This Saturday’s SpongeBob SquarePants 400 at Kansas Speedway is quickly approaching. On Friday, cars will roll out for the 1st of two practice sessions starting at 12:00PM (EST). Before the cars take the track, there are a few qualifying match-ups that are posted for bettors brave enough to partake in the action. While qualifying bets may seem unpredictable, there are some legitimately strong handicapping methods for these types of wagers. If you have followed our qualifying match-ups before they have typically been really strong and we hope to replicate those results moving forward. Remember, these odds will be taken off the board when the 1st practice starts on Friday. Therefore do not wait too long to get your bets in. Take a look at the posted qualifying match-ups courtesy of 5 Dimes.
| SprintCup Motor Racing | | | | Money Line |
| Match-up #1 | | 601 Kevin Harvick (Qualifying) | | -125 |
| | | 602 Kurt Busch (Qualifying) | | -105 |
| Match-up #2 | | 603 Jeff Gordon (Qualifying) | | -115 |
| | | 604 Jimmie Johnson (Qualifying) | | -115 |
| Match-up #3 | | 605 Brad Keselowski (Qualifying) | | -115 |
| | | 606 Joey Logano (Qualifying) | | -115 |
| Match-up #4 | | 607 Kasey Kahne (Qualifying) | | -140 |
| | | 608 Ryan Newman (Qualifying) | | +110 |
| Match-up #5 | | 609 Jamie McMurray (Qualifying) | | -130 |
| | | 610 Kyle Larson (Qualifyng) | | +100 |
At first glance, match-up #1 seems to have Kevin Harvick’s name on all over it. However I believe the line is setup with the intentions to provoke action towards Harvick and his Freaky Fast Jimmy Johns Cheverolet. Sorry for the pun. On the other hand, Kurt Busch has two poles at California and Texas already this season. Because of his early suspensions, Busch’s two poles are his only qualifying attempts on tracks over 1 mile in length outside of last week’s 12th place effort at Talladega. Therefore, I would lean towards Busch on this bet if I absolutely had to pick a winner. However, I would stay away from that particular match-up all together. In fact all of this week’s match-ups are very competitive. The only match-up that I feel really confident about is match-up #2 between Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson. Gordon has qualified well this season with two poles already at Las Vegas and last week at Talladega. Both drivers share similar stats surrounding average starting positions at Kansas in both recent and long term trends. Therefore, I like the momentum factor with the #24 team this week. To add to the #24’s cause and interestingly enough, GoodYear’s new right side tire compound at Kansas this week features the same combination used previously this year at both Las Vegas and Talladega where Gordon won the pole.
Jeff Gordon -115 over Jimmie Johnson (2 units)