Posted on by Staff Report

This article is brought to you by BetMGM.

The NASCAR Cup Series has fallen in love with road courses in 2021. For many years, the circuit would visit only two tracks of this ilk — Sonoma in California, and later in the summer, Watkins Glen in New York.

Not this year.

This weekend, the Cup Series will visit the famed Brickyard — but not to race on the conventional rectangular oval track as it had since the mid-1990s. This year, it will do battle on the Grand Prix Road Course for the first time. This will be the sixth weekend this year the series visits a road course, and there’s one more to go (Charlotte’s road course in the postseason).

So who has the best shot at making memories this weekend? We discuss.

RELATED: NASCAR BetCenter | Full odds for Sunday’s race at Indianapolis

THE ODDS-ON FAVORITE

Chase Elliott (+220)

Restrictor-plate tracks? Check. Short tracks? Check. Regular oval tracks? Yep, check the box there, too. And road-course circuits? Nobody is better in today’s NASCAR than Elliott. So is it any wonder he tops the NASCAR racing odds once again this weekend at one of the more unique — and iconic — venues in America?

Elliott is 25 years old and has won 13 career NASCAR Cup Series races already. His old man Bill — you know, Awesome Bill from Dawsonville — won 44 races in 828 starts spanning 1976 to 2012. Dad’s in the Hall of Fame, where is Chase’s career going to end up? Who knows, but it’s certainly off to a great start.

A strong finish here would be just one more career notch in the proverbial belt.

OTHERS: Like Elliott, Kyle Larson (+280) is perched at or near the top of the racing odds every weekend. He’s multi-dimensional, and as of this weekend he finally caught up with Denny Hamlin at the top of the season’s standings (they’re tied, but Hamlin hasn’t won a race so Larson is the leader on a tiebreak). Larson has won five points races this year (and the All-Star Race) and has 16 top-10 finishes on the season.

Martin Truex, Jr. (+600) is next up in the odds, and he has much more experience at the track than the above two youngsters. He and Kyle Busch (+1000) are worth keeping an eye on.

THE DARK HORSE THREAT

Kevin Harvick (+2500)

OK, so Indy’s road course isn’t the same as Indy’s legendary speedway that has been in use since 1909. So what? Harvick can handle any venue (58 career wins). Harvick’s three wins at the Indy venue rank third all-time behind Jeff Gordon (five) and Jimmie Johnson (four). Could that good fortune when he’s in Indy translate to a special day on the road course on Sunday? Time will tell.

After this weekend, Harvick would have only Michigan and Daytona remaining to clinch a win and lock himself into the playoffs. He’s had success in his career at those two tracks, but why not wrap things up this weekend, right?

THE INTRIGUING LONGSHOT

Chase Briscoe (+3300)

NASCAR’s top three series have only visited the Indianapolis Grand Prix circuit one other time — last year in the Xfinity Series. Why not go with the guy who won that race and led 30 of the 62 laps — Briscoe? While road-course ace A.J. Allmendinger (+2000) is also an intriguing pick, Briscoe’s the only guy in the field who has won a NASCAR race at the locale.

Briscoe has three top-10 finishes in the Cup Series this year, and all three have been on road courses. While anything can happen at Daytona (the final regular-season race), this may be Briscoe’s final chance to lock himself into racing’s postseason.

Posted on by Cara Cooper

Four years ago when the last asphalt race track in Utah closed, it put modified driver Eric Rhead in a tough situation.

Because even though his home track went away, “the racing itch didn’t,” Rhead said.

To continue racing, Rhead, who grew up in Utah and still lives and works there today, would have to drive four hours north to Idaho to compete at Magic Valley Speedway, or seven hours south to Nevada to race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

“They’re long weekends,” he said.

Rhead’s team started out at Las Vegas, which is currently off for a summer break. The team has been focusing this month on Magic Valley, where they’ve won the last two ICCU Modifieds division championships.

