The NASCAR Cup Series is back at the Chicago Street Course for the second straight year. Last season, Shane van Gisbergen shocked the world by winning his first NASCAR start.
Van Gisbergen has since made the transition to NASCAR in the Xfinity Series. He won’t catch anyone by surprise this year, as he’s the prerace favorite (+500) at DraftKings.
Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Tyler Reddick and Chase Elliott have odds shorter than 10/1.
Each driver has multiple road-course wins, with Larson winning the most recent one at Sonoma.
Last week’s betting card went down the drain with a chaotic finish. Let’s hope for a bounce-back effort this week at Chicago. Here are our Grant Park 165 best bets:
Tyler Reddick to win (+700, FanDuel)
Reddick is quietly flying under the radar as one of the most consistent drivers. He leads the Cup Series with 12 top-10 finishes, including five in his past six races.
There’s no doubt road-course racing is his strong suit. Since the start of 2023, Reddick has the best overall total speed ranking across eight races. He’s had top-five speed in both road course races in 2024.
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Reddick crashed out of last year’s race in Chicago, but the speed numbers indicate he had the fourth-fastest car.
He has been knocking on the door of his second victory of 2024. It could very well come on Sunday at Chicago.
Shane van Gisbergen top-five finish (+100, bet365)
SVG is back in the field for his fourth Cup Series start of the season. Surprisingly, he wasn’t in contention at COTA, finishing 20th, but this road course should treat him much better.
I mentioned SVG won this race last season in his first start. That speed wasn’t a fluke, as he had top-five speed in last year’s race at the Indy road course.
SVG has won the past two Xfinity races at road courses. He would have won the past three if not for late contact with Austin Hill at COTA.
I hoped we would have more value for SVG, but I’ll take a top-five finish at plus money.
Chris Buescher/AJ Allmendinger top-10 finish (+210, Caesars)
This was one of my favorite bets for the previous road course race at Sonoma, and it didn’t disappoint. Buescher finished third after starting 26th, while Allmendinger cruised to a sixth-place finish.
Buescher is automatic on road courses, as he has finished 11th or better in 13 straight road-course races. That includes a 10th-place finish in last year’s Chicago race.
Allmendinger is no longer running a full-time Cup Series schedule but remains a threat on road courses. He enters Sunday’s race with four straight finishes of sixth or better at road courses.
Both drivers have top-five upside, and a top-10 finish shouldn’t be an issue.
Michael McDowell over William Byron (-115, bet365)
For the longest time, McDowell flew under the radar for his road-course prowess. Those days are behind us, as everyone is giving McDowell the respect he deserves.
Over the past seven road-course races, McDowell has four finishes of seventh or better. He won last year at the Indy road course and finished second in this year’s Sonoma race.
Byron won at COTA this season, but there’s been something off about that team lately. He only has one finish better than 15th in his past five races, including a 30th at Sonoma.
McDowell had the third-fastest car at Chicago, with Byron in 21st. I doubt it will be that big a difference this year, but McDowell seems to have the upper hand.
