Coca-Cola and Joe Gibbs Racing revealed Tuesday that Denny Hamlin will drive a classic, red-and-white No. 11 Toyota featuring the soft-drink brand in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The design — billed as Hamlin’s first with primary sponsorship from Coca-Cola — will hit the track for Sunday’s Quaker State 400 (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM).
Hamlin has one career win (2012) and one pole (2010) at the Hampton, Ga., track, which was reconfigured and repaved ahead of this year’s racing events there. Coca-Cola is headquartered in nearby Atlanta.
Hamlin is among four active Cup Series drivers in the Coca-Cola Racing family, along with Austin Dillon, Joey Logano and Daniel Suárez. Hamlin’s most recent Cup Series win came in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May.
The NASCAR Camping World Truck Series has turned into a pressure cooker with five spots left up for grabs in the NASCAR Playoffs and just two races left for drivers to win their way into the postseason. And with five spots remaining and only two races to go, that means at least three spots this season will be taken by drivers who transfer in on points.
Here’s a look at the scenarios ahead of Saturday’s race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Already clinched The following five drivers have clinched a spot in the 10-driver postseason field: Zane Smith, John Hunter Nemechek, Ben Rhodes, Chandler Smith and Stewart Friesen.
Can clinch playoff spot via points If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fifth winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from either Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar or Grant Enfinger.
Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 13 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 43 points
Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help
Grant Enfinger: Could only clinch with help
If there is a new winner from Matt Crafton or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the Playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the fourth winless driver in the standings.
Ty Majeski: Would clinch with 23 points
Christian Eckes: Would clinch with 53 points
Carson Hocevar: Could only clinch with help
Can clinch playoff spot via win The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
Ty Majeski, Christian Eckes, Carson Hocevar, Grant Enfinger, Matt Crafton, Derek Kraus, Tyler Ankrum, Matt DiBenedetto, Tanner Gray
Tyler Reddick officially joined Richard Childress Racing’s Cup Series operation in 2020, taking control of its second full-time entry in NASCAR’s top tour alongside veteran Austin Dillon. It took 90 starts in the car, but on Sunday, Reddick personally returned the No. 8 Chevrolet to Victory Lane for the first time since 2006. The checkered flag marked career win No. 1 for Reddick and No. 110 for team owner Richard Childress.
“It’s great to see Tyler Reddick in the winner’s circle,” Childress said. “It wasn’t a matter of if he was going to do it, it was a matter of when they were going to win.”
Before Sunday, Reddick had finished runner-up twice this season alone — Bristol Motor Speedway (dirt) and Darlington Raceway. He had led laps in seven of the 17 races.
Then, with 17 laps remaining in the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America, Reddick passed 2020 champion and noted road-course expert Chase Elliott for the lead. He held it for the rest of the 62-lap event and captured the checkered flag by 3.304 seconds.
“Tyler doesn’t need a whole lot of cheerleading a lot of times,” crew chief Randall Burnett said. “Sometimes he gets down on himself a little bit and beats himself up if he makes a mistake. I think that’s the biggest thing with him is you’ve just got to keep him pumped up and let him know we can’t dwell on it, we’ve got to get on with it and go about our day.”
And Reddick, a 26-year-old from California, is maturing in that way.
Reddick entered the Cup Series after back-to-back Xfinity Series championships. He won eight races and two titles at the second-tier level between 2018-19. He then moved up to the top ranks and went winless in his rookie season.
“We got slapped in the face with the reality of what Cup racing is like,” Reddick said. “And just, I’ve had to learn a lot over the course of these last three years in the Cup Series as a driver. But I’ve had some really great people behind me to help me do that.”
In his introductory season, Reddick averaged a 17.5 finish. He did not make the playoffs, placing 19th at the end. As a sophomore, he posted a 15.4 average. He qualified for the playoffs on points, checking out 13th. His highest result in both seasons was second.
As a junior, 18 races into the 36-race schedule of 2022, Reddick may hold a lower 17.3 average finish, but he boasts a career-high five top fives and punched a provisional playoff ticket thanks to his win with eight races left until the postseason even begins.