Img 0959 (1)
Photo by Roxi courtesy of Eric Rhead

The team hopes to get back to Vegas again this fall.

The extra travel hasn’t slowed Rhead down. This season it’s actually been the opposite. He currently leads the modified points at Magic Valley, and he’s sixth in the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings and leading the West Region by 38 points.

RELATED: Magic Valley points leaders | NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series Division I standings

After struggling to find victory lane since June, the team swept two features at Magic Valley last weekend to give them seven wins and 19 top-5 finishes in 21 races this season.

“It’s been kind of up and down, to be honest,” Rhead said of his season. “We started off pretty much on fire and we fell off in the last month and a half, but I think we finally got our mojo back last weekend so I think we’re doing all right now.”

Having to travel that much every weekend is anything but easy, and Rhead credits his team with making the miles worth it and still finding success wherever they go. The crew had done some tour racing in the past, so they had an idea of the difficulties and time commitment of traveling.

Rhead has had largely the same crew for several years, even before he moved to Magic Valley.

“All friends of mine. I don’t know how I’ve been so lucky to get them to work on the car for free for so long,” he said.

Friends Jeremy Newcomb and Jeremy White, former sponsor-turned-crew-member Mike Austin, father/son duo Dan and Keaton, and former teammate Lane Hardy, Rhead’s girlfriend Roxi, plus all of their spouses travel with the team every weekend.

“Everybody helps. It’s definitely not just me. It’s a group of people, for sure,” he said. “It’s a huge advantage. If you’ve ever traveled with any of your friends the first time you learn a lot about them. After you’ve done it and you find a good group of people that click really well it just makes life easier. There’s a lot of emotion in this sport and obviously, we’re competitive… It’s a good thing to have a team that’s been together a while and I’m fortunate enough to have that.”

Rhead wasn’t planning to do as much asphalt racing this year. He bought a dirt car they were going to try to race.

But when the NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series announced the introduction of regional champions this season, the team reignited their dreams of running for national points and a bigger title.

RELATED: Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series information

When the chance for a regional championship was announced, Rhead said they had to scramble to get their cars – they have to take different cars to Magic Valley and Las Vegas – ready.

Coming into this season, the highest Rhead had ever finished nationally was somewhere in the top 20.

“Nowhere near where are right now,” he said.

“We’re pretty excited about where we’re sitting. We obviously want to get better and higher ranked in the nation. I think realistically now that we’re back on track if we can continue what we do I think we can get into the top three. I think we’re a little far out to have a realistic shot at the national championship, but our goal right now is to win the region and get into the top 3 in the nation and I think that’d be a good year for us.”

Having a career season in his 21st year behind the wheel, the competitive nature that initially got Rhead into racing hasn’t left.

Finding victory lane is what it will take, he said, to continue moving up in all the standings.

“Winning is important to us. I’m a competitive person,” he said. “It’s good to be able to go out and do something where you’re on the edge and able to compete against other people and see if you can beat them.

“We’ve got to keep winning. Before last weekend I hadn’t had a win since the middle of June and that was kind of weighing on us. Before last Saturday we had our first two races where we didn’t finish in the top 5… We think the key to what we’ve got going on the rest of the year is we just need to start winning again.”

This weekend is a good time to start a winning streak, Rhead said, with a higher car count expected for Saturday’s race at Magic Valley.

RELATED: More on NASCAR Roots

“We’ve been in the same kind of car at Magic Valley the last three years and I felt like we learned a lot the last three years. Not that we weren’t successful when we first stated but we just been dialing in and dialing in on our car, and I’ve been reluctant to take that car to any other track because we’ve got it dialed in really well,” he said. “This weekend, it should be some good competition. The car count will be pretty high this weekend so if we can get a win this weekend and just keep winning, we’ve got to do that.

“I think we just need to stay focused and keep winning and make sure everybody is all on the same page as far as our team goes, and I think we’re there.”

After this week, Rhead’s team will take a final weekend off before going non-stop until November.

