CJ started off 2022 in the positive line after Austin Cindric’s win last Sunday. He’s $45 to the good while Eric and Greg are 0-1 and -$100 each.

This week, due to the open nature of Fontana, all three experts went driver heavy since Sunday’s race could be more of a wildcard.

The only top driver not chosen is William Byron (12-1). 12 of the top 13 drivers are chosen while no one past 20-1 is.

We did chose the same driver three times with Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Joey Logano all picked.

Larson has three top two finishes in six career Fontana tries including a win in 2017 and a runner-up in 2018. But, can he win is the question on Sunday?

You get double the odds for someone like Kyle Busch (8-1) who himself has six top three finishes in his last eight Cup Series starts in Fontana. In Xfinity Series competition at Fontana, Busch has nine straight top eight finishes and 13 top three finishes in his last 14 tries. He’s a six time winner (2008, 2009, 2010, 2010, 2011, 2013) at that.

Logano (14-1) has four top five finishes in his last five starts at Fontana and five top sevens in his last six there overall.

CJ went with Chase Elliott and Denny Hamlin only while Eric was the only one taking Martin Truex Jr. The picks are below.

 Elliott (1 career top 5) and Hamlin (1 top 5 since 2009) are each at 8-1 as well.

Truex Jr. (10-1) has three top eight finishes in his last four Fontana tries and four top eight’s in his last six tries. He’s led 25 laps, 21 laps, 73 laps, 125 laps and 3 laps in five of his last six Fontana starts too.

Between he and Busch, they’ve won 2 of the last 3 Fontana races in dominating fashion. Truex led 125 of 200 laps in 2018 and Busch 134 of 200 in 2019.

Ryan Blaney (12-1) was ninth in 2017, eighth in 2018, fifth in 2019 and the only reason he was 12th in 2020 was due to a late race cut tire while running inside the top three. He led the second most laps (54) that day and was a top car all weekend.

Alex Bowman (14-1) is the defending race winner.

Kevin Harvick (15-1) has three top four finishes in his last six starts there and was fourth in 2019 and runner-up in back-to-back years (2015, 2016). Worth a gamble.

The thing is there, that’s a lot of Ford’s. After dominating Speedweeks Fords could struggle on Sunday.

While Team Penske and Kevin Harvick (Stewart-Haas Racing) has been good in Fontana, they just have struggled to win. Since 2010, a Ford went to victory lane just once (2015) in 11 races.

The last six races in Fontana though have been won by five different drivers from five different teams: Brad Keselowski (2015), Jimmie Johnson (2016), Kyle Larson (2017), Martin Truex Jr. (2018), Kyle Busch (2019) and Alex Bowman (2020).

That opens the door for some sleepers like Tyler Reddick (16-1) who was 11th in 2020. Kurt Busch (20-1) with six top 10 finishes in his last nine starts at Fontana including a sixth place run in 2019 and third in 2020. He also has five top six finishes in his last eight too. Brad Keselowski (20-1) with six straight top 10 finishes on this track including a win in 2015 and four straight top fives.

Some longer shots go to Austin Dillon (40-1) who has three top 11 finishes on the 2-mile, D-shaped oval in his last four tries including two straight 10th place results between 2018 and 2019.

Aric Almirola (70-1) has just two top 10 in 13 career Fontana starts. That’s the reason his number is so low here. But, both came in the last two years too.

Race Odds

4-1…K Larson (Greg, Eric, CJ)

8-1…Kyle B (Greg, Eric, CJ) C Elliott (CJ) and D Hamlin (CJ)

10-1…M Truex Jr. (Eric)

12-1…R Blaney (Greg, Eric) and W Byron

14-1…A Bowman (Greg, Eric) and J Logano (Greg, Eric, CJ)

15-1…K Harvick (Eric)

16-1…T Reddick (Greg)

20-1…Kurt B (Eric, CJ) and B Keselowski (Greg, CJ)

25-1…R Chastain

30-1…C Bell

35-1…A Cindric

40-1…A Dillon

50-1…C Briscoe and C Buescher

60-1…H Burton

70-1…A Almirola and J Haley

80-1…D Hemric, E Jones, Suarez and D Wallace Jr.

100-1…C Custer and R Stenhouse Jr.

150-1…T Dillon

NOTE: Each analyst has a weekly wagering limit of $100.

NOTE: The weekly wagering limits will increase $100 for each playoff round ending with a $500 wagering limit for the Championship Four race.

WISE POWER 400 PICKS: RACE 2

CJ Radune

K Larson…4-1…$28 ($112)

Kyle B…8-1…$15 ($120)

C Elliott…8-1…$15 ($120)

D Hamlin…8-1…$15 ($120)   

J Logano…14-1…$10 ($140)  

Kurt B…20-1…$7 ($140)  

B Keselowski…20-1…$10 ($200)  

RECORD: 1 for 1

TOTAL: +45

Greg DePalma

K Larson…4-1…$20 ($80)

Kyle B…8-1…$25 ($200)

R Blaney…12-1…$21 ($252)  

A Bowman…14-1…$7 ($98)  

J Logano…14-1…$7 ($98)  

T Reddick…16-1…$10 ($160)  

B Keselowski…20-1…$10 ($200)  

RECORD: 0 for 1

TOTAL: -100

Eric Smith

K Larson…4-1…$33 ($132)

Kyle B…8-1…$15 ($120)

M Truex Jr…10-1…$12 ($120)  

R Blaney…12-1…$10 ($120)  

A Bowman…14-1…$8 ($112)  

J Logano…14-1…$8 ($112)  

K Harvick…15-1…$8 ($120)  

Kurt B…20-1…$6 ($120)  

RECORD: 0 for 1

TOTAL: -100

ARCHIVES

DAYTONA 500 PICKS: RACE 1

DAYTONA 500 WINNER: Austin Cindric

CJ Radune

D Hamlin…9-1…$15 ($135) …37^th  

R Blaney…12-1…$20 ($240) …4^th

J Logano…12-1…$20 ($240) …21^st

B Keselowski…14-1…$15 ($210) …9^th

Kyle B…15-1…$15 ($225) …6^th

A Cindric…28-1…$5 ($140) …1^st 

H Burton…60-1…$10 ($600) …39^th

RECORD: 1 for 1

TOTAL: +45

Greg DePalma

C Elliott…11-1…$20 ($220) …10^th  

R Blaney…12-1…$25 ($300) …4^th

B Keselowski…14-1…$7 ($98) …9^th

Kyle B…15-1…$17 ($255) …6^th

W Byron…15-1…$7 ($105) …38^th

A Bowman…18-1…$11 ($198) …24^th

D Wallace…20-1…$5 ($100) …2^nd

C Buescher…25-1…$6 ($150) …16^th

T Dillon…100-1…$2 ($200) …11^th

RECORD: 0 for 1

TOTAL: -100

Eric Smith

D Hamlin…9-1…$17 ($153) …37^th    

C Elliott…11-1…$18 ($198) …10^th 

R Blaney…12-1…$18 ($216) …4^th   

J Logano…12-1…$10 ($120) …21^st  

Kyle B…15-1…$10 ($150) …6^th   

A Dillon…18-1…$8 ($144) …25^th  

K Harvick…20-1…$10 ($200) …30^th   

A Almirola…25-1…$5 ($125) …5^th  

E Jones…60-1…$2 ($120) …29^th

D Suarez…60-1…$2 ($120) …18^th   

RECORD: 0 for 1

TOTAL: -100