Motorsports Best Bets: Expert Picks for F1 Monaco Grand Prix, Indy 500 & Coca-Cola 600 (Sunday, May 26)

Check out our motorsports picks & predictions from our F1, IndyCar & NASCAR experts for the greatest day in motorsports.

It's here, race fans! If green flags get your heart pumpin' and you've got racing fuel in your veins, it gets no better than today.

Formula 1, IndyCar and the NASCAR Cup Series provide a day-long racing triple-header with a trio of iconic races. Today's can't-miss racing schedule includes:

• F1 Monaco Grand Prix: 9 a.m. ET on ABC & ESPN+
• IndyCar 500: 4:44 p.m. ET (originally 12:30 p.m. but rain-delayed) on NBC & Peacock
• Coca-Cola 600: 6 p.m. ET on FOX & Fubo

Check out all of the top F1, IndyCar and NASCAR best bets for all of the races below.

And be sure to check back often; new bets will be added throughout race day!

Use our ESPN promo code for your racing action this weekend!

Motorsports Picks & Predictions – Experts Best Bets

F1 Monaco Grand Prix Bets

• ABC & ESPN+
• 9 a.m. ET (6 a.m. PT)

Jono Rose (F1 expert & Action Network contributor): As the gap to the top continues to shrink behind Max Verstappen, the two F1 teams closing in on the three-time world champion driver are Ferrari and McLaren. Gone are the days of Mercedes vying for race wins and podiums alongside mighty Red Bull. Instead, both Ferrari and McLaren look to have the pace back in their cars and the driver lineup to execute on Sundays going forward.

The perfect example of this has been the most recent two F1 races, down in Miami and at Imola last weekend. While Verstappen won from pole position at Imola, Lando Norris pushed him to the brink at the end of the race and Charles Leclerc came home in third to round out the podium finishes.

Norris did one better down in Miami, winning his first-ever F1 race after staying out for a long stint on his medium tires and getting rewarded with a Lap 29 safety car. His teammate, Oscar Piastri, finished P4 at Imola and was unlucky not to finish in the points due to a broken front wing battling for P4 against Carol Sainz in Miami.

The recent run of form for McLaren after the upgrades, the starting positions on the grid, and the known difficulty of overtaking around the street circuit of Monaco all support this pick. With Piastri starting in P2 and Norris in P4, I am comfortably laying -250 for both McLarens to finish top six.

The Pick: Double Top 6 Finish – McLaren (-250 at ESPN Bet)

Indy 500 Bets

• NBC & Peacock
• 4:44 p.m. ET (1:44 p.m. PT) – But dealing with Indy 500 weather delays

Chase Holden (Action App partner & motorsports expert): It's that time of year again, and after taking eventual winner Josef Newgarden in the 2023 Indy 500, I'm ready to do it again with a new driver.

This year I have my eyes on Scott Dixon, the former 2008 Indy 500 winner, to get his second Borg-Warner Trophy on Sunday. With all of the hype around this race, I'm feeling like motorsports bettors might be overlooking value. I was able to lock in Dixon at 18/1, though his odds have shortened since topping the charts at Carb Day. Still, he's a solid pick.

(I do have more than one bet for this season's race, and you can find all of my selections on my profile on the Action App. Best of luck – and have a fantastic "Greatest Day in Motorsports" Sunday!)

The Pick: Scott Dixon to Win (+1500 at Caesars Sportsbook)

Nick Giffen (Action Network predictive analyst & "Running Hot" host): FanDuel still has Andretti Global's Colton Herta at a generous +450 to finish in the top three. By comparison, DraftKings is hanging this at +230, so make sure to shop this line around if you can.

Herta has had one of the strongest cars all month. It looks like he's been able to almost pass other cars at will, and Herta himself said that while last year was his best Indy 500 car ever, this year's car rivals that – and might be even better.

That's important because Herta drove from a 21st-place starting spot to as high as fifth before a collision with then-teammate Romain Grosjean on pit road set him back. He still recovered to finish a respectable ninth.

This year Herta starts much closer to the front, just missing out on the Fast 12, and will start on the inside of Row 5 in 13th.

I'd bet Herta to podium down to +300.

The Pick: Colton Herta Top 3 Finish (+450 at FanDuel)

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Dale Tanhardt (Action App partner & motorsports expert): One of the most rock-solid options at Indianapolis year-to-year is Alexander Rossi, and he's my pick for a solid finish today at the Indy 500. In eight starts starts, Rossi has one win (2016) and five finished in the top 5, including in both 2022 and 2023.

