Dean Etheridge
The next race on the NASCAR Cup Series roster is the Toyota/Save Mart 350 from Sonoma this Sunday, and luckily we have some free Motor Racing betting picks here for you to follow in the big race.
Yes, NASCAR is returning to road-course racing this weekend at Sears Point in California. The venue is the Sonoma Raceway, a 1.99-mile road circuit, and one of only seven road-course circuit races on the 2022 Cup Series calendar.
The most successful team here is Hendrick Motorsports, which has seven wins to its name. While the best performing manufacturer is Chevrolet, which has 12 victories.
Don’t get too drawn in by those stats though. The last Hendrick win here was 12 months ago when Kyle Larson won. At that stage of last season, Larson was firing on all cylinders and was winning nearly every week.
Larson’s win was the first for Hendricks on this course since Jimmie Johnson won back in June 2010. Hence my point, don’t get too carried away with the stats.
Speaking of Larson, the best online sportsbooks are sticking with him as the favorite to win the 2022 Cup Series driver’s championship. That phrase is beginning to sound like a stuck record (or download, these days), as is the phrase – it was another disappointing race last weekend for the defending champion. He only managed 12th this time at the WWTR.
Anyway, despite all of that, Larson is still the clear favorite to retain his title. He is +500 with MyBookie, well clear of Chase Elliott, who is +650, and Kyle Busch and William Byron who are both on +800.
The best NASCAR betting sites aren’t ready to ditch the champ anytime soon!
What’s the Form heading into the Toyota/Save Mart 350?
Onto this weekend’s race now, and if we’re going to use the recent form to help us out, we’re in trouble. Why? Well, every week there is a different winner.
There is a theme of sorts starting to develop though. And this theme involves Team Penske.
.@joeylogano wins in a THRILLING #NASCAROvertime finish!
RETWEET to congratulate the first NASCAR Cup Series winner at @WWTRaceway. #EnjoyIllinois300 pic.twitter.com/COIiM6C8QT
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) June 5, 2022
Last week, Joey Logan won the Enjoy Illinois 300, and between them, Penske drivers Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney have won three of the last six races (if you include the two All-Stars events).
But that was on Oval circuits, and this weekend we are switching to road courses.
Also performing well of late, and indeed all season is the Trackhouse Racing team. There was a win for Daniel Suarez at the All-Stars Open race, and he was also performing well in the Coca-Cola 600 until his race was ended by a shunt.
In the same race, teammate Ross Chastain led for most laps, and Chastain is also one of very few drivers with two wins to his name this season.
Another recent winner was Denny Hamlin for Joe Gibbs Racing. Hamlin took the honors at the Coca-Cola 600, which was his second win of the season.
THE COCA-COLA 600 COMES DOWN TO THE FINAL LAP! @dennyhamlin beats @KyleBusch to the line! pic.twitter.com/vFQpUfI9SD
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 30, 2022
As for the Hendrick team, they’ve not won since Chase Elliott won the DuraMAX Drydene 400 back on May 1st. That’s a hell of a run without someone topping the podium for one of the best teams.
So, is the Hendrick team struggling and losing ground? Or is it a temporary blip and that next win is just around the corner?
2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 – All You Need To Know
- What; NASCAR Cup Series Toyota/Save Mart 350
- Where; Sonoma Raceway, Sonoma, California, USA
- When; Sunday, June 12th, 2022
- Green Flag; 4 pm ET
The 1.99-mile long circuit is a road course and consists of 12 turns. In total, the drivers have to complete 110 laps to do the 350km. Stage 1 consists of 25 laps, Stage 2 is 35 laps, and the Final Stage is 50 laps.
Last year’s winner Kyle Larson is second in the betting at +700. Larson’s teammate Chase Elliott is the betting favorite to win at +550.
| 2022 Toyota/Save Mart 350 Winner Betting |  |  |
| Chase Elliott | +550 | +550 |
| Kyle Larson | +650 | +700 |
| Martin Truex Jr | +600 | +800 |
| Aj Allmendinger | +1000 | +900 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1400 | +1600 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1200 | +1600 |
| William Byron | +2000 | +2800 |
| Ross Chastain | +1200 | +1000 |
| Tyler Reddick | +1500 | +2000 |
| Austin Cindric | +1500 | +1200 |
| Joey Logano | +1600 | +1400 |
| Christopher Bell | +1600 | +1600 |
| Kurt Busch | +2000 | +2000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +2000 | +2000 |
Toyota/Save Mart 350 Betting Picks
Right, it’s now time for some NASCAR betting picks for this weekend’s race. As we established earlier, there is a little bit of form to go on concerning two of the Team Penske drivers.
Quite how they will fare on a road circuit remains to be seen, but the form of Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano can’t be ignored. Blaney is +1600 to win the race, while Logano is +1700. To finish in the Top 5, Blaney is +175, Logano is +200.
I’m going for Blaney to win the race and Logano to finish in the Top 5 for my first betting picks.
Earlier in the season at the Texas Grand Prix, held at the Circuit of the Americas (COTA), Ross Chastain was victorious for the Trackhouse Racing team.
The Circuit of the Americas course can be slightly compared to this one. So I think at odds of +1200 on Ross Chastain, and odds of +2000 on Daniel Suarez, the two Trackhouse drivers are well worth hedging our bets on as well.
If we take all four of those drivers to win using small stakes, we will still be well in profit if one of them can get the job done.
