Dixie Vodka at Homestead-Miami Speedway
Hopes to Play Role of Spoiler Against a Slew of NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs Contenders
While Richard Childress Racing’s Tyler Reddick is the odds-on favorite to win Sunday’s Dixie Vodka 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, seven of the top 11 best bets are NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs contenders who will be vying for the title of 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Champion.
A victory by any Playoffs driver in the event that is the second race of three in the Round of 8 (2:30 p.m. ET), will automatically put that driver into the Championship 4 at Phoenix Raceway in November.
Welcome to 𝙍𝘼𝘾𝙀 𝙒𝙀𝙀𝙆 🌴🏁 #DixieVodka400 | #NASCARPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/PyLhFYGFKd
— Homestead-Miami Speedway (@HomesteadMiami) October 16, 2022
Leading the way at +700 is Reddick, who will be looking to play the role of spoiler for the eight Playoffs contenders. Reddick, who was eliminated from Playoffs contention after the first round, has two premier series starts at the colorful South Florida venue – a runner-up finish last year and a fourth-place effort in 2020. He also has two victories (2018-19) at the 1.5-mile venue in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Seven of the next 10 drivers are favorites who are chasing the 2022 championship crown, led by three-time Homestead-Miami winner Denny Hamlin at +800. Ryan Blaney, still searching for is initial triumph of ’22, is at +900 while ’18 HMS winner Joey Logano, Chase Elliott and Florida’s Ross Chastain are at +1000. William Byron and Christopher Bell are at +1200. Kyle Larson (+1000), Kyle Busch (+1200) and Martin Truex, Jr. (+1200), are in the mix but aren’t in the Playoffs battle. The final Playoffs contender, Chase Briscoe, sits sixth in the Cup Series standings and is at +2500.
A list of the top 20 odds-on-favorites by DraftKings is below. NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs contenders are in bold.
- Tyler Reddick +700 – Runner-up and fourth in two NASCAR Cup Series races at HMS
- Denny Hamlin +800 – Three-time HMS victories – 2009, ’13, ‘20
- Ryan Blaney +900 – Best finish at HMS was third in 2020
- Joey Logano +1000 – Took home a 2018 HMS win and the ’18 NASCAR Cup Series Championship
- Chase Elliott +1000 – Runner-up in 2020 and fifth in ‘17
- Ross Chastain +1000 – Alva, FL native & two-time winner in 2022 has a best finish of 17th at HMS (2021)
- Kyle Larson +1000 – Top-five results three straight years (2015-17); fourth a year ago
- William Byron +1200 – Defending Dixie Vodka 400 Champion
- Christopher Bell +1200 – In two NASCAR Cup Series races at HMS has best finish of eight in 2020
- Martin Truex, Jr. +1200 – 2017 HMS winner to take the ’17 premier series title
- Kyle Busch +1200 – All-time winner at HMS with six wins, including 2019 Cup Series race
- Kevin Harvick +1800 – Has won at HMS in all three of NASCAR’s top-tier series, including ’14 Cup race
- Bubba Wallace +2000 – Captured 2014 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series race at HMS; Best Cup Series finish is 13th in 2020
- Chase Briscoe +2500 – One HMS NASCAR Cup Series start a year ago & was 18th; Won 2020 NXS event
- Noah Gragson +3000 – Dominated last year’s NXS race at HMS, only to get into altercation with two laps to go when another driver had a blown tire and finished 33rd; makes Cup Series debut at HMS
- Daniel Suarez +3000 – Victorious in 2016 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at HMS to win NXS crown
- Austin Cindric +5000 – Makes debut at HMS in premier series; Has top-10 results (runner-up in 2020) in all five of his NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at HMS
- Erik Jones +5000 – This year’s Darlington NASCAR Cup Series winner finished third at HMS in 2019
- AJ Allmendinger: +5000 – Fifth in 2010 and eighth in 2016 in HMS Cup Series events
- Michael McDowell: +5000 – The 2021 DAYTONA 500 Champion was sixth a year ago at HMS
While the Dixie Vodka 400 culminates an incredible race weekend, the action starts on Saturday (Oct. 22) with a Playoffs doubleheader. The Baptist Health Cancer Care 200, the “last chance” race in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs’ Round of 8, gets the green flag at 1 p.m. ET while the NASCAR Xfinity Series’ Contender Boats 300, the second race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs’ Round of 8, takes the green flag at 4:30 p.m.
Great tickets remain for all three events. For more details on all ticket opportunities, please visit www.homesteadmiamispeedway.com or call (866) 409-RACE (7223).
Sunday’s pre-race festivities include two incredible artists – “Encanto” voice actress and Afro-Latin singer Adassa, who will perform the National Anthem, while country music star Kip Moore will play the pre-race concert.
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