It’ll be a lot of hours on the road going to races, but, he said, “I don’t see us quitting any time soon.”

“It’s the atmosphere,” he added. “Anybody that’s ever been involved with short track racing, it’s a different thing. It’s a culture, it’s a family. It’s a little bit of everything.”

Posted on by Marcus DiNitto

Kyle Larson is closing the gap on teammate Chase Elliott when it comes to the betting market’s expectations on road courses. Larson is as skinny as +280 (bet $100 to win $280) at BetMGM to take the checkers at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course on Sunday, a significantly shorter price than the +450 he cashed at in his second road-course victory of the season, last week at Watkins Glen International.

RELATED: Betting odds for Indianapolis | BetCenter page for Indianapolis

Despite finishing second to Larson last week, Elliott remains the road-course favorite, offered at +200 at multiple shops for this week’s race, the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. He has piloted the No. 9 Chevrolet to six wins and two second-place finishes over the 10 most recent road-course races in the Cup Series .

After the Hendrick Motorsports duo, there’s a large drop down the oddsboard to Martin Truex Jr., who finished a distant third at Watkins Glen. Truex is +600 at BetMGM.

In fact, the top fifth or so of the Indy oddsboard follows a pattern similar to the finishing order at Watkins.

Watkins finish Driver BetMGM odds
1 Kyle Larson +280
2 Chase Elliott +210
3 Martin Truex Jr. +600
4 Kyle Busch +1000
5 Denny Hamlin +1200
6 William Byron +2500
7 Christopher Bell +2000
8 Kevin Harvick +2500

Jim Sannes, a NASCAR betting and DFS analyst at numberFire, is largely in line with the market’s thinking. When handicapping the Cup’s inaugural race on this course, he leans on information gleaned from other road layouts, even though they have different characteristics.

“I value equipment more at Watkins Glen than I do at Sonoma (Raceway), based on the way that track races,” Sannes said. “I’m inclined to value equipment a tiny bit more here than I would at a place like Sonoma, but overall, I think you can put Indianapolis into the bucket of road courses in general, view them all as one group and go from there.”

Following that logic, NASCAR bettors should be prepared for more of the No. 5 and No. 9 Sunday.

“Those two guys are just so dominant right now,” said Ed Salmons, who handles NASCAR oddsmaking duties at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas. “The Gibbs guys for the first half of (last week’s) race looked competitive, and then the second half of the race just had nothing for the two Hendrick guys.”

Expert picks

With some bettors’ proclivity to play favorites, books will probably be cheering against another Hendrick victory Sunday.

“It’s just amazing how much money is bet on Chase Elliott every week,” Salmons said. “Even at 2-1, we had a huge liability last week.”

For gamblers who want to take a shot against the chalk, Sannes has the No. 11 circled.

“If you’re looking for a mid-range guy, Denny Hamlin is pretty interesting,” Sannes said. “He’s 19-1 at FanDuel Sportsbook. He’s been a good road-course racer for a very long time. He had a top-eight average running position at Watkins Glen, Road America and Daytona (Road Course). And we saw last year at Daytona when they were on a new track for the first time, he was able to adapt pretty well.”

(Hamlin finished second and led 16 of 65 laps in the 2020 Daytona Road Course race.)

One of the beauties of NASCAR betting is there are plenty of ways to get involved. Even if you can’t envision an upset Sunday and want to stay away from the outright market (betting a driver to win the race), sportsbooks offer lots of options to get down.

Sannes offers:

Kurt Busch for a podium finish (+1500 at FanDuel). The No. 1 Chevy has a 14.2% chance at a top-three finish, according to Sannes’ simulations: “He’s probably not gonna have the upside to beat a Larson or an Elliott, but looking at top-10 bets (+125 at Barstool), looking at podium bets and looking at some group betting, I think Kurt Busch is going to be a rock star-type person in those formats.”

