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With Daytona behind us, we’re just about halfway through the points season. Tony Stewart sits atop the leader board with a nice but certainly not comfortable points lead, and 2 outright wins on the season. Let’s take a look at a couple upcoming events and see what the money lines might be.

Coming up on 7-26 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is the Allstate Brickyard 400. There’s a good two weeks between this and the previous race, so teams will have a chance to rest, adjust and fix what needs to be fixed. For guys like Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, though, not a whole lot is broken. Right now it’s a psychological game between the top three in the standings.

Brickyard is a 160-lap race, and that favors Stewart. He’s also due for a third win of the season. If you’re a risky nascar betting gambler and want to go with one racer, he’s your man. It’s easy to pick the guy at the top and bet him, but Stewart presents a strong argument to go with him here. If you’re looking at a player on player money line, also, Stewart vs. the field (anyone else) is a safe bet to take. The further down the trough you slide, though, the less your return is going to be. I’d think, however, something like Stewart vs. Kyle Busch would net a decent return (maybe -145 on Stewart, +130 on Busch) if you targeted a high-profile matchup like that. Busch is a threat, but not an immediate challenge to the top group in points.

The Pennsylvania 500 comes up next on August 2 at Pocono Raceway. Man it’s going to be hot by then, and this 200-lapper will bring out the tempers of the top guns, you can definitely bet on that. Watch Kurt Busch in this one, I’d take him in a player on player money line bet over Carl Edwards, Ryan Newman and anyone else down the line. He’d also stand a good chance against Jeff Gordon, just based off how the two men have run in the last few weeks. Busch might be up in the points, but his finishes have been somewhat lacking. One win, and 10 top 10 finishes almost make you wonder how he’s so high, only trailing those top 3. Depending on the spread, he might be someone you’ll want to bet against, depending on who you’re putting him up against. As far as the NASCAR Odds go, I’d stay far away from him, or anyone else for that matter, on a straight bet “to win” for this one. It’s too risky for the return.