Nascar Odds At Dover
A thrilling victory at Dover in 2019 should have been a happy day for NASCAR driver Martin Truex Jr.
Truex, the 2017 Cup Series champion, secured his second victory in three weeks on May 6, 2019. As pleased as Truex was to hold off Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson, the veteran driver was also in a bit of a frenzy.
Nascar Driver Odds At Dover
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Truex drove the entire race, and somehow won, despite having a faulty seatbelt.
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Martin Truex Jr. won at Dover in 2019 with a faulty seatbelt
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The idea that Martin Truex Jr. won Gandar RV 400 in May 2019 with a faulty seatbelt is both incredible and terrifying.
In an interview with The Athletic later that year, Truex explained specifically what happened. Truex went to qualify and had issues strapping in.
After spending multiple minutes trying to get the seatbelt secure, Truex finally succeeded. However, Truex made a major mistake along the way.
“I can just remember totally freaking out, getting ready to go qualify, because I couldn’t get the stupid thing clicked in all the way. And then it finally latched. But then stupid me forgot to tell my interior guy about it! For the start of the race, I literally barely got it clipped before we took off. Then the whole day I was thinking about it: ‘What if this thing comes undone? What am I going to do? Why didn’t I tell him? That was so stupid.’”
Think about that for a second. By the time Truex realized that he hadn’t fixed his seatbelt — which is among the most important safety features in a car, let alone one that is racing — it was realistically too late to do anything.
Truex Jr. described the incident as a ‘scary moment’
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Martin Truex Jr. survived at Dover in 2019 and walked away with the trophy in his hands.
Jeff Gluck, who interviewed Truex for The Athletic, said that Truex laughed about the incident during their conversation two years ago. Still, Truex acknowledged just how serious the situation really was — and how grateful he was for how things ended.
“[W]e ended up winning the race, so that was pretty awesome. … But it’s a scary moment when you can’t get that thing buckled and you’re about to go out on the racetrack – especially a track like Dover.”
With an improved seatbelt at Kansas Speedway a week later, Truex finished 19th. However, he won the next Cup Series event, the Coca-Cola 600, en route to a second-place finish in the final standings.
Martin Truex Jr. is an early contender to win at Vegas
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Nascar Odds At Dover
It has been nearly two years since his frightening incident at Dover, and Martin Truex Jr. is still going strong.
After placing 25th in the Daytona 500 on February 14, Truex recorded 12th and third-place finishes in the last two weeks. According to Odds Shark, Truex remained the favorite to win at Vegas this weekend as of publication.
Truex holds +550 odds, right ahead of Kevin Harvick (+650) and Kyle Larson (+700). Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano round out the top-5 at +750.
Betting odds courtesy of Odds Shark as of March 4, 2021.
Add William Byron to the list of drivers making history early in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Byron, who turned 23 in November, recorded his second career Cup Series victory last weekend at Homestead. The fourth-year driver topped the standings after two ugly finishes to start the season in Daytona, Fla.
As a member of the younger generation, Byron can partially credit his recent victory to sim racing.
William Byron just won at Homestead
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William Byron and his multicolored Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 left Homestead, Fla., with a Cup Series victory.
Despite beginning the race in 31st, Byron led for 102 of the race’s 267 laps. Byron held off Tyler Riddick, who finished in second. The All-Star trio of Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Larson, and Kevin Harvick rounded out the top-5.
Byron recorded his first career Cup Series victory at the Coke Zero Sugar 400 last August.
The impressive victory at Homestead came after Byron placed 26th in the season-opening Daytona 500 on February 14. Byron came in 33rd of 40 at the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 a week later.
Byron can partially credit his success to sim racing
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William Byron is still only 23, and he had a far different upbringing and racing experience than older drivers.
Byron is young enough that he grew up with iRacing and sim racing instead of needing to adapt to it later. According to his official website, Byron totaled over 100 wins and 298 top-5 finishes on the iRacing simulator before he transitioned into a fully-offline career.
NASCAR has embraced virtual racing more in recent years, especially amid the global coronavirus pandemic. During last year’s hiatus, NASCAR kept fans entertained by having Cup Series drivers participate in the iRacing league.
In a 2020 interview with The Athletic, Byron explained why he is so optimistic about sim racing’s future in NASCAR.
“Virtual racing does not have the team aspect, the adrenaline aspect, the physical aspect — all the things you deal with in an actual race car that are difficult and challenges. But for me, it was the only thing I had. So if you’ve never driven anything, it’s definitely an avenue. It was for me. But there’s a level of adaptation it takes when you get into an actual race car that is different.”
Clearly, participating in sim racing has helped Byron’s professional career. If Byron turns into the next Dale Earnhardt Jr. or Tony Stewart, he may want to dedicate his Hall of Fame speech to those who worked so hard on iRacing.
What is next for William Byron?
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William Byron and the rest of the Cup Series drivers are finally leaving Florida.
After three straight weekends in the Sunshine State, NASCAR’s next Cup Series race is at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in Nevada on Sunday, March 7. According to Vegas Insider, Byron had +2500 odds to win the Pennzoil 400 as of publication.
Martin Truex Jr. leads all drivers with +600 odds. Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano, along with Kevin Harvick, are all tied for second at +650.
Denny Hamlin rounds out the top-5 at +900.
Betting odds courtesy of Vegas Insider as of March 2, 2021.