NASCAR races under the lights at Lowes Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina this Saturday night as five-time winner Jimmie Johnson tries to extend his 72-point lead over Carl Edwards as he heads to his sponsor's home where Johnson has not won since 2005 when he won four races in a row and five of six.

Who will win the BofA 500?

Last weekend after the flames from the "Big One" cleared Smoke was declared the winner after Regan Smith was penalized for passing Tony Stewart below the yellow line on the final lap at Talladega. The win ended Stewart's 43-race no win streak and propelled him four spots up the leader board to seventh place and 203 points behind the leader.

Johnson, however, came away from the Amp 500 as the clear winner despite his ninth place finish. The No. 48 avoided a huge wreck that was caused by the No. 99 car--running in second place with 14 laps to go in the race-and the inexplicable rear-ending of teammate Greg Biffle which took out Chase drivers Carl Edwards, Greg Biffle, Kevin Harvick, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This put Johnson in first place in the standings with six races left in the Chase.

As if Johnson needed any more help this weekend at the track that is known as "the house that JJ built" the No. 48 will start from the pole on Saturday night because rain washed out the qualifiers and he leads the standings in owner's points. Edwards will be second on the grid while Biffle will start third. I am very sure we'll see one of these three drivers waving the checkered flag on Saturday night. The $64,000 question is which one of the three will win?

Johnson is the obvious pick this weekend at 3/1 but I am going to put my sports investment money into the driver with the best average finish at LMS; Carl Edwards. Despite never winning at LMS, Edwards has been the most consistent driver at the motor speedway. The No. 99 car has an average finish of 7.6, slightly better than Johnson's 9.1 and a lot better than Biffle's 19.3. Edwards should make it up to his Rousch Fenway Racing team on Saturday night with a win and wow the fans with his seventh back flip of the season.

Pick! Carl Edwards, No. 99, (9/2)

BofA 500 Solid Gold Picks

Long Odds Value Pick

Gamblers should be aware that Kasey Kahne has won three of the past five races at LMS. Moreover, there have been 13 back-to-back winners while eight times the winner of the spring race won the fall race. Of course the fact that Kahne is not in the Chase does not preclude him from sweeping this year as he did in 2006, but it won't be easy since 13 times the pole sitter has won the race and Kahne will be starting from 14th on the grid. Along with his three wins at LMS, Kahne has also recorded three top-fives and four top-10s with an average finish of 14. 3. So if you don't like No.9's odds on winning investing in a top-three finish is a wise move as well. However, I am not one to go bucking the season-sweep trend that has cashed three of the last four years at Lowes.

Pick! Kasey Kahne, No. 9, (20/1)

Solid Gold Picks

As of Friday Sportsbook.com had not listed matchups for the BofA 500. Too bad that didn't happen last weekend as I ended up on the wrong end of what I thought was a sound investment. I said picking Burton last weekend was a no-brainer and perhaps talked myself out of easy cash. Should've, would've, could've doesn't play when investing in sports and hindsight is always 15-20 but I'll do it anyway. I should have went with the no-brainer last weekend as Burton finished in fourth place and my pick Ryan Newman finished dead last due to engine failure. This burned rubber into my record Over-the-Wall now at 14-17 and -5.35 units on the season after 31 of 36 Sprint Cup races completed.

Bank of America 500 Odds
Sat, Oct 11th (8:00pm EST) Lowe's Motor Speedway

A.J. Allmendinger 100/1
Bill Elliott 100/1
Bobby Labonte 100/1
Brian Vickers 30/1
Carl Edwards 9/2
Casey Mears 100/1
Chad McCumbee 100/1
Clint Bowyer 30/1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10/1
Dave Blaney 100/1
David Gilliland 100/1
David Ragan 30/1
David Reutimann 100/1
Denny Hamlin 25/1
Elliott Sadler 50/1
Greg Biffle 5/1
Jamie McMurray 75/1
Jeff Burton 15/1
Jeff Gordon 10/1
Jimmie Johnson 3/1
Joe Nemechek 100/1
Juan Pablo Montoya 75/1
Kasey Kahne 20/1
Kevin Harvick 20/1
Ken Schrader 100/1
Kurt Busch 60/1
Kyle Busch 7/1
Mark Martin 30/1
Martin Truex Jr. 40/1
Matt Kenseth 10/1
Michael Waltrip 100/1
Mike Skinner 150/1
Patrick Carpentier 100/1
Paul Menard 100/1
Reed Sorenson 100/1
Regan Smith 100/1
Robby Gordon 100/1
Ryan Newman 75/1
Sam Hornish Jr. 100/1
Scott Riggs 100/1
Tony Raines 100/1
Tony Stewart 8/1
Travis Kvapil 100/1