In 2011 Carl Edwards took advantage of some very favorable circumstances and was ultimately able to circumvent Tony Stewart en route to a Kobalt 400 victory and 19th career Sprint Cup title. Despite the fact that Edwards’ victory was sort of chancy (he won thanks to an early race decision that winded up forcing Stewart to change four tires late in the race when everyone was only changing two), he’s a top-3 favorite at +800 to win the proceedings again this year.

Prior to last year’s win, Edwards had also won this race back in 2008 – making him the latest in a long line of drivers who have racked up multiple victories in this particular contest. Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, Jeff Burton have also won this event on numerous occasions, but it is Johnson specifically (who recorded three consecutive victories from ’05-’07) who poses a real threat to Edwards’ quest to repeat. He’s listed as the overall favorite at +600 for the contest, and understandably so.

Remember, it was Edwards who broke up Johnson’s three-year monster run at this race, so this pair’s dynamic will undoubtedly be one of the contest’s main storylines to watch. Also worth noting is that, during that ’08 competition when Edwards toppled Johnson, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a major player and looked as though he could be the one to claim victory on several occasions. And even though he eventually fell in the 238th lap and lost out by less than a second, Earnhardt Jr. is being viewed as somewhat of a longshot in this one. He’s getting  +1800 for this race.

Mark Martin absolutely thrives in this terrain, but his +3000 odds indicate he is not very likely to take home the checkered flag.

This never has and never will be Greg Biffle’s race of choice, so despite the fact that he’s very capable and is always a contender to pull off the upset win, his +1500 odds are understandable. Similarly, despite the fact that Kevin Harvick led nearly a third of the way last time around, this doesn’t feel like his contest. He’s listed near the top of the Kobalt Tools 400 betting odds with +1000 or 10/1 odds.

Jeff Gordon, Kasey Kahne and Juan Pablo Montoya are on a bit of a tough run as of late, so their +1000, +1200 and +4000 odds make a lot of sense.

The Kobalt 400 will take place on Sunday, March 11 at 3:00 p.m. EST.

Top 10 Odds To Win Kobalt Tools 400 – click to see the rest of the field at Bovada Sportsbook