It will be all about handing the turns and speed control this week in the Grant Park 165 race from Chicago. The NASCAR Cup Series street race goes through downtown Chicago on a 2.2 mile course that has a dozen turns. It’s a unique challenge for the regular NASCAR drivers and one that they struggled with in the inaugural race last year.
The winner of last year’s Grant Park race, Shane van Gisbergen, is very comfortable in street races and that’s a big reason why he’s a huge favorite to repeat (+175). The New Zealand-born van Gisbergen is only a part-time competitor on the Cup Series, but he’s had plenty of success on the road races in the Xfinity Series.
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Grant Park 165: NASCAR Cup Series Race odds, preview and picks
This is the second go-round for most drivers in the field, so expect that they will have learned from their mistakes and have a better game plan this year. Christopher Bell (+800) is the hot driver on the circuit right now. He’s won two out of the past six races and finished in the top-10 five out of the past six weeks. An accident on the late laps in Nashville kept Bell from another top finish, but he led 131 laps in that race.
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With such a small sample size, the safer bets might be the way to go. Justin Haley (+8000) finished second last year, so if there is a long shot worth looking at, he might be the one. Chase Elliott (+3000), Kyle Larson (+400) and Kyle Busch (+5000) rounded out the top five from last year’s race.
Let's take a look at some notable odds now that we've gone over recent trends:
Odds to win the Grant Park 165
Drivers in the top 10 of the Cup Series Standings
Larson +400
Elliott +3000
Denny Hamlin +2500
Tyler Reddick +750
Martin Truex Jr. +4000
Bell +800
William Byron +4000
Ryan Blaney +8000
Brad Keselowski +10000
Ty Gibbs +600
It’s rare that odds will vary this much in a normal race, but until the cars start running Sunday no one knows exactly how much each of the top drivers and top teams have adjusted from last year. My top bet would be on Larson. He finished fourth in last year’s race and if all things are equal, he will have made the necessary adjustments to win.
Best Bets: Larson +400, Gibbs +600, Bell +800
Best Longshot Bet: Bubba Wallace (+3000) Truex Jr. (+4000), Blaney (+9000)