The Cup Series will travel to St. Louis this week to race at the World Wide Technology Raceway (Gateway). This will be the third race for the Cup Series at this track. Both races have been dominated by Kyle Busch. Rowdy has not been very good this year, so it will be fun to see if the No. 8 team can find their mojo at the best track for Busch or will this turn into another Hendrick Motorsports vs. Joe Gibbs Racing battle. The Enjoy Illinois 300 can be seen Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1.
DRAFTKINGS ODDS FOR GATEWAY
* The odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. The odds could change between the time of this article and the time you place your bet.
BETTING STRATEGY FOR GATEWAY
The Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing cars have dominated the 2024 season. They have won 11 of the 14 races this year. It would be 12 of 14 if you count the Joe Gibbs Racing affiliated car of Tyler Reddick. It is tough to pick a winner in the Cup Series without filling your card with drivers from Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing. That will be true again this week, but there are a few more drivers who we can consider. RFK Racing has really found some speed over the last month. It would not surprise anyone if Brad Keselowski or Chris Buescher were in Victory Lane Sunday. Team Penske have been very good on the flat tracks and at Gateway. Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano both have a good chance to win. Kyle Busch has been the master at Gateway. It is not hard to imagine Rowdy winning his first race of the 2024 season at Gateway.
BETTING CARD FOR GATEWAY
*I still have $30 in my $100 bankroll to bet. I will post some more drivers after practice and qualifying Saturday.
DENNY HAMLIN (6-1): Hamlin has dominated the short tracks this year. He won at Bristol, Richmond and Dover. He was also good at Gateway last year. Hamlin qualified 3rd, finished 3rd in Stage 1, 3rd in Stage 2 and 2nd in the race. I was surprised to see Hamlin’s odds were 6-1 when the lines were posted. They will not stay above 5-1 if Hamlin looks fast in practice and qualifies in the top-10, so I will bet Hamlin to win early in the week.
BRAD KESELOWSKI (12-1): Keselowski has been on a hot streak over the last month. He finished second at Texas, second at Talladega, won at Darlington and finished second at Charlotte. Keselowski was not very good in the two races at Gateway, but the No. 6 team is red hot right now. Keselowski just tested at Iowa Speedway and although that track is different from Gateway, the No. 6 team should get some data that will translate into speed Sunday. Keselowski has just been too good over the last month to pass up at 12-1 odds Sunday.
JOEY LOGANO (14-1): There is a lot to like about Logano this week. He won the race at Gateway in 2022 and he finished third in the race last year. The No. 22 team hit on something during the tire test at North Wilksboro. They took that information to Richmond and the No. 22 car finished second. They brought it back to the All-Star Race at North Wilksboro and Logano nearly lead every lap in the race. 14-1 is just too good to pass up on a driver who completely destroyed the field on a flat track two weeks ago.
KYLE BUSCH (15-1): It has been hard to trust Busch this year, but if he cannot get it done this week at Gateway, he may not get to Victory Lane at all in 2024. Busch led 121 laps, scored 19 Stage Points and won the race at Gateway last year. He also finished second in 2022. Gateway is the best track for Busch. He should be the favorite to win if we simply went off the stats for Gateway. His odds will not stay at 15-1 if Busch has top-five speed and practice and wins the pole like he did last year.
Good luck Sunday!
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