Joey Logano for a podium finish (+850 at FanDuel). While Team Penske has been less than stellar in recent road-course races, the No. 22 ranks fourth in Sannes’ projected average running position. Similar to his analysis on Busch, Sannes said of Logano: “I’m not sure he has the upside to beat Larson and Elliott, but I think he could be that third guy at times.”

Logano is matched up against Kevin Harvick at several sportsbooks, the SuperBook dealing Logano as the +110 underdog with Harvick laying -130. Sannes, via Twitter:

Media personality and former Vegas oddsmaker Todd Fuhrman chimed in with a DM to NASCAR.com: Christopher Bell (-135) over Ryan Blaney, a price available Friday morning at multiple shops, including BetMGM and Caesars Sportsbook.

‘Dinger the Ringer?

Making an appearance in the upper region of the Brickyard oddsboard is AJ Allmendinger. At 20-1 at BetMGM, the road-course specialist is nestled with a tier that includes Bell and Austin Cindric, priced shorter than Logano, Harvick and William Byron.

Odds of 20-1 imply the ‘Dinger has a 4.76% chance of winning the race. He won just 2.3% of Sannes’ sims.

“For a guy who’s running a part-time schedule, that’s pretty good, but at 4% implied, I’m OK staying away from a betting perspective,” Sannes said. “I’ve bet against him in group bets a couple of times this year; I’m not sure if I’ll do that (Sunday), just because he’s so talented and he does have an experience edge at this track.

“But I do think that he tends to be a tiny bit overvalued in the market just because the reputation is so high, and I’m a little bit worried about the equipment there.”

Allemendinger has driven the No. 16 Kaulig Racing Chevy to finishes of seventh (Daytona), fifth (COTA) and 29th (Road America) in his three Cup road-course starts this season.

“The one thing I’ve learned is these so-called road ringers never go up to the Cup level and win a race — it never happens,” Salmons said.

That’s at least partly due to the sharpening road-course skills of the entire field.

“There’s so much (road-course racing) now,” Salmons said. “They used to do two a year, and it was unique to the guys who didn’t have any road-course (experience as young racers). Each driver has gotten so much better at it from where it was 10, 20 years ago at the NASCAR level.”

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on by Zach Sturniolo

The NASCAR Cup Series has been racing upon Indianapolis Motor Speedway’s hallowed grounds since 1994.

That tradition turns a new chapter this weekend as the stock cars that have circled the famed oval now shift to the track’s road course layout, first seen in NASCAR action last season with the Xfinity Series.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Indianapolis

Let’s dive into the details of the past and future heading into the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio Network, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio):

EXTRA TRACK TIME TO SET THE GRID

Because the Cup Series has never competed on Indianapolis’ road course, teams will be able to practice for 50 minutes on Saturday morning (11:05 a.m. ET, TrackPass) to familiarize and adjust as necessary.

Additionally, the starting lineup will be set Sunday morning via qualifying at 9:05 a.m. ET (CNBC/NBC Sports App). This marks the first qualifying session for the Cup Series since Road America on July 4.

HISTORY OF THE BRICKYARD

— Indianapolis Motor Speedway took shape in 1909 through a partnership of four businessmen who sought to develop a testing facility for the city’s growing auto industry, which was second only to Detroit.

— After its original surface of multi-layered gravel and asphaltum oil led to violent crashes and injuries in a cycling event, the 2.5-mile track was quickly redone using 3.2 million paving bricks.

— In 1961, all bricks were removed from the surface but for the three-foot strip that remains at the start/finish line, hence the track’s modern-day nickname, “The Brickyard.”

— Indianapolis Motor Speedway became the first racetrack to install SAFER (Steel and Foam Energy Reduction) barriers, the product of the speedway’s and IndyCar’s work with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to create a “softer” wall that was practical for racing.

— The road course at IMS came to life following a 2000 agreement between then-track chairman, president and CEO Tony George and Formula 1’s then-boss Bernie Ecclestone for the US Grand Prix, which would be run on a 2.605-mile course through the track’s infield and golf course.