“I’ve watched Tyler since he was running the Trucks. He struggled a bit there, but he was always driving the trucks to their limit,” Childress said. “Then when he got in the Xfinity (cars) at JR Motorsports, he was the same. He drove. He’s got so much talent. He just pushes that limit every week.”
In 63 career starts from 2013-16, Reddick won three Camping World Truck Series races; he broke through in start No. 18. He has tallied 10 Xfinity Series wins from 2017-22, winning in his 15th start. Road America was technically his 92nd Cup Series start.
PLYMOUTH, Wis. — The fact Sunday’s race at Road America marked Tyler Reddick’s first career win in the NASCAR Cup Series seemed unfathomable.
“He’s not got a win yet?” Chris Buescher said. “Really?”
Really.
“I honestly thought he did,” said Buescher, who finished sixth. “That’s actually surprising because they’ve been really good. That’s definitely nice to finally break through that one.”
Indeed, prior to the Kwik Trip 250, Reddick did not possess a checkered flag from NASCAR’s top level. It was his only goose egg in the national ranks. He owns three from the Camping World Truck Series and 10 from the Xfinity Series.
The 26-year-old California native is in the midst of his third full-time Cup Series season, and he has come close — so close. Reddick had five runner-up finishes, two alone this season, prior to this Victory Lane debut.
“Yup,” Reddick said, “I did.”
DATE
TRACK
WINNER
MARGIN OF VICTORY
July 19, 2020
Texas
Austin Dillon
0.149 seconds
Feb. 28, 2021
Miami
William Byron
2.777 seconds
Oct. 10, 2021
Charlotte Roval
Kyle Larson
0.782 seconds
April 17, 2022
Bristol Dirt
Kyle Busch
0.330 seconds
May 8, 2022
Darlington
Joey Logano
0.775 seconds
Those marks haven’t gone unnoticed in the garage.
“I know they’ve been searching for that first win for some time, and that’s a special thing to do,” 2020 champion Chase Elliott said. “I’m happy for him. He deserves it. He’s been really close.”
Reddick had to fend off Elliott of all people, too. Elliott won at Road America in 2021. He also holds the most road-course wins (seven) among active drivers.
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
With 17 laps remaining, Reddick took three turns – from Turns 5-7 – to complete a pass on Elliott for the lead. Reddick’s No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet then beat Elliott’s No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy by 3.304 seconds.
“At one point, I was on (Reddick’s) bumper behind the 5 (Kyle Larson) and then we were third and fourth,” fourth-place finisher Ross Chastain said. “And he had enough grip and speed to pass the 5, and then there was the last cycle of pit stops and he was able to go past the 9 (Elliott). I just kind of stayed back there behind them; I couldn’t quite do it.
“Just the confidence that he was able to do that. He’ll look back and see that he was able to leave me behind. But then knowing you won a Cup race, it’s indescribable, and for me, it was everything I’d ever dreamed of.”
Chastain captured his first career win earlier this season at another road course, Circuit of The Americas. His teammate, Daniel Suárez, won the other road event at Sonoma Raceway to earn his first, too. Three first-time winners on road courses are the most ever in a single NASCAR season.
In addition to those two and Reddick, Austin Cindric (Daytona International Speedway) and Chase Briscoe (Phoenix Raceway) inked their names in the Cup Series win book.
“I’m very happy for him,” said Suárez, who rounded out Sunday’s top five. “Obviously he deserved it. He’s been knocking on the door for a few months now, just like we were in the No. 99 team, so very happy for him. I think it’s gonna be more fun now to race him now that he’s a little more relieved.”
Alejandro Alvarez | NASCAR Digital Media
Reddick’s relief also comes in the form of a provisional playoff ticket. He made the 16-driver field last year on points. This year – unless there are more than 16 different winners; there are 13 now – he won’t have to worry about that.
Speaking of last season’s playoffs, behind Reddick and Elliott was reigning champion Kyle Larson in third. Larson won three of the seven road events in 2021. There are four more on the 2022 schedule.
