2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Picks: Betting on Underdogs for Big Payoffs

2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Expert Picks: Betting on Underdogs for Big Payoffs – How to Bet on the Toyota/Save Mart 350: Road racing may be the biggest equalizer in NASCAR. The skill involved with handling more than a dozen turns, evaluation changes and constant shifting and braking allows almost any driver that has perfected road racing to compete for the win regardless of the car they are driving. Road courses like Infineon truly put the small budget teams in NASCAR on somewhat of a level playing field. At a road course, winning is more about the driver behind the wheel than what the driver is behind the wheel of. As a result, this weekend’s race presents an excellent opportunity for bettors to cash in on an upset winner.

One driver more than capable of pulling off an upset is A.J. Allmendinger. Although he is still looking for his first career Cup win, he has a background in road racing, and his talent is definitely starting to translate to stock cars. In his last two starts at Infineon, Allmendinger has finished seventh and 13th. More impressively, the seventh-place effort came after he spun early in the race and had to drive his way from the back of the pack to inside the top 10. With another year of experience, Allmendinger could be ready to make the jump from top-10 threat to contender, which would be good news for bettors at his current 40/1 odds.

There were already signs of such a jump last season. Allmendinger had a breakout performance at Watkins Glen – the other road course on the Cup schedule. He qualified inside the top five, and he stayed there for a majority of the afternoon on his way to a fourth-place finish. He looked like a potential race winner that day, and a similar performance this weekend could put him in Victory Lane and put a sizeable sum in the pockets of bettors.

The other driver bettors have to consider is Robby Gordon. In terms of pure road racing ability, he is a top-five driver in NASCAR. However, a short temper and mediocre equipment often relegate him to being a wildcard in the road course events. That being said, Gordon has proven time and again that if he can maintain his focus and his equipment holds up, he can compete and beat the big names. At 20/1 odds, the payoff is large enough for bettors to overlook some of the outside factors for the chance to back such a talented road racing ace.

The numbers are tough to argue with. In 25 combined starts at Infineon and Watkins Glen, Gordon has piled up 10 top-five finishes, including a one victory at each track. Just last season, he finished second at Infineon, giving eventual winner Jimmie Johnson a run for his money during a green-white-checkered finish. The bottom line is that no longshot has more talent at a road course than Gordon. If he puts it all together, bettors could end up with a big payoff Sunday.

View the most current 2011 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Odds for the Toyota/Save Mart 350 this Sunday, June 26th.