Toyota will aim for its third consecutive NASCAR Cup Series title on Sunday at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
The automaker is at the top of the Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix odds board with Tyler Reddick (+450). Seven-time road course winner and 2021 COTA winner Chase Elliott is not far behind (+700).
COTA has had three different winners in three years.
Redick, Elliott and Ross Chastain will be looking for their second win at COTA, while everyone else will be looking to get that elusive first win in Austin.
Check out which drivers I’m rooting for at the Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix at COTA. The Grand Prix will be broadcast Sunday at 3:30pm ET on FOX.
Best bets for Echo Park Automotive Grand Prix
Win: Ty Gibbs (+1200, fan duel)
Gibbs, just 21 years old, is on the brink of winning his first career Cup Series victory.
He enters Sunday’s race with a fourth consecutive top-10 finish, but he probably had the car to win last week’s race at Bristol.
Gibbs finished ninth in his only Cup Series start at COTA, but this nomination goes far beyond that race.
The Toyota team, including Gibbs, showed speed on road courses in the second half of the 2023 season.
Looking at the speed rankings, he had the second fastest car at Watkins Glen and Charlotte Roval.
The path to his first win is a lot like what happened to Ross Chastain a few years ago. He entered COTA in 2022, finishing in the top three for the third year in a row and earning his first career win in this race.
Gibbs’ first career Xfinity Series victory came on a road course.
The same can likely be said about his first Cup Series win.
Tyler Reddick Top 3 Finish (+150, fan duel)
Redick has been hit and miss this season.
He nearly won in Las Vegas and led 68 laps to finish in the top 10 in Phoenix. Other than that, he has finished 29th or lower three times.
This is the perfect spot for Redick to get his season back on track.
He is the best driver at COTA in the Cup Series, winning last year’s race by leading 41 of 75 laps.
Overall, Reddick has three wins on road courses in the Cup Series.
Speed rankings show that he is the best driver in the next generation era track type.
There’s a good chance Redick will win for the second year in a row at COTA, but he’ll settle for a top-three finish.
AJ Allmendinger Top 5 Finish (+230, fan duel)
Allmendinger returned to a part-time schedule after playing a full season in the Cup Series last year.
Allmendinger won’t be a threat most weeks, but he’s one of the drivers to beat on road courses.
All three of his Cup Series wins came on road courses, including last year’s race at the Charlotte Roval.
COTA’s numbers show only one finish better than 30th, but this is seriously misleading.
He was leading on the final lap of the 2022 race, but was wrecked by Chastain.
He was running the third-fastest car in last year’s race, but a late crash ruined his day.
According to Speed Rankings, he has had a top-three car in the past two COTA races.
I hope he’ll be at the front aiming for a top-five finish on Sunday.
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Alex Bowman Top 10 finish (+150, bet365)
Alex Bowman achieved a long-awaited top-five finish at Bristol.
A strong performance should give him confidence heading into one of his best tracks.
Bowman was never known as a road course racer.
Ranked 13th in speed rankings in the next generation era. His speed is outside the top 10 in most road course races.
But there’s something about COTA that works for him.
He has recorded consecutive top-three finishes at COTA and finished eighth in the 2021 race.
This wasn’t a fluke finish, as Bowman has been fast enough to finish in the top five the past two years.
All you need to do is finish within the top 10 to cash out this bet. It would be a big surprise if Bowman didn’t finish in the top 10 cars.
