Most online sportsbooks are torn between Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards for the favorite to win this event with several other drivers having a high chance of making their way to Victory Lance including Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart and Greg Biffle (all of whom are the only winners that have won multiple races here in Kansas); however, it is Jimmie Johnson and Carl Edwards who are splitting favorite odds at many online sportsbooks.

Here is your in-depth preview for this Sunday’s NASCAR STP 400 at Kansas Speedway where the drivers will make their way around this 1.5-mile track for 267 laps.

After last week’s Coca Cola 600, Edwards is now first in points and is the clear-cut favorite to win this event in Kansas despite the fact that he has only one win in his previous 12 starts. He has six top five finishes and nine top 10 as well as two poles. Edwards has finished in the top five twice and top 10 five times. His average finish at Kansas is 12.3 and his 94.8 driver rating, which ranks seventh among the series. Edwards will be debuting a brand new car Sunday. While Edwards has never won at this track, he has finished within the top 10 in five of his previous six Kansas races.

Jimmie Johnson is favored by some online sportsbook for this event and is third in the seasons point standings. In his 12 starts this year, he also has just one win along with four top 5s and seven top 10s. Johnson has made a trip to Victory Lane one time at Kansas and has three poles. In addition, he has finished in the top five three times and seven times in the top 10. He holds a 9.3 average finish and a 119.7 driver rating, which ranks second among drivers. Johnson will also be driving a new car.

Kyle Busch is also one to look for this week. Busch is fifth in the point standings and has two wins this year as well as placing in the top five six times and the top 10 seven. Busch will be bringing a new car to the track for the STP 400. He may have good odds, but I’m not sure if he is one to place your money on this weekend.

Following close behind, brother Kurt Busch is sixth in points and has finished in the top 10 twice this year, but hasn’t seen Victory Lane like his younger brother. Kurt has finished in the top 10 twice at Kansas, holds a 19.0 average finish and 10^th-best driver rating of 84.6. Kurt will also be bringing a new car to Kansas.

Kevin Harvick is currently second in the points for this season. He has a single top five finish at Kansas as well as four top 10s. His average finish is 14.6 with an 87.1 driver rating, which ranks ninth among active drivers in the series. He is definitely one that could find his way to the front as he is heading into this race after completing his fourth top 10 finish of the year.

Greg Biffle is currently 11^th in the point standings for the 2011 NASCAR season. He has two wins at Kansas along with six top five finishes and six top 10 finishes. He is the defending champion here at Kansas Speedway; his other win came in 2007. His average finish at the track is 8.1 and has the best driver rating in the series at 122.6. In his previous four races, he has finished no worse than third. In his previous four races, Biffle has finished no worse than third.

Matt Kenseth is seventh with the seasons point standings. He has two top five finishes and has finished in the top 10 four times while securing one pole at this track. His average finish isn’t great at 20.6 but does rank fifth with his 97.7 driver rating. Kenseth heads to Kansas with his fourth finish within the top 10 in seven races.

16^th in points this year, Jeff Gordon is a two-time winner here in Kansas. He has seven top five finishes as well as eight top 10 finishes. He has an 8.5 average finish and third overall driver rating at 106.5. In his previous four starts, he has finished within the top five.

Ninth in the point standings for the season, Tony Stewart is a two-time Kansas Speedway winner with five top five finishes as well as seven top 10 finishes. He has a 12.3 average finish and ranks fourth with his 103.3 driver rating.

Fourth in points, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has gotten one pole at Kansas and finished in the top 10 four times. He ranks 13^th with an 82.5 driver rating with a 19.1 average finish at the track.

Currently eighth in points, Clint Bowyer has a single top five and two top 10s at this track. He has an 11.8 average finish at Kansas and 88.1 driver rating, which ranks eighth in the series.

Jimmie Johnson has won this particular event twice back in 2002 and 2009. He is currently sitting second in the point standings just 23 points behind Carl Edwards. He has a single win this year in addition to four top five finishes this year. He has three poles and six wins at Dover International Speedway in addition to eight top five finishes and 12 top 10 finishes. He holds a 9.7 average finish and a driver rating of 116.3 that ranks third in the series.

