By David Caraviello | Aug 11th, 2021 | 6 mins

Verizon 200 At The Brickyard Odds & Picks For Indy Motor Speedway

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Chase Elliott or Kyle Larson? For NASCAR betting fans looking to wager on a road course race, it has become a difficult decision.

The Hendrick Motorsports teammates have split the past four road races on NASCAR’s premier circuit, with Larson winning last week at Watkins Glen International. That came on the heels of Elliott’s victory at Road America on July 4, which followed Larson’s triumph at Sonoma in June, which came after Elliott’s conquest of Circuit of the Americas in May.

Complicating things even further: Elliott was the runner-up in Larson’s two most recent road course victories, while Larson finished second to Elliott at COTA.

Sunday brings another Elliott-or-Larson choice at another road course new to NASCAR’s top series: The grand prix circuit at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where the Cup cars will take not to the 2.5-mile oval, but to the track’s 2.439-mile road layout in a first-ever tandem weekend with the IndyCar Series.

The Hendrick teammates are the clear NASCAR odds favorites, with Elliott at +200 with DraftKings followed by Larson at +350, with No. 3 option Martin Truex Jr. back at +600. Decision time!

Verizon 200 At The Brickyard Odds

Odds via DraftKings and current as of publication. Check out our DraftKings sportsbook review.

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Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Expert Pick

Kyle Busch to Win

Odds: +900 at DraftKings

So of course, we’re going with – neither Elliott or Larson? Chasing a little more value, we’re going with Kyle Busch, who has run as well as anyone since flipping the switch in late spring; throw out his crash at New Hampshire, and he has finished fifth or better in seven of his last eight starts.

The younger Busch brother also has some serious road-racing chops, with four career road victories (two each at Sonoma and Watkins Glen) and finishes of fourth, third and fifth in the three most recent road races this season.

Is it prudent to go against the two drivers who have swept the last four road races? Maybe not. But the Indy road course is a bit of a different animal, with high-speed sections encompassing much of the oval’s fourth turn and frontstretch. Busch has won everything at the Brickyard – and he can win this one, too.

Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Betting Tips

Although this week marks a first for the Cup Series, the Xfinity cars competed on the Indy grand prix circuit last year – where Chase Briscoe was the winner, and A.J. Allmendinger, Austin Cindric and Ross Chastain were among the front-runners. Briscoe and Chastain finished ninth and 12th respectively last week at Watkins Glen, so they’re worth considering as sleeper bets at sportsbooks this week (both around +125 for a top-10).

Cindric and Allmendinger (around +2000 to win at most betting sites) are both in one-offs – Cindric in what should be a good Penske car, ‘Dinger for his Kaulig Racing Xfinity outfit, for whom he placed fifth at COTA and seventh on the Daytona road course.

Then there’s Daytona road winner Christopher Bell, who enters on a streak of four straight top-eight finishes, including a runner-up appearance at Road America. Tyler Reddick finished 10th at the Glen last weekend and is a +200 option at DraftKings to do the same again Sunday. So there are lots of value-laden possibilities this week before you even get to the big boys, where your best bet might be to eschew the Larson-vs.-Elliott debate and just take Hendrick as the winning team (around -180 on betting apps).

Beyond that? Truex seems to have regained his footing with top-10s in three of his last four, including a third-place run at Watkins Glen where he led 34 laps. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick keep punching out top-10s, but they have not run at the front much lately and they each remain winless in 2021.

Go with anybody else, and you’re backing rather inconsistent recent results. Our three bets this week would be Busch to win at +900, Briscoe top-10 at +150, and Larson top Hendrick driver (see what we did there?) at +195.

Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Date, Time and TV

When: Sunday, 1 p.m. ET

Where: Indianapolis (Ind.) Grand Prix Circuit, IN

TV: NBC

About the Author

David Caraviello

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