Denny Hamlin won another race last week, but Jimmie Johnson took another step toward winning the war.
Hamlin took the checkered at the Tums 500 at Martinsville last Sunday, his third victory of this season, and paid out at +600 for his financial backers at BetJamaica.com. But Johnson, with his runner-up finish (as a +250 favorite), extended his lead in the Sprint Cup points race to 118 over second-place Mark Martin, 150 over Jeff Gordon, 192 over Tony Stewart and 200 over Juan Pablo Montoya, with just four races remaining.
So going into the home stretch, Johnson looks like a darn good bet to break Cale Yarborough's record of three straight NASCAR Winston/Nextel/Sprint Cup drivers championships, with his fourth title in a row.
Montoya, at +1,200, took third Sunday; Kyle Busch, at +2,000, finished fourth; and Gordon, at +550, ran fifth.
This week we'll see an entirely different kind of racing when the Sprint Cup circuit heads back to the big track at Talladega for the AMP Energy 500 (Sunday, 1:15 pm ET, ABC).
Brad Keselowski won the Aaron's 499 at Talladega back in April (as a member of “The Field” on the BetJam betting board) in typical Talladega fashion, nudging by Carl Edwards on the last lap. Keselowski took his first-ever Sprint Cup checkered, and Edwards ended up in the fence.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Ryan Newman, Marcos Ambrose and Scott Speed rounded out the top five that day.
Stewart – thanks to a penalty called on Regan Smith, who crossed the finish line first – and Kyle Busch won at Talladega last year; Gordon swept the two events there in 2007; and Johnson and Brian Vickers won there in '06.
Talladega isn't exactly one of JJ's favorite tracks. He's won once there in 15 career starts, and got wrecked and finished 30th there earlier this year.
As of Friday morning, Kyle Busch topped the AMP Energy 500 betting board at BetJamaica.com at +600. He's followed by Earnhardt, a five-time winner at Talladega, at +700; Montoya, Stewart and six-time Talladega winner Gordon at +800; Johnson at +850; Hamlin at +1,000; Kurt Busch and Matt Kenseth at +1,200; Martin at +1,400; Edwards at +1,500; Newman at +1,800; Kevin Harvick at +2,000; Clint Bowyer and Vickers at +2,800; Kasey Kahne +3,000; David Ragan at +3,500; Jeff Burton, Jamie McMurray and Joey Logano at +4,000; Martin Truex, Jr. at +4,500; and Keselowski and David Reutimann at +5,000.
And “The Field” is being offered at +700.
As one might expect, Chevys have won 14 of the last 17 races at Talladega.
Racing bettors will want to check back at BetJamaica.com for updated odds and driver-vs.-driver matchup prices on Sunday's race as go-time approaches.