“(Reddick’s) always strong on the road courses,” Larson said. “He outruns his teammate by a lot every time we come to road courses. He’s just really aggressive, really aggressive on the braking, and obviously just executed a great race.
“So, yeah, I’m proud of him. And I know the rest of Northern California is, too.”
PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Whenever the NASCAR Cup Series visits a road course, Chase Elliott rockets to the top of betting lines as the race favorite. That was the same in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.
Elliott didn’t disappoint in qualifying on Saturday, putting his No. 9 Chevrolet on the pole. On the pace laps Sunday, however, he reported an issue with his steering in the right-hand corners.
That problem didn’t slow down the No. 9 car, as he dominated the opening stage, gapping the field by more than six seconds. But his crew chief Alan Gustafson saw 19 drivers enter pit road coming to three laps remaining in the stage, making a last-second call to change up Elliott’s strategy and not lose track position once the second stage began. That handed the playoff point to Chase Briscoe.
Same song, different verse in the second stage. Elliott cruised out front, though he pitted coming to two laps remaining in the stage, handing over the stage win to Ryan Blaney. With the guaranteed breaks out of the way, the No. 9 team wanted to be among the first cars to pit in the final stage in case a caution flew.
After seeing nine drivers pit in a span of two laps, Gustafson brought Elliott to pit road on Lap 43. Tyler Reddick, who was just more than one second behind the No. 9 car, followed suit and gained ground on Elliott coming back on the track.
Sean Gardner | Getty Images
Three laps later, Reddick passed Elliott into Turn 5 after the No. 9 car went wide into the corner.
“I just did a poor job,” Elliott told a group of reporters after the race.
Over the final 16 laps, Elliott got within a half-second of Reddick but could never regain the lead, as Reddick went on to win his first career Cup race.
“When [Reddick] passed me, that was pretty much it,” Elliott said. “I did a poor job on my part. Congrats to him. I know they’ve been searching for that first win for some time, and that’s a special thing, too. I’m happy for him, he deserves it. He’s been really close. Happy for those guys.”
“We need to be a little better, but we were good enough to win, so that always stings a little more.”
Reddick admitted that it meant a bit more to outrun Elliott, who had entered the race winning seven of the previous 15 races on road courses.
“It certainly does,” Reddick said of his final-stage surge. “He’s been the guy that’s won more road courses over the last couple of years than anybody. Behind him, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain, guys that are really good on road courses. We’ve been right there with them a lot of the time over the last two years, but sometimes our agendas have been different.”
Elliott led a race-high 36 laps. He said he didn’t believe that the steering issue was a factor in the outcome of the race, as he dropped back to 3.3 seconds behind Reddick at the finish.
“It wasn’t as bad once we got going,” Elliott said, “just annoying more than anything.”
Finishing runner-up and earning 38 points on the day, Elliott stretched his regular season championship lead to 33 points over Blaney. He’s now winless in his last six road course races, dating back to Road America last year.
PLYMOUTH, Wis. – It was a dogfight between two drivers, pure and simple.
It was Tyler Reddick who outdueled pole winner Chase Elliott in the intense mano-a-mano battle in Sunday’s Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.
The victory was Reddick’s first in the NASCAR Cup Series, making him the fifth first-time winner this season. As the 13th different winner this year, Reddick shrank the Playoff bubble by one position.
With seven races left before the cutoff race at Daytona, there are currently three playoff positions available on points. Reddick’s victory bumped 10th-place finisher Kevin Harvick below the Playoff cut line.
Elliott dominated the first two stages but won neither, choosing to pit before the end of the runs to preserve track position. And on the final green-flag pit stop on Lap 44 of 62, Elliott narrowly beat Reddick off pit road to start the last green-flag run.
But Reddick kept Elliott in his sights.
“I definitely knew he was fast, but we could stay with him on the long run, which told me if we cycled through that last … that pit sequence, we’d be close or get around him (on pit road), (and) we’d have a great shot.
“Didn’t quite get around him. We were within reach. Thankfully, just waited for the right opportunity and was able to take advantage of it in Turn 6.”