— Michael Schumacher won five of the eight USGPs run at IMS from 2000-07, including the inaugural edition in 2000.

— Changes were made to the circuit in 2014 to accommodate IndyCar’s shift to the road course for its first IMS race in May.

— The Indianapolis Road Course marks the 14th different road course to host a NASCAR Cup Series event.

Source: Racing Insights

RELATED: Most memorable moments at Indianapolis

RULES PACKAGE

NASCAR teams will utilize the low-downforce, high-horsepower package this weekend at the Indy road course. As at all road courses on this year’s schedule, the cars will be trimmed with shorter spoilers and splitter lengths to lessen the impact of downforce around this seven-turn road course while also having more available power under the drivers’ right foot courtesy of 750 HP.

GOODYEAR TIRES

Goodyear was able to use data from the 2020 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course to prepare this weekend’s tire, which features the same compound on the company’s “updated road course construction,” Director of Racing Greg Stucker said. This tire is the same teams have used at Circuit of the Americas, Road America and Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course this season.

“Teams have been on this tire several times at other road courses already this season,” Stucker said. “Having practice will allow teams to get up to speed, and we certainly look forward to a great Cup race as we add yet another new track to the 2021 schedule.”

STORY LINES AT A STORIED VENUE

— Hendrick Motorsports has won eight of the last nine road course races (Chase Elliott, six; Kyle Larson, two), including each of the last four.

— Ryan Blaney’s 2018 victory at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval is Ford’s most recent road course win, its only triumph in the last 14 such events.

— The average green-flag stretch in four of the last five road course races is 11 laps or fewer.

— Tyler Reddick currently holds the final playoff spot on points, ahead by just 15 points over Richard Childress Racing teammate Austin Dillon.

— Denny Hamlin has led 777 laps this season but remains winless. That total currently puts him seventh all-time in laps led in a season prior to a win.

— Tyler Reddick has 12 top-10 finishes in 23 starts this season, the first time an RCR competitor has hit that total that quickly since Kevin Harvick in 2013.

— Christopher Bell has posted four consecutive top 10s, the longest stretch of his short Cup career.

— Aric Almirola’s win at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on July 18 marks Ford’s only win in the last 13 races.

— The last six races have been won by six different drivers, starting with Alex Bowman’s victory in the first of two Pocono races and followed by Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Kyle Larson.

Source: Racing Insights

AGAINST THE ODDS

Chase Elliott’s bid for three straight wins at Watkins Glen International came up short last week after he had to charge from the rear multiple times.

But Elliott remains the current best on road courses, displayed again at The Glen by a spirited storm through the field to finish second. BetMGM lists Elliott as this weekend’s favorite for the inaugural Indy road course race at 21-10 (+210) odds with last week’s winner Kyle Larson second at 14-5 (+280).

Like Elliott, Christopher Bell fought from the back twice at Watkins Glen and rattled off another top-10 finish. At 20-1 odds, Bell, who won at the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in February and finished second at Road America, may be worth a look.

In need of a sleeper? Joey Logano (25-1) might be your driver. While Ford has struggled to find victory lane lately, Logano has top 10s in six of his last eight road course starts and is the only driver to post top 10s in all previous races on ovals-turned-road-courses.

RELATED: See the betting odds for Sunday

FANTASY LIVE

Want to manage a team and race your way to the top of the leaderboards? Check out NASCAR Fantasy Live. The free-to-play game lets you choose your drivers each week and show off your crew-chief instincts. It’s not too late to join in on the competition.

The 2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (913), Kyle Larson (903) and William Byron (777).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM

Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available — as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more — and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on by Staff Report

Only three races are left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season for the drivers to clinch their spot in the 2021 playoffs. After Watkins Glen last weekend, 11 drivers have clinched their spot in the postseason, leaving five spots still mathematically eligible.

