2011 Brickyard 400 Picks: Betting on Underdogs for Big Payoffs

2011 Brickyard 400 Expert Picks: Betting on Underdogs for Big Payoffs – How to Bet on the Brickyard 400: The bad news for bettors is that upsets at Indianapolis Motor Speedway are rare. In fact, only three out of 16 races have been won by drivers without a Cup Series title to their resume, and of those three, Kevin Harvick and Ricky Rudd have both finished as high as third in the standings and have won at least 17 races. That leaves Jamie McMurray as the odd ball of the group and also the lone piece of good news for bettors. After all, McMurray won at Indy last season. Maybe it was a fluke, but maybe it is the start of a new trend of upsets at the track.

One driver capable of putting the new trend to the test is Joey Logano. He is getting 35/1 odds to win at SBG Global this weekend, which seem pretty outrageous for a driver that has known nothing but success at Indianapolis. Logano finished a very respectable 12th in his track debut as a rookie, and he improved to ninth in his second start last season. The third time could be the charm for the young driver, especially when you consider that he is driving for a No. 20 team that won the Brickyard 400 twice with Tony Stewart behind the wheel.

Logano also has some confidence and momentum on his side this weekend – something he hasn’t had most of this season. He has finished 14th or better in the four races leading up to Indy, finishing sixth or better three times. The bad luck that plagued him throughout the early months of the year appears to be behind him, and Logano is more than capable of winning at the Cup level when he is running at his best. He could be a steal this weekend.

Apparently, pulling off the biggest upset in Indianapolis history only gets a driver 60/1 odds the next year. At least that’s the case with Jamie McMurray. Oddsmakers are giving him almost no chance to defend his win, but that opinion could be a little shortsighted. Granted, McMurray has had a miserable 2011 season and has yet to finish in the top five, but he has shown signs of life at the tracks where he won or ran well last season. He finished second at Darlington in 2010 and was ninth this year. He won at Charlotte a year ago and was running in the top five this year before blowing an engine. In other words, a strong run out of McMurray at Indy isn’t out of the question.

After all, he has averaged a top-15 finish at the track during his career, and he has finished sixth or better in two of his last three starts at the track. Not to mention the fact that his Earnhardt Ganassi Racing teammate Juan Pablo Montoya has led the most laps in the last two Brickyard 400. McMurray’s equipment should clearly be up to the task. He has probably been the biggest disappointment of the 2011 season, but it only takes one week to go from zero to hero and deliver a huge payoff for bettors willing to gamble a bit.

View the most current 2011 Brickyard Odds for the Brickyard 400 this Sunday, July 31st at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.