In two of the past three years, this race has been won by Kyle Busch. He trails Edwards 39 points in the point standings in third. He has two wins this year in addition to five top five finishes aas well as two DNF’s. Busch has two wins at this race track and has six top five finishes as well as seven top 10 finishes. He holds an average finish of 14.7 at Dover and his driver rating is 102. 8 at Dover, which is fifth best amongst active drivers in the series.

Carl Edwards is currently the points leader in the Sprint Cup Series and has 8.00 odds to win this event. He has been to Victory Lane once this year and has six top five finishes as well as eight top 10 finishes. He has a single win at Dover, six top five finishes as well as nine top 10 finishes. He has a 7.7 average finish and a 103.1 driver rating at Dover. His driver rating ranks fourth amongst drivers in the series.

With 10.00 odds to win this event, Denny Hamlin is currently further behind the three above-mentioned drivers in the point standings as he is in 16th. He currently has no wins this year but has one top five finish and three top 10 finishes. He has never won at this track although he has finished inside the top 10 in his previous two races at Dover. He has 10 career races at this track in which he has four top 10 finishes.

Bwin gives Jeff Gordon 13.00 odds to in this event. He has four poles and four wins at Dover along with 14 top five finishes and 21 top 10 finishes. He holds an average finish at Dover of 12.1 and a ninth-best 90.5 driver rating.

Greg Biffle has been given 16.00 odds to win the FedEx 400. The Bif has two wins at Dover International Speedway and has also secured one pole. He has six top five finishes along with 10 top 10 finishes. He has the best average running position at Dover of 8.0, an average finish of 11.00 and the second best driver rating at 110.1. He also holds the second fastest green flag average speed of 142.733 mph.

Matt Kenseth and Kurt Busch both have 19.00 odds for this event according to bwin online sportsbook. Kenseth has one win as well as one pole at Dover. He also has 10 top five finishes as well as 15 top 10 finishes while Kurt Busch has five top five finishes and seven top 10 finishes. Kenseth holds a 12.9 average finish while Busch’s is 18.9. Kenseth has the third best driver rating in the series amongst active drivers with a 109.3 rating and Busch ranks seventh best among active drivers in the series with a 96.8 driver rating.

Clint Bowyer has 21.00 odds to win by bwin. He has just three top 10 finishes and has a 15.7 average finish at Dover International Speedway. His driver rating is 87.4, which ranks 12th amongst drivers in the series.

Some other bwin NASCAR odds include:

Kevin Harvick 13.00
Tony Stewart 13.00
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 21.00
Field – Any Other Driver 21.00

The FedEx 400 from Dover International Speedway will begin at about 1:15 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 15, 2011.

Kyle Busch

Las Vegas, Sin City, Gambling Capital – regardless of what you want to call it, this city is where the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series will take their cars to the pavement this upcoming weekend. The Kobalt Tools 400 will take place on Sunday, March 6, 2011 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Entering into the race on Sunday, the hometown drivers of Kurt and Kyle Busch are neither the right out favorite to win the race; instead, Jimmie Johnson is favored by most sportsbooks to win the race including bwin at 5.50 odds. Since 2005, Johnson has been triumphant in the race four times, which also includes last year.  His average finish at Las Vegas is 10.0 with a second ranked driver rating in the series of 116.4. Johnson has four top five’s and five top 10’s.

Winning this race back in 2009, Kyle Busch is favored next at bwin with 7.00 odds. Heading into Sunday’s race, Kyle is the series points leaders with brother Kurt following in at a close second. Kyle has an average finish at Vegas of 11.7 and a third ranked driver rating of 108. Busch has three top five’s and four top 10’s while also securing two poles at this track. This hometown boy will be seeking a victory and seeking hard.

Recently securing a win at Phoenix International Raceway for the Subway Fresh Fit 500 and ending a 66 race winless streak. Jeff Gordon also has short odds to win the Kobalt Tools 400 at bwin online sportsbook with odds of 8.00. His average finish at the track is 13.3 but holds a driver rating of 117.0, which reigns domination in the series. Gordon has six top five’s and seven top 10 finishes at the Sin City track.

Also a past winner with odds of 9.50 to win, Carl Edwards has a 12.7 average finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and holds a driver rating of 92.2, which isn’t anywhere near the other drivers listed here and ranks 10^th overall in the series. Edwards has a single top five finish along with two top 10’s.

