Shane van Gisbergen to repeat at Chicago? Don't bet on it, despite what NASCAR odds board says!
Hopefully, lightning won't strike twice in NASCAR's return to the Chicago Street Course, an event plagued by storms in the event's inaugural go around last year.
But can the thunder from down under?
According to the odds board, yes! Shane van Gisbergen, the New Zealander who shocked the racing world with a victory in his first Cup Series start last year, is the Vegas favorite to win again. But can that possibly happen now with the field of the best stock car drivers on the planet having another calendar year to hit the sim and to reflect on last year's race?
We shall see. But SVG's chances are just one of several intriguing aspects of the current betting board.
Here's a look at the bets we have an eye on this week.
NASCAR Chicago odds
(Odds according to Hard Rock Bet)
- +200: Shane van Gisbergen
- +400: Kyle Larson
- +650: Ty Gibbs
- +800: Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell
- +1000: Michael McDowell
- +2000: Alex Bowman
- +3000: Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott
- +4000: Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher, Daniel Suarez, William Byron, AJ Allmendinger
- +5000: Kyle Busch
- +6000: Ross Chastain
- +7500: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Austin Cindric, Todd Gilliland
- +10000: Brad Keselowski, Carson Hocevar, Chase Briscoe, Justin Haley
- +15000: Zane Smith
- +25000: Austin Hill, Joey Hand, Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, John Hunter Nemechek, Ryan Preece, Noah Gragson
- +50000: Josh Berry, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Corey LaJoie, Kaz Grala
- +100000: Josh Bilicki, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton
Best bet
Ryan: I'm heading over to Group 2, where Allmendinger is the longest shot (+300) in a foursome that also belongs to Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr. and Chris Buescher. The latter three are all good road racers, but Allmendinger is as good as we have and at 3-to-1? Come on. More on AJ in just a bit.
Ken: Do I think Austin Cindric will win? How can you honestly "think" anyone will win, given all the good road-racers these days and given all that can happen on a tight street course? But my goodness, he's a born-and-bred road-racer and he's +5000, which is 500-to-1? That's worth a few pounds, I'd say.
Top 10
Ryan: I think this is the week you can go way off the board. Lord only knows what kind of calamity this race will hold in Year 2. With that in mind, give me Corey LaJoie at 9-to-1. LaJoie has turned into a sneaky solid road-course racer in the Gen-7 car and he finished 14th here last year.
Ken: I'm sticking with Austin Cindric at +300 for 10th or better. That's not a lot of money sitting there, but it's a helluva lot more than betting on someone who isn't practically guaranteed to finish in the top 10.
Top 5
Ryan: Let's keep the sevens coming ... I'll take Austin Cindric at 12-to-1. The Penske cars have been fast of late and Cindric may be the best road racer of the bunch. He was sixth here a year ago, for what it's worth.
Ken: Look who's jumping on the Austin bandwagon. Just to go totally off the grid, I'm going with a different Austin, as in Dillon. True, he might be the worst road-course racer among every single one of the Cup Series regulars, but weird things happen and he's +3000 just to keep his nose clean and pull for a bunch of wrecks in the front. Hey, it happens.
Driver to fade
Ryan: Honestly, and I may eat my words on this one, but I'm out on SVG. Not that he won't be solid, I just don't trust him to win again in that car with the best in the sport another year wiser when it comes to this race.
Ken: Ditto. I think someone like Denny Hamlin or Kyle Busch gives him a hip-check the first chance they get.
Winner
Ryan: Allmendinger is 15th on the board at +4000. That's a slap in the face. All this guy does is hover in the top 10 on road courses and he just won the Roval back in the fall. He's going to be there and when others slip up, watch out.
Ken: Michael McDowell recently proved his desperation. He's only +1000, which tells us the bookmakers and bettors know how good he is with right-hand turns. But since we seem legally obligated to avoid the north end of the odds board, Mikey Mac is my guy.
NASCAR DFS picks
- Christopher Bell ($10,200): Led the most laps last year at 37, had the best car and has been awfully fast lately.
- Tyler Reddick ($9,800): Probably had the second best car last year and was in a great position late until blowing through a corner and into the wall. If not for that mistake, he may have been in victory lane.
- AJ Allmendinger ($9,000): More faith in this guy to get it to the line than anyone in the field. A no-brainer.
- Ross Chastain ($8,200): Let's not forget, SVG won in a Track House car, so this stable has speed. It's worth a flyer on Ross to find it.
- Justin Haley ($6,700): It may be unreasonable to expect Haley to match last year's runner-up finish in this race, but he can obviously get around on the streets.
- Corey LaJoie ($6,100): A pure gut feeling here, but LaJoie is better than you think at turning right and left.