We’re all talking about Kyle Larson in the McLaren camp this week, but more eyes need to be on his teammate in Alexander Rossi.

Car is good, driver is good, and I think the bet is good. Let’s ride!

The Pick: Alexander Rossi Top 5 (+165 at BetRivers)

Coca-Cola 600 Bets

• FOX & Fubo
• 6 p.m. ET (3 p.m. PT)

Jordan McAbee (Lead NASCAR Analyst at RotoBaller & "Stacking Dennys" cohost): It’s not very often that you hear a driver say that his car is “un-driveable” after practice, but that’s exactly what Joey Logano stated on Saturday. Meanwhile, Bubba Wallace was sporty during his group’s practice session.

In qualifying, Logano wound up way back in 28th while Bubba will start this year’s Coca-Cola 600 from 12th place. Honestly, it’s a bit surprising that Logano is the favorite (-125) in this matchup. Bubba walked away with a top-five finish at Charlotte last season and has top-10 potential this weekend. Logano, on the other hand, may struggle to even stay on the lead lap unless his No. 22 Penske Racing team can make some wholesale changes.

For what it’s worth, over the last nine races at low-wear, 1.5-mile tracks this season, Wallace is 6-3 straight up against Joey Logano. My algorithm has Wallace projected to win this weekend’s matchup as well.

The Pick: Bubba Wallace over Joey Logano (-105 at bet365)

Greg Matherne (Director of Sports Betting Content at @WinTheRacep1 & Action App partner): Toyota was fast in practice. In the Speed Geeks Practice Model at Win the Race, five of the top 10 cars in practice were Toyotas. The only top-tier Toyota that didn't look strong was Christopher Bell. Joe Gibbs Racing is infamous for sending out multiple setups in practice, though, so I expect his car to be fine in the race.

My confidence in Bell is bolstered by the fact that Toyota backed up that practice speed with speed in qualifying with a strong performance. Ty Gibbs sits on the pole and three other Toyotas, including Bell, made the final round. Having the pole position is particularly important here at Charlotte as it gives Gibbs the right to use the first pit stall. Last year William Byron had the fifth fastest car in my incident-adjusted speed ranking but used the No. 1 stall to power his way to a second-place finish, consistently overtaking cars on pit road. In addition to the four Toyotas inside the top 10 in qualifying, Denny Hamlin and Bubba Wallace are lurking just outside qualifying at 11th and 12th.

So far at the intermediate tracks longer than one mile in length, Toyota has been very strong in 2024. While Toyota has only one win at those tracks, the team has been in contention to win every one of these races. A Chevrolet, Kyle Larson, leads the Cup Series in average running position at those races, but the next four drivers – Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Ty Gibbs and Martin True Jr. – all pilot Toyotas. I already bet Toyota to win at +150 mid-week, and I see no reason to change how much I like Toyota based on practice and qualifying. So even with the odds getting a little shorter, I'm still on board with Toyota to win at +140.

The Pick: Toyota to Win (+140 at Caesars or Superbook)

Jim Sannes (Managing Editor of Digital Media at FanDuel Research): My model was high on Tyler Reddick prior to Coca-Cola 600 practice, and then he put up quality single-lap and five-lap times there, as well.

Reddick excels on tracks where you can run the wall, and Charlotte has morphed into that in recent years. I've got him at 11.1% to win, up from 9.1% implied at the +1000 odds offered by FanDuel.

The Pick: Tyler Reddick (+1000 at FanDuel)

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Stephen Young (Head of Motorsports RG Network & Host of RotoGrinders Morning Grind Podcast): Kyle Busch ranks 10th in speed on high-speed intermediates this season, and Ryan Blaney ranks 13th. Busch has beat Blaney in two of those three races. He’s also beat Blaney in three of the last five Coca-Cola 600s.

Blaney dominated this race last season and had a lot of long run speed in practice. Busch had a lot of pace in practice, and I have this as a coin flip in my model. I’m showing value on getting Busch as plus odds. I’m glad I jumped on the Busch top 10 yesterday, and I think he has a lot of upside this weekend.

The Pick: Kyle Busch over Ryan Blaney (+115 at BetMGM)

More Motorsports Betting Content

• A +550 NASCAR Coca-Cola 600 Pick
• Indy 500 Predictions
• Indy 500 Odds
• Kyle Larson's Indy 500 Odds