Denny Hamlin has been given 11.00 odds to win Sunday’s race by bwin. Hamlin, who is a pro at tracks like Vegas, has 11.00 odds to win this race. Looking at the past 10 races on this type of track, he has an average 8.0 finish as well as three victories to his name. For his time on the Vegas track, Hamlin has only a single top five finish but has three top 10’s. Look for Hamlin to drive hard this weekend to start the 2011 season off right and in hopes of securing the Championship this year since he unwillingly let slide away at the end of the 2010 season last year to Jimmie Johnson.

According to bwin, Kevin Harvick has 13.00 odds to win at Vegas this Sunday. Harvick has an average finish of 12.8 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and has a driver rating that is ninth best in the series at 94.7. Harvick has three top five’s and four top 10 finishes at Vegas. Finishing fourth last weekend at Phoenix, look for Harvick to try for Victory Lane this weekend at Vegas.

Next up is Tony Stewart at 13.00 odds to win – a driver that shouldn’t be overlooked Sunday. Stewart ran strong in Sunday’s race at Phoenix, but failed to secure a win. He has an average finish of 14.8 at Las Vegas with a driver rating of 96.0, which ranks seventh in the series overall. He has four top five’s and seven top 10’s and will look to put a win to his name as Vegas.

Greg Biffle has odds of 15.00 to win the Kobalt Tools 400 race. The Bif has the fourth highest driver rating in the series at 103.8 and has an average finish at the track of 12.9. Biffle has secured one pole, one top five and five top 10 finishes at Vegas.

Kurt Busch, who has set the track qualifying record at 188.719 mph and 28.614 seconds on February 26, 2010, was the 2010 pole winner and has 15.00 odds to win Sunday’s race. Kurt has an average finish of 21.9 at Vegas and a driver rating of 85.7, which is 11^th in the series overall. Busch has a single top five finish and two top 10’s. He’ll be in his hometown come Sunday so look out the for the 2010 pole winner as he’ll be looking for a win.

Jeff Burton is fifth with a driver rating of 98.7 and an average finish at Vegas of 9.9, but only has 26.00 odds to win, according to bwin. He has two wins at Vegas in addition to five top five finishes and eight top 10’s making him a very strong contender in Sunday’s race against the rest of the field.

Be sure to tune in this Sunday and see if your favorite driver wins the Kobalt Tools 400. Don’t forget to head on over to bwin Online Sportsbook and place your wagers before Sunday rolls around.

With only one race into the season, Kevin Harvick holds the first place position in the point standings.  Regardless of Jimmie Johnson’s win last week at Fontana, he holds the 12^th position in points.  Jimmie Johnson is the leading favorite for the Shelby American while Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, and Tony Stewart follow in odds.

Last year, this same event was shown as the Shelby 427, but the race is again 400 miles so the name has changed.

For the last two years, Kyle Busch has secured the pole at this event and won the event last year.  The 2008 winner was Carl Edwards and from 2005 to 2007 Jimmie Johnson secured the win and found himself in Victory Lane.  The previous two years before that went to Matt Kenseth from 2003 to 2004.  Jeff Burton secured the win in 1999 as well as 2000, finished fifth in 2008 and third this year.  Jeff Burton holds a Top 10 average finish here at Vegas.

The favorites for the race this Sunay at Las Vegas Motor Speedway include Jimmie Johnson, Mark Martin, Kyle Busch, Jeff Gordon, Denny Hamlin, and Tony Stewart.

Jimmie Johnson has three Top 5’s as well as four Top 10’s in addition to his three wins here.

Mark Martin has five Top 5’s as well as nine Top 10’s in addition to his one win.

Kyle Busch has three Top 5’s as well as four Top 10’s in addition to his one win.

Jeff Gordon has five Top 5’s as well as six Top 10’s in addition to his win.

Denny Hamlin has one Top 5 as well as three Top 10’s with no wins at this event.

Tony Stewart has four Top 5’s as well as six Top 10’s with no wins at this event.

Will Stewart or Hamlin be able to secure themselves in Victory Lane this year so they can have a win or will Jimmie Johnson secure a fourth win at the Shelby American?