Indeed. Reddick closed on Elliott on Lap 46 and outbraked the No. 9 Chevrolet into Turn 5, getting the nose of his No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet beside the left rear quarter-panel of Elliott’s car.
Reddick pulled even up the hill into left-hand Turn 6 and cleared Elliott off the corner. Elliott fought back through Turns 7 and 8, but Reddick pulled clear in the Carousel.
At the time, the pass was for third place, given that Denny Hamlin and Harrison Burton still had pit stops to make. On Lap 47 Reddick overtook Burton for the lead and gradually pulled away in the closing laps.
He crossed the finish line 3.304 seconds ahead of Elliott and 21.138 seconds ahead of third-place finisher Kyle Larson.
Logan Riely | Getty Images
Reddick, who was 100 yards from victory on the Bristol Dirt Track in April when Chase Briscoe overdrove the final corner and knocked him sideways, couldn’t have picked a better venue to score his first win.
“What better place than Road America?” Reddick said. “I love the fans. I love this race track. Being here on 4th of July weekend is just so special, and just a huge shoutout to (sponsor) 3Chi and the special paint scheme we had this weekend.
“Love that they’re coming on board this year and taking a chance on a young guy like me, and we got it done. We won a race.”
Elliott took his second-place finish with grace, acknowledging mistakes he made in the final run.
“First off, congrats to him,” Elliott said. “I know he’s been super close to that first win, and I’ve been down that road, and it can be a rocky one. I’m happy for those guys. They deserve it.
“For us, just proud of our NAPA team. I didn’t do a very good job there. I just let him stay close enough to pressure me there while we had decent tires and never could get enough of a gap. Made a couple mistakes. I was gaining a gap there a couple times and made a couple mistakes and let him get back close enough to get me out of sync, and then after that just started struggling.
“Obviously, it was super difficult to get to somebody to pass them. It was impressive he was able to get up there and capitalize on my mistakes. … I felt like we probably needed a little bit, but I think we were good enough to win, so those always hurt.”
Trackhouse Racing teammates Ross Chastain and Daniel Suárez finished fourth and fifth, respectively, as Chevrolets swept the top five positions.
Chris Buescher, Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, AJ Allmendinger and Harvick completed the top 10. Martin Truex Jr. drove the top-finishing Toyota to a 13th-place result.
Briscoe, who started second, won Stage 1, and Ryan Blaney took the Stage 2 victory — bringing him to five stage wins this season. Blaney finished 11th with Briscoe 14th.
The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is scheduled next Sunday (3 p.m. ET, USA, NBC Sports App, PRN, SiriusXM) at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
Notes: All three road courses so far this season have produced first-time winners: Chastain at Circuit of the Americas and Suárez at Sonoma Raceway in addition to Reddick. … Harvick trails Christopher Bell by 20 points for the final playoff-eligible position. Elliott leads the series standings by 33 points over Blaney. … Elliott led a race-high 36 laps. Reddick led the final 16. … Reddick’s victory also was the first his crew chief, Randall Burnett.
Post-race inspection was completed in the NASCAR Cup Series garage at Road America without any major issues, confirming Reddick as the race winner.
Monday, July 4 NASCAR Race Hub, FS1, 6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
11:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
Tuesday, July 5 NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
NASCAR Cup Series: 2005 Golden Corral 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
Wednesday, July 6 NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Motormouths, Peacock
7 p.m., The Day: Richard Petty’s last race, FS1
Thursday, July 7 2 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
2:30 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, Peacock
NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9:31 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane, USA Network
12:32 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
Friday, July 8 12:32 a.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
Noon, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge: Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120 (re-air), USA Network NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Weekend Edition — Mid Ohio, FS1
ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1 7 p.m., The Day: Richard Petty’s Last Race, FS1 11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
On MRN: 5 p.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
Saturday, July 9 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: Qualifying at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
5 a.m., The Relentless, FS2 5:30 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: DAWN 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS2
8 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub: Best of Radioactive — Atlanta Motor Speedway (re-air), FS1
9 a.m., ARCA Menards Series: Dawn 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
Noon, NASCAR Cup Series: Qualifying at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network (Coverage starts at 11:30 a.m. ET on NBC Sports App.)
