Hendrick Motorsports will probably take home the 2012 Sprint Cup, just not with the driver you think.

Jimmie Johnson has five titles; Dale Earnhardt Jr. has consistency and confidence; Kasey Kahne is a popular sleeper pick.  But have you seen what Jeff Gordon is doing?

Seven races ago, Gordon had 336 points. That amounted to 21st in the standings through 14 races.

In the last seven races, Gordon has 275 points, plus a win to get him into Chase contention. And three of the final Chase tracks are places where Gordon has multiple wins.  

Gordon has gone from bad luck to crazy person screaming at the craps table after an hour-long run. There’s a chance he could be in the middle of the points bonanza as we enter the Chase. It’s something most people would have never considered when writing the Jeff Gordon 2012 obit.

It’s with that in mind that I feel sad, in part for losing 50 fake dollars last week. But also because this is a track where I want to take the long odds, and I just can’t do it.

Up a fake 552 dollars, here are my fake picks for the sake of entertainment purposes alone.

20 fake dolalrs on Tony Stewart at 6/1
So I wrote a whole column on Jeff Gordon and lead with Stewart? Only one man has won here  twice in the last five years.  And this is the time of year when Whopper Man tends to get Jeff Gordon on the field.

20 fake dollars on Jeff Gordon at 7/1
Gordon has four wins at the track. Only Kyle Busch and Stewart have led more laps here in the last five years. I have fake money on Stewart and think Gordon passed his bad voodoo curse onto Busch.

5 fake dollars on Clint Bowyer and Martin Truex Jr. at 20/1
Bowyer won at Sonoma. Truex Jr. had a great run here last year and might have a new contract for next year with MWR. I’ve made dumber fake wagers

Someone’s going to get quite a payout this weekend.  Check out what The Spread thinks; enjoy the race, and insert random catchphrase here.

Marcos Ambrose 4/1
Tony Stewart 6/1
Jeff Gordon 7/1
Jimmie Johnson 7/1
Kyle Busch 7/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 10/1
Brad Keselowski 18/1
Clint Bowyer 20/1
Martin Truex Jr 20/1
Kevin Harvick 20/1
Carl Edwards 25/1
Kurt Busch 25/1
Denny Hamlin 25/1
Joey Logano 30/1
Kasey Kahne 30/1
Greg Biffle 40/1
Brian Vickers 50/1
Ryan Newman 50/1
Matt Kenseth 50/1
Jamie McMurray 60/1
Jeff Burton 60/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 75/1
Paul Menard 75/1
Boris Said 100/1
Sam Hornish Jr 100/1
David Gilliland 300/1
Aric Almirola 300/1
Regan Smith 300/1
Bobby Labonte 300/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 60/1