The NASCAR Cup Collection is on the winding roads of upstate New York this Sunday for the Go Bowling at The Glen at Watkins Glen Worldwide. It is the second race of the 10-week playoffs and the primary time WGI has ever hosted a playoff race.
Final 12 months, William Byron dominated in an occasion that solely had one yellow flag, as NASCAR had eradicated stage cautions. That will not be the case this 12 months, and technique will likely be premium. With that in thoughts, listed below are three drivers to look at — a favourite, a contender and a darkish horse — for Sunday’s motion, in addition to one driver to keep away from.
Favourite: Chase Elliott (+800, per DraftKings as of Friday afternoon)
Elliott hasn’t gained on a street course since 2021, however that is certain to alter sooner or later and Watkins Glen is his finest monitor on the schedule. Exterior of final 12 months’s race when Elliott’s crew chief Alan Gustafson ran him out of gas on the monitor, he has contended for the win yearly there since 2018. That features back-to-back wins in 2018 and 2019 and a runner-up end in 2021, and he led on the ultimate restart in 2022 (NASCAR didn’t race on the Glen in 2020).
Elliott’s odds are tied for the fourth-highest at +800. That is a cut price for a driver who may simply be thought of the favourite, and who will likely be out to make a press release as he seems to say himself into title rivalry. Put your cash on the No. 9 machine this weekend.
Contender: Michael McDowell (+1600)
Searching for a non-playoff driver to spoil the celebration this week? The favored picks will likely be Kaulig Racing’s duo of street course specialists in Shane van Gisbergen and A.J. Allmendinger, however it may be McDowell, who has led double-digit laps in every of his previous two journeys to the Glen. Final season he began third and appeared to have the automotive to beat early on earlier than electrical points doomed his day.
McDowell’s +1600 odds are solely tied for Tenth-highest, the identical as Kyle Busch and solely barely above Denny Hamlin. For a driver with two top-five finishes on street programs in 2024, he must be effectively forward of that vary, so seize that worth whilst you can.
Darkish horse: Alex Bowman (+3000)
Guess which driver has scored the most points of anybody within the Cup Collection on street programs this season? Now guess once more, as a result of your first guess was most likely not the right one: Bowman. It is solely a three-race pattern dimension, certain, however included amongst these races is a win on the Chicago Road Course, the latest time the Cup Collection turned each left and proper.
Bowman is an extremely streaky driver, however that momentum appears to be swinging up proper now as he is trying to again up a top-five end final week in Atlanta. But the oddsmakers appear to be sleeping on him, giving him +3000 odds which might be the identical as Juan Pablo Montoya, a driver who hasn’t been in a Cup automotive in 10 years. Bowman is perhaps your finest worth within the discipline this week.
Keep away from: Shane van Gisbergen (+500)
Okay, we get it, this man is sweet on street programs. However let’s pump the brakes right here. +500? Tied with Kyle Larson for the perfect odds in your entire discipline? That appears very beneficiant for a driver who has by no means run on this monitor earlier than, and who has not been a lot of a menace in his earlier Cup begins on true street programs (the Chicago Road Course being categorized as its personal totally different animal right here).
van Gisbergen has gained the previous three street programs within the Xfinity Collection, and can certainly be a menace to make it 4 in a row on Saturday. Nonetheless, his standing as a favourite for the Cup race appears to be solely tied to his Chicago victory a season in the past, which was (actually) the proper storm for him as he raced in moist circumstances on a monitor that was brand-new for your entire discipline. Don’t take the bait on SVG.