1 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: CWTS at Mid-Ohio, FS1
1 p.m., Austin Dillon’s Life in the Fast Lane (re-air), USA Network
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, FS1
4:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Countdown to Green, USA Network
5 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show, USA Network
On MRN: 1 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course
On PRN:
4:30, NASCAR Xfinity Series: Alsco Uniforms 250 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
Sunday, July 10 10 a.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series: O’Reilly Auto Parts 150 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (re-air), FS1
Noon, IMSA: Michelin Pilot Challenge, USA Network
Noon, NASCAR RaceDay: Cup Series at Atlanta Motor Speedway, FS1
1 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West: Napa Auto Parts 150 (re-air), USA Network
2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Countdown to Green, USA Network
3 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, USA Network
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Post-Race Show, USA Network
On PRN: 2 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Quaker State 400 at Atlanta Motor Speedway
PLYMOUTH, Wis. — Tommy Joe Martins wasn’t even competing in Saturday’s Henry 180 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Road America, but he was fired up post-race, specifically with Noah Gragson.
Shortly after the start of the final stage, Gragson and Sage Karam swapped paint multiple times. The result was a 13-car pileup after the No. 9 car turned the No. 45 Chevrolet down the straightaway between Turns 3 and 5, triggering multiple hard hits. Brandon Brown gingerly climbed from his battered machine before leaning against the wall.
“I would be embarrassed to be associated with (Gragson),” Martins said after the event. “How many times is he going to publicly apologize? Now he’s trying to act like he’s a bad dude, tough guy. Like are you kidding me, that’s the softest thing I’ve ever seen. I’ll tell you what’s tough, trying to come out here and racing with a budget that’s less than a quarter of what they’re doing.”
Before the pileup, Gragson and Karam restarted sixth and seventh, respectively. Initially, Karam recalled getting a good run out of Turn 3 on the initial lap of green, making a clean move past Gragson. Entering Turn 1 of the next lap, Gragson moved to pass Karam, in what the No. 45 driver said was a “dive bomb.”
From there, the two leaned on one another and drove through Turn 3 side-by-side. And when Karam got the spot, Gragson used a right hook to turn the No. 45 car into traffic, which created a dust cloud. Chaos ensued.
“I think he got upset that a little team and the No. 45 and Alpha Prime Racing got around him,” Karam said. “I think his ego got hurt.”
After taking the checkered flag in eighth position, Gragson was unapologetic for his actions with Karam. Gragson did take blame for the other teams that got caught up in the mess.
“It’s one thing if you’re faster than someone,” Gragson said, “but to throw it off in there and run you off the race track in the corner, door you, run you off the track. Finally, after the third time, I’m over it. It’s not the ideal situation for him and his team, but two or three times, I’m done with it.”
Josh Berry of JR Motorsports was running directly behind Gragson and Karam and had to make an evasive move to miss the incident. Berry thought Karam was leaning on Gragson.
“These guys come in and run one race and just don’t race a lot of the regulars with respect, in my opinion,” Berry said. “You see half the time all of their cars are torn all to hell every race.
“That’s between them and Noah, not me.”
Road America was just Karam’s seventh career start in the series. In his previous six tries, he had a pair of 16th-place finishes at Bristol Motor Speedway and Circuit of The Americas.
“I’m here to win races,” Karam said. “I’m more comfortable on road courses than I am on ovals, so am I going to run better on road courses? Probably. Am I going to run more aggressively on road courses? Probably, because I’m going to be more into the game. When we’re running for a top five, that’s a win for Alpha Prime if we can get a top five.
“I knew I was faster than Noah, and he didn’t like that a little team was doing that to him. He can go out there and drive however he wants and it’s not a worry for him. It affects us a lot more than it affects him.”
Gragson didn’t believe Saturday’s incident will hurt him down the road, specifically with the weekly competitors that were a byproduct of the Nos. 9 and 45 getting together. Karam wasn’t planning to retaliate, but won’t be doing Gragson any favors anytime soon, either.
