.

As per usual, the Sprint Cup toddlers were all over the place. We learned last week that Kyle Busch’s son Brexton has the attention span of, well, a child. This week during his father’s rain delay interview, Brexton adorably decided to play dress-up and stole Dad’s sunglasses right off of his face.

Brian Scott’s son, Joe, felt inspired by Brexton’s decision and went for his dad’s hat during a rain delay chat.

The cuteness continued with Joey Logano’s dog, Luigi, who tried to nab some of his dad’s Coke. What is with the trend of stealing things from these Sprint Cup drivers?

So the race might not have gone on as anticipated, but at least we got to revel in the sheer cuteness of babies and puppies. That’s a pretty close second to a NASCAR Sunday.

Keselowski of Team Penske betting favorite on Daytona 500 odds

OddsSharkFeb 14, 2018, 9:37 AM EST
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Showing that he can win at Daytona International Speedway in February has boosted Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski to the top of the board for the “Great American Race.”

Keselowski, coming off a win in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, is the +800 favorite at the top of the 2018 Daytona 500 odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. He will be attempting to duplicate the 2016 feat of second favorite Denny Hamlin (+1000) of Joe Gibbs Racing, who, two years ago, was the first driver since 2000 to win The Clash and then win the Daytona 500.

Befitting an event that’s had three consecutive first-time winners, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Kyle Busch, Hendrick Motorsports’ Chase Elliott, Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson and Team Penske’s Joey Logano all draw in at +1200.

The fact that the Daytona International double has been so rare might be cause to look for a higher-priced driver than Keselowski. He has never placed higher than third in the Daytona 500 and will also have the competitive disadvantage of starting 19th on Sunday. Drivers of Fords have fared well at Daytona over the last two years, but Logano, Keselowski’s teammate at Penske, was too inconsistent in 2017 to inspire much confidence for the first race of 2018.

Hamlin will have his best career start at second. Between the Joe Gibbs Racing teammates, Busch is coming off a more successful 2017 season and offers slightly more value than Hamlin. Teammate Erik Jones (+2200), who has been consistent on this track, also stacks up as a value play.

Martin Truex Jr. (+1400) is the reigning series champion after posting five wins to claim the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup in 2017. Truex was nipped at the checkered flag by Hamlin in 2016, so his track record at Daytona is sufficiently strong enough to give bettors confidence.

Defending-champion Kurt Busch (+2500) might be ruled out solely on the fact no driver has won in back-to-back years since 1995. In a similar vein, pole winner Alex Bowman (+2800) should be faded on that basis that no pole winner has triumphed since Dale Jarrett in 2000.

One of the dark horse possibilities is Austin Dillon (+4000) of Richard Childress Racing, who had the fastest Chevrolet at The Clash and has a good knowledge of the track, with nine career starts. Wood Brothers Racing’s Paul Menard (+6600) has two career top-5 finishes at Daytona and tends to be closer to peak form in restrictor plate races.

For more odds info, picks and a breakdown of this week’s top sports betting news check out the OddsShark podcast with Jon Campbell and Andrew Avery. Subscribe on iTunes, or check it out at OddsShark.libsyn.com.

Video: Erik Jones hits staircase on racetrack during test lap

By Oct 7, 2017, 5:08 PM EDT
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Debris sometimes finds its way onto NASCAR tracks.

But a staircase on the racetrack? That’s certainly unusual.

Erik Jones was driving the NASCAR on NBC car for a test lap at Charlotte and hit a staircase that was left on the track as shown in the video above. NBC Sports NASCAR analyst Jeff Burton was also in the car during the accident that happened after Turn 4.

Both men are fine and did not report any injuries.