NASCAR 2019 Gander RV 400 Odds & Picks: Expect Harvick to Bounce Back

• The Gander RV 400 is scheduled for Sunday, May 2nd at 2:00 p.m. EST
• This will be the first of two races at Dover Motor Speedway this season
• Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 of every race this season

The NASCAR circuit makes its way to Dover Motor Speedway for the Gander RV 400. The race will take place on Sundaym May 5th at 2:00 p.m. EST. Kyle Busch has finished in the top 10 in every race so far this season. Will that be the case once again at Dover?

Gander RV 400 Odds

*Odds taken 05/01/19

Busch Worth a Bet Again?

Kyle Busch made history last week at Talladega, even if he didn’t win. Busch finished in the top 10 once again, making it a clean sweep this season. In other words, he’s placed in the top 10 in every race so far. No driver has done that since 1990.

“We’ve added downforce and made the cars harder to handle. I don’t know how that works.”

Kyle Busch pic.twitter.com/G4TBl7Q9Qy

— Autoweek (@AutoweekUSA) April 29, 2019

Obviously, he’s a decent bet for a top 10 at the Gander RV 400 this weekend but a top 5 or a win is also a reasonable bet. Busch has won this race twice before and has finished second or better in three of his four appearances in the other Cup Series event that takes place at Dover.

Harvick Could Succeed

Harvick is coming off his worst performance of the season at Talladega, finishing a disappointing 38th. However, there is reason to believe he is bound to bounce back this weekend at Dover. First off, Harvick is the defending champion at this race. Secondly, Harvick has finished second or better in three of his last seven trips to this track.

Here’s what Kyle Busch, Kevin Harvick and other @NASCAR stars did with their first big paycheck: https://t.co/kyy66rXq8I pic.twitter.com/HtLRlUJFS4

— CNBC Make It (@CNBCMakeIt) May 1, 2019

Lastly, Harvick has placed in the top 10 in seven of his last nine races overall including four top-five results. Don’t read into his poor finish at Talladega too much as he never does well there. His average finish is 22.60 over his last five starts. He should get back to business this week.

Is This Johnson’s Time?

Taking a look at one of the longer shots, Johnson could be worth a play here. I’m not expecting a win, but a top 10 is a good possibility. The driver of the no. 48 Chevrolet is still looking for his first victory of the season but he has four top 10 results to his name. More importantly, he has an outstanding track record at Dover.

Jimmie Johnson ’16 Auto Club 400 practice, eventually winning. Fontana, Ca. pic.twitter.com/xlJvnTIKhQ

— Lou-Lou (@FabFour8) April 29, 2019

Johnson has actually won this race in four of the last seven years and six times overall. With 11 career Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series wins at Dover, there is a very real chance that this is the week Johnson breaks through. This is just one of six tracks for him where he has an average finish better than 10th.

Pass on Suarez to Win Outright

There has been plenty of talk about Suarez’s potential at a track in which he has had some success throughout the first three years of his career. However, Suarez has yet to win this race and he’s also yet to win any race at all this season.

A fight broke out during qualifying at @ISMRaceway. ?

Daniel Suarez and Michael McDowell with emotions overflowing. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/d190n4xq70

— NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) March 8, 2019

Suarez did finish third in this race a year ago and he’s never finished outside of the top 10 here. If you’re so inclined to bet him to finish in the top 10 or top 5, I wouldn’t argue with you. But I would stay away from betting him to win outright.