Already Clinched

The following 11 drivers have clinched a spot in the 16-driver postseason field: Kyle Larson, William Byron, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Alex Bowman, Kurt Busch and Christopher Bell.

Can Clinch 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 111 points above the second winless driver in the standings:

Denny Hamlin: Would clinch regardless of finish.

Can Clinch Via Previous Wins

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by a previous winner or a win by Denny Hamlin:

Michael McDowell and Aric Almirola: Would clinch regardless of finish.

The following drivers could clinch on previous wins with a win by a new winner:

Michael McDowell: Could only clinch with help.

Aric Almirola: Could only clinch if the new winner is Corey Lajoie or another driver even lower in the standings.

Can Clinch Via Win

The following drivers would clinch on their win alone this weekend:

Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Aric Almirola.

The following drivers could clinch with a win:

Chris Buescher: Could only clinch with help.

Matt DiBenedetto: Could only clinch with help.

Ross Chastain: Could only clinch with help.

Posted on by Staff Report

The rules of the road are simple for Joey Logano when it comes to racing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway: Whether it’s on the oval or the unique 2.439-mile Road Course, the prestige of racing at the Brickyard doesn’t waver.

The Team Penske driver will attempt — along with everyone else in the field — to win the first NASCAR Cup Series race on the 14-turn road course on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET (NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), one year after NASCAR’s debut on the road circuit in the Xfinity Series.

BUY TICKETS: Seats for Indianapolis

“I have the same feeling (whether it’s the road course or the oval),” Logano said earlier this week on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio when asked about winning at one of the most famous venues in motorsports. “I’ll make this comparison. Indy and Daytona are comparable when it comes to history and what those tracks mean to certain drivers. And when you look at whether it’s the Rolex 24, if that’s what you do, that’s on the road course in Daytona. Or the Daytona 500 on the oval. It doesn’t matter. You have a win at Daytona. That’s a huge deal. You’re marked in for history.

2021 Joeylogano Clt
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images

“Indy is as big …  because I feel like it’s a track that everyone in the world wants to say they’ve won at. The history of the Brickyard is incredible. All you have to do is go through the museum one day when you’re there and say, ‘Wow, this is a sacred place.’ ”

RELATED: Full Indy Road Course schedule

Adding to the personal pageantry of the weekend for Logano is that he drives for Roger Penske. “The Captain” will have cars entered in all three races in the upcoming historic weekend – NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and Saturday’s IndyCar race. Penske Corporation also owns the track, making it all-the-more important for the Ford stable.

Logano has one road-course win to his credit, a 2015 triumph at Watkins Glen. A victory Sunday would give him 28 for his Cup Series career, deliver additional playoff points and allow the 31-year-old driver and his No. 22 team an opportunity for one of the most famous victory celebrations in sports.

“Whether you’re on the oval, or on the road course, in a stock car or an IndyCar or a tricycle, you want to say you’ve won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, plain and simple,” Logano said. “So, I don’t care where it’s at. I’m kissing the bricks at the end of the race. That’s all that matters to me. That’s all I want to do. So hopefully this is the week to make it happen.”

Posted on by Reid Spencer

It’s impossible to ignore the Ty Gibbs phenomenon.

Last weekend at Watkins Glen International, Gibbs outdueled acknowledged road-course ace AJ Allmendinger to win his third NASCAR Xfinity Series race in his 10th career start.

In Saturday’s Pennzoil 150 at the Brickyard (4 p.m. ET on NBCSN, IMS and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), Gibbs will have a chance to join NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip, the only driver in history to win four Xfinity races in his first 11 starts. Waltrip accomplished the feat over three seasons, from 1982-84.

RELATED: Full weekend schedule for Indy Road Course | See the paint schemes

When Gibbs claimed his first victory of the season on the Daytona International Speedway Road Course, he became the sixth driver to win in his Xfinity Series debut, joining Dale Earnhardt, Joe Ruttman, Ricky Rudd, Terry Labonte and Kurt Busch.

