Craig Lowndes is at the centre of a concerted betting plunge as he attempts to break a long Championship-winning drought in the NRMA Motoring & Services Sydney 500.
Professional sports punters have placed a string of decent wagers on Lowndes to win his fourth Championship and his first since 1999.
The bets have also come for Lowndes to win the opening 74-lap leg of the meeting in the twilight race on Saturday with his odds firming into $4.25.
Ladbroke’s.com.au’s chief bookmaker Jason Scott said the majority of punters who have lodged transactions for Sydney and the Championship have predominantly only wanted to bet on one driver.
“The punters only want to back Lowndes for the Championship and the round,” Scott told Speedcafe.com
“I think it’s because he’s been around for a while, he’s got the profile and he hasn’t won for a few years.
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“Lowndes is the name we keep writing on the tickets in the old-fashion bookmaker parlance.
“The biggest bet we had was $2500 for Lowndes to win the Championship and the same person also backed him to win the round with a similar sized bet.”
Lowndes has trimmed up in betting to win the opening race – in to $4.25 from $4.75 – and has also firmed into $3 to win the Championship behind his team-mate Jamie Whincup who remains in the red at $1.35.
Whincup goes into the Championship showdown clutching a 20-point lead over Lowndes with a maximum of 300 points on offer from the twin 250km races.
Aside from years when Championships allowed drivers to drop their worst rounds, it is rare for the points leader to be run down at the final round.
Ford Performance Racing spearhead Mark Winterbottom is 124 points off the lead while his team-mate Will Davison is 223 points behind as they mathematically cling to hopes, although both could be extinguished when the checkered flag falls on Saturday night.
Winterbottom is at $21 to win the Championship and $6 to win Saturday’s opener with Davison at $151.00 and $10 respectively.