“I’m not going to intentionally drive into somebody or take somebody out,” Karam said. “That’s just not the type of driver I am. Twenty-something years of racing, that’s never happened to me until today. I would say that’s racing, but to me that wasn’t racing.”
Brown was in good spirits at the infield care center after piling into Tyler Reddick and losing his breath. His 34th-place finish did, however, end a streak of four consecutive top-20 finishes.
“Just an area where there’s no spotters and very high speed, trying to carry as much as you can,” Brown said. “Caught the dust cloud.”
Karam will return to Alpha Prime next weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where he wrecked out and finished 32nd in March. In that same race, Gragson led 38 laps and finished 26th.
The NASCAR Cup Series is in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, for the Kwik Trip 250 presented by Jockey Made in America at Road America (3 p.m. ET, USA Network, NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
This is the third road-course race of the year and the second time in recent years the Cup Series has visited the 4.048-mile high-speed track.
Add in practice and qualifying, and there’s plenty of data to work with to handicap Sunday’s race.
Let’s dive into the best bets for the Kwik Trip 250 at Road America.
Chastain has been the second-fastest car in average green-flag speed ranking at road courses this year, behind only teammate Daniel Suárez.
Chastain’s maiden Cup Series win came at the first road-course race this year at Circuit of The Americas (COTA).
He also posted the third-fastest single-lap average in practice. While he didn’t make a five-lap run, he’s not known for making long runs in practice.
Instead, he had the fastest overall average speed in practice.
He lengthened from +850 to +1000 odds after qualifying simply because of his 12th-place starting position. However, he should have faster race speed and makes for a nice value play off the favorites.
My model has Chastain winning 12.1% of the time, compared to 9.1% implied odds.
The Bet: Ross Chastain to Win +1000 (FanDuel) | Bet to: +900
Austin Cindric +210 to win Group 2
FanDuel has three group bets available for betting. Of those, Austin Cindric in Group 2 presents nice value.
Here’s the group he is a part of:
Martin Truex Jr. +230
Ryan Blaney +250
Denny Hamlin +270
Austin Cindric +210
For starters, the same group is available at DraftKings, where Cindric is a +130 favorite.
Further, the road-course races this year, plus Road America last year, all bode well for Cindric’s performance.
Cindric was very fast at COTA earlier this year, clocking the fourth-best average green-flag speed. He backed that up with the ninth-fastest car at Sonoma Raceway.
Last year at Road America, Cindric ran near the front and even took the lead before breaking an axle on Lap 35.
Cindric was also fourth in practice and third in five-lap average. He will start fifth.
Meanwhile, the two Toyotas in this group, Denny Hamlin and Martin Truex Jr., have not cracked the top 10 in average green-flag speed, average running position or any practice metrics.
Hamlin and Truex will start 14th and 15th, respectively.
That leaves us with Ryan Blaney, who was seventh in five-lap average, but qualified a lowly 19th.
My model has Cindric winning this group 33.5% of the time compared to 27.0% implied odds.
The Bet: Austin Cindric to Win Group 2 +210 | Bet to: +210
Chris Buescher top-three finish +725
The Kambi books feature this generous +725 number on Buescher to finish inside the top three.
Once again, if we compare this line to other books, we see clear value.
FanDuel has this listed at +600, which is still value per my numbers. Meanwhile, DraftKings (+550), Caesars (+550) and BetMGM (+525) come in even stingier.
Buescher is coming off of a runner-up finish at the most recent road-course race at Sonoma. With only a week off, then a race at Nashville Superspeedway between Sonoma and Sunday’s race, teams won’t have much time to upgrade their road-course packages.
That reflects on-track already this weekend, where Buescher was sixth in practice and seventh in qualifying.
Reportedly, Buescher and RFK Racing found something at the Watkins Glen International test, which showed at Sonoma, where both drivers finished inside the top 10.
With both cars once again showing speed, I feel confident in my model’s 15.8% implied odds aren’t an overestimate. That beats the 12.1% implied odds at +725.
The Bet: Chris Buescher Top-3 Finish +725 | Bet to: +600