To win for the fourth time, he’ll have to beat Allmendinger again, in addition to reigning series champion Austin Cindric — a superb road racer in his own right — and 2014 NASCAR Cup Series champion Kevin Harvick.

“The road course at Indianapolis is a track I haven’t been to before, so I look forward to going there,” Gibbs said. “Obviously, the tradition and history of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway is huge. Almost every great race driver has driven there, and I’m looking forward to it.

“Hopefully, we can keep our streak of good finishes going with (crew chief) Chris Gale, the guys on the 54 team. I know they will bring a great Sport Clips Toyota Supra. I’d love to get another strong finish and continue to help them out in the owner title championship chase.”

RELATED: Xfinity Series owner standings

With nine total victories this season by three different drivers (Gibbs, Kyle Busch and Christopher Bell), the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota trails Cindric’s No. 22 Team Penske Ford by 38 points in the owner standings.

Posted on by Marcus DiNitto

We’ve been writing all season about the Cup Series’ Big Three – Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Team Penske. But a perusal of oddsboards for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard suggests one of these three teams may not belong in that grouping.

Joey Logano, at 30/1 odds at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas, opened with the shortest price of the four Penske drivers. Eight drivers were priced with better chances to win Sunday’s road course race.

For one respected bettor, though, the long odds for Austin Cindric – who is making just his seventh Cup start of the season for Penske – were enticing. The sharp played Cindric to win at the SuperBook’s opening number of 40/1, prompting an immediate move to 25/1, oddsmaker Ed Salmons told NASCAR.com.

RELATED: NASCAR BetCenter | Odds for Indianapolis Road Course

That sharp play notwithstanding, the betting market doesn’t have much faith in Team Penske at Indy. But are the long odds for this weekend’s race a function of Penske’s road course struggles, or are they indicative of broader problems?

The answer depends on who you ask.

Salmons sees issues for Penske beyond Sunday. 

“The Penske cars look like they’re just incapable of even competing at this point,” he said. “They’re just so far off.”

Salmons, though, did stress the team’s solid performances with the 750-horsepower package on short tracks, a notion with which Jim Sannes, a NASCAR betting and DFS analyst with numberFire, agrees.

Sannes believes Penske will be a factor on the ovals remaining on the 2021 Cup schedule with the 750-package – Darlington, Richmond, Bristol, Martinsville, and Phoenix.

“For me, it’s not really a bigger issue for them,” Sannes said of the Penske drivers’ road course woes. “The reason I think that goes back to New Hampshire, because we heard Brad Keselowski talk about how they viewed New Hampshire as being kind of measuring stick for how they’ll do on the tracks that matter.”

Keselowski, Logano and Ryan Blaney finished third, fourth and fifth at Loudon, respectively, results Sannes says “undersell how good their cars were there.”

“…. So I think that for this week, it’s specific to road courses,” Sannes said of the Penske pessimism ahead of Sunday, “and it’s not something that worries me a lot for the playoffs.”

Playoff outlook 

While the 10-race NASCAR Playoffs features five short-track, 750-horsepower races for Team Penske to strut its stuff, the garage’s three playoff-bound drivers are long shots to win the title. At BetMGM, Logano and Keselowski share 14/1 futures odds, with Blaney at 20/1. 

Sannes doesn’t see much value in any of the Penske drivers in the championship market, and their lag in playoff points is a key reason why. It will be difficult to overcome the deficit to be among the final four contenders at the Cup Series Championship in Phoenix.

“The biggest issue for them is the lack of playoff points, because they’ve got just three total wins,” he said. “If you’re trying to make your way to Phoenix, you’re going to need a bigger cushion that. It’s not a concern in terms of performance, but it is a concern in terms of will they have enough playoff points to actually work their way to Phoenix.”

