The NASCAR Cup Series will return this week after a 21 day break for the Olympics. Chase Elliott won two of the four road course races this year and he is clearly the favorite to win again Sunday. Elliott has won 6 of the last 10 road course races and the only thing that has stopped him is mechanical issues or penalties. The No. car also won the last two races at Watkins Glen. Three weeks is a long time for the Cup Series teams to work on their cars. Elliott should be the favorite, but he is not a lock to win. It is hard to make any money with Elliott so I will be taking a chance with some other drivers this week.
DraftKings Odds for Go Bowling at the Glen
* 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 $2.
Here are my “Best Bets” for the race at the Watkins Glen…
Denny Hamlin (11-1): Joe Gibbs Racing has been the biggest threat to Chase Elliott on the road courses this season so I will have a few of their drivers in my betting portfolio Sunday. Martin Truex Jr. is no doubt an Ace at Watkins Glen but I like the odds on Denny Hamlin a bit more. Hamlin still has not won this year and this is the perfect race for the No. 11 team to use pit strategy to steal a win. Hamlin won at Watkins Glen in 2016 and he finished 3rd in the last race at the track. I will put some money down on Hamlin Sunday.
Joey Logano (12-1): Joey Logano is my favorite bet for the race at Watkins Glen. No driver in the Cup Series has a better average finishing position on the road courses this year than Logano. He finished 2nd at the Daytona Road Course, 3rd at COTA and 4th at Sonoma. Logano only has one road course win on his Cup Series resume and it was at Watkins Glen in 2015. Logano starts on the front row so he will have the track position he needs to win this race.
Christopher Bell (15-1): I was not expecting Christopher Bell to be one of the best road course drivers before the season began, but here we are. He won the race at the Daytona Road Course and he finished 2nd and Road America. He crashed in the rain at COTA and lost track position in the pits at Sonoma. Bell starts 7th Sunday so he will be close enough to the front to win the race.
Kurt Busch (20-1): Kurt Busch has really been running well this summer. His 9.2 average finishing position in the last six races is second to Kyle Larson’s 8.8 average finishing position. His 10.3 average finishing position on the road courses this season is 4th best in the Cup Series. Busch has been consistent at Watkins Glen. His average finishing position at this track over the last decade is 7.5. That is a large sample size with good results. I will take a chance with Busch at 20-1 odds.
Long-Shot Special: My Long-Shot Special this week is Brad Keselowski (30-1). Track position is very important in this race and having Keselowski from the pole at 30-1 odds is too good to pass up. Keselowski has never won a road course race before but he has been very close to Victory Lane at Watkins Glen. He finished 2nd at this track in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He also finished 3rd in 2016 so he knows how to get around Watkins Glen. Keselowski is very good at using pit strategy to win a race. He should be a great dart throw Sunday.
Good luck this week!
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