The NASCAR Cup Series will travel to upstate New York this week to compete at Watkins Glen. This will be the fifth race on a road course this year so there is a lot of data to use to handicap the race Sunday. That information can be thrown out the window though if these drivers continue to slam into each other and push drivers out of the way to make a pass on the track. I expect the racing will be cleaner this week than what we saw last month at Indy. It should be fun to see if the Cup Series can get another new driver in Victory Lane this week. The Go Bowling at the Glen can be seen Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on USA Network.
I really thought we had another winner last week. I had a $10 ticket on Joey Logano at 20-1 odds. Logano led 222 of the 400 laps but his car lost its speed once the clouds covered the track. I also had a $10 ticket on Christopher Bell at 8-1 odds and he came to the front at the end of the race and finished second. Close is only good in horseshoes and hand grenades so hopefully I will have better luck Sunday.
DRAFTKINGS ODDS FOR WATKINS GLEN
* The odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. The odds could change between the time of this article and the time you place your bet.
** The first number is the amount of money based on the second number (the amount of the wager). So if you bet $1 on Chase Elliott, you will win $5.
Here are my best bets for the Go Bowling at the Glen…
CHASE ELLIOTT (5-1): I am not betting Elliott because I expect to win a lot of money with the No. 9 car. I am using Elliott as my insurance policy this week. There is a better than 50% chance that Elliott will win this week. He is that good at Watkins Glen and he has been that good on the road courses this year. I like betting the drivers with longer odds, but I want to return some cash if Elliott dominates like I think he will Sunday.
AUSTIN CINDRIC (10-1): Who has been the best driver on the road courses this year? I am not sure Cindric has been the best but there is no arguing he has been the most consistent. Cindric is the only driver in the field to finish all of the road course races in the top-10. He has a lot of skills on these tracks and I will bet he can win the race Sunday.
CHRIS BUESCHER (25-1): The first thing I did when DraftKings released the odds Monday night was to look and see what the odds were for Buescher. I knew I was going to wager on him and I was very excited to see the 25-1 number. Buescher almost won last week and he almost won the road course at Sonoma. He keeps knocking on the door; sooner or later the door to Victory Lane will be open. I will bet $10 to return $250 with a driver who is in a “must win situation.”
AJ ALLMENDINGER (25-1): If it is a road course race and Allmendinger has 25-1 odds, I will take it every time. Allmendinger has won a Cup Series race at Watkins Glen before and he has the talent to win Sunday. The only question is if his car will be good enough for Allmendinger to do what he needs to do in the race. Allmendinger may be the favorite to win if he was in a better car.
LONG SHOT SPECIAL MICHAEL MCDOWELL (30-1): Remember when McDowell came out of nowhere to win the Daytona 500 at 66-1 odds last year? I do because I had him in my Best Bets article and had a $10 ticket on him. McDowell could do it again Sunday. He finished 3rd at Sonoma, 8th at Road America and 8th at the Indy Road Course this year. He just needs a little more luck to get to Victory Lane Sunday.
Good luck this week!
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