RELATED: 2021 Cup Series Championship Odds | Cup Series Standings

Back to Cindric

Cindric, the defending Xfinity champ and the current points leader in that series, hasn’t been particularly impressive when he’s stepped up in class this season. He’s finished outside the top 20 in five of his six Cup starts (including 25th on the Circuit Of The Americas and 38th at Road America), and his best result is 15th at the Daytona 500.

Yet the part-time Cup racer now has shorter odds than any of his full-time teammates. At Barstool Sportsbook, Cindric is 20/1, followed by Logano (25/1), Blaney (35/1) and Keselowski (50/1).

Cindric has a 3% chance to win the Verizon 200, according to Sannes’ simulations, which suggests his odds should be around 33/1. 

Cindric’s speed at Road America “was awesome before he had a mechanical issue,” Sannes said. “….  He has a bit of an experience edge over this field at this track (with a 2020 Xfinity race under his belt), and he’ll get more experience this weekend (at Saturday’s Xfinity race). I’m okay being high on him. I think that 27/1 (at FanDuel) is short enough where I’m not going to bet him, but I fully understand it.”

Salmons doesn’t seem too nervous about his shop’s liability on the No. 33 Ford.

“Can he run in the top five? Probably, if everything goes right,” the oddsmaker said. “He’s struggled as far as finishes in these races at the Cup level on road courses, but he’s obviously an elite road course driver. It’s just hard to think that right now he can compete with the Hendrick guys just because they’ve been so dominant. I mean, the Gibbs guys can’t compete with the Hendrick guys.”

RELATED: Family memories ride with Austin Cindric into Indy weekend

Posted on by Terrin Waack

Of the 40 drivers entered into Sunday’s race, only four have previously won at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Cup Series.

But there’s a catch.

These four drivers won on the historic 2.5-mile oval, and for the first time in NASCAR history, the Cup Series will compete on Indy’s 14-turn, 2.439-mile road-course layout. Only two of those four have won a road-course event in their careers, and none have this season in the five opportunities already presented.

INDY ROAD COURSE: Weekend schedule | Betting odds | Paint schemes

For starters, the four former Indianapolis winners are Kevin Harvick (2003 and 2019-20), Kyle Busch (2015-16), Brad Keselowski (2019) and Ryan Newman (2013). The two road winners are Harvick (twice) and Busch (four times).

Here’s how they have all fared on the 2021 road courses so far:

DAYTONA RC COTA SONOMA ROAD AMERICA WATKINS GLEN
HARVICK 6th 37th 22nd 27th 8th
BUSCH 35th 10th 5th 3rd 4th
KESELOWSKI 5th 19th 15th 13th 35th
NEWMAN 20th 24th 33rd 32nd 25th

Green: best finish among the four; Red: worst finish among the four.

Busch has the best average finish out of those five races – 11.4 (that ranks sixth among all active drivers). Keselowski then follows with a 17.4 average (17th best overall). Harvick just makes the top 20 average marks with 20.0 on the dot (20th overall). Newman has struggled the most, averaging 26.8 (32nd).

The order of the averages make sense, too, considering Busch had the best finish among the four drivers in four of the five events. Keselowski had one best. Harvick and Newman never did, and Newman had two of the worst finishes as opposed to Harvick’s one.

BetMGM’s odds slightly change the ranking order. Of the four, Busch is favored most at 10-1 (fourth best overall). Harvick is then second at 25-1 (tied for ninth), followed by Keselowski at 40-1 (15th)– so those two are switched. Newman still falls in last at 300-1 (tied for 29th).

So, if a previous Indianapolis oval winner is going to also win on the road course, it’s looking like Busch has the best chance.

The inaugural race – the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard – is set for Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on NBC/NBC Sports App, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. It’s one of the final three races in the regular season.

Busch and Keselowski already qualified for the 2021 NASCAR Playoffs by virtue of at least one win (Busch has two). Harvick is a part of the postseason picture right now – 95 points above the cutline – but he’s not guaranteed a berth just yet. Newman – 264 points out – would definitely need a win to advance.