The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Indianapolis Motor Speedway this week for the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. It is time to continue our NASCAR Cup Series odds series with a NASCAR Cup Series Verizon 200 at The Brickyard prediction, pick, and how-to-watch.
Last week it was Chris Buescher who took the checkered flag in Michigan. He was followed up by Martin Truex Jr., Denny Hamlin, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Larson. As the regular season is winding down, the opportunities to get a win and secure a playoff spot are dwindling. This week, NASCAR heads to The Brickyard. Paying tribute to the original brick track, the race here at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be on a combined course.
The original Brickyard 400 which ran on the 2.5-mile oval from 1994-2020 has been replaced. Instead, they will race on 2.45 mile combined track in Indianapolis. While using one of the main straightaways of the Indy Oval, the track also has a road course element to it. Before turning one of the oval tracks, the race veers into the road portion. It rejoins the normal track on turn 11, before coming off on the turn at turn 12. Finally, at turn 14, it comes back to the oval for the straightaway. This is the track used by the IndyCar GMR Grand Prix and has been used twice now by NASCAR.
Here are the NASCAR Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.
NASCAR Odds: Verizon 200 Odds
Martin Truex Jr.: +400
Shane Van Gisbergen: +500
Tyler Reddick: +500
Chase Elliott: +700
Kyle Busch: +1000
Kyle Larson: +1000
Christopher Bell: +1100
Brodie Kostecki : +1600
AJ Allmendinger: +1600
Denny Hamlin: +1700
Daniel Suarez: +1800
Chris Buescher: +2000
Ross Chastain: +2200
William Byron: +2200
Austin Cindric: +2800
Michael McDowell: +3500
Joey Logano: +3500
Ty Gibbs: +4000
Kamui Kobayashi: +4000
Brad Keselowski: +6500
How to Watch Verizon 200
TV: NBC
Stream: Peacock
Time: 2:30 PM ET/ 11:30 AM PT
*Watch Nascar LIVE with fuboTV (click for a free trial)*
Favorites To Win Verizon 200
Martin Truex Jr. comes into this race as the favorite. He has already won three times this year and has nine top-fives on the season. Truex is the top driver in terms of points this year and will be looking to keep his great season going. He also comes in hot, as he was a runner-up last week, and has been first, third, and seventh in the prior three weeks. Still, he has not done well on some road tracks this year. While he did win Sonoma, he was 17th at Circuit of the Americas (COTA) and 32nd at the Chicago Street Race. On this track, in two races, he has finished 15th and 21st.
Next on the list is Shane Van Gisbergen. You have either never heard of him, or you have and may not like him very much. That is because Van Gisbergen is an Australian SuperCar driver. He became the first driver in 60 years to win his first race in a NASCAR event when he did that at the Chicago Street RAce. He shockingly won that race, using his street course racing abilities to get the win. While Van Gisbergen has never raced here, has does race on similar tracks in his normal racing circuit. One advantage he had in the Chicago race was that no one had ever raced on it. In this one, his competitors have raced here before.
Tyler Reddick sits third in odds to win this race. He has a win this year and is 13th in driver points. Still, street races have not been kind to him as of late. After starting second at both Sonoma and Chicago, he had disappointing finishes. He was 33rd at Sonoma and 28th at Chicago. Meanwhile, his one win this year does come at COTA. He is a good street track racer and will look to continue you at The Brickyard in the Verizon 200. Reddick also won this race last year, leading 38 laps in the process.
Kyle Busch sits at +1000 to win the race, fifth in odds. He has not done great here, with a 20th and 11th place finish in his time on this specific track. Busch is also coming in with some struggles, in two of his last three races, he was 21st or worse. Still, he was fifth at Chicago and third at Sonoma. At COTA, he was the runner-up and has done great on road tracks this year. Adding to the positive things, Busch will be driving the car that Tyler Reddick used last year to win this race.
Sleepers To Win Verizon 200
While not a favorite, AJ Allmendinger has won on this track. He won the inaugural Verizon 200 at the Brickyard and finished seventh here last year. Allmendinger does not have a win this year but did have a solid showing at Sonoma this year, finishing seventh. His last four races have not been the best, finishing outside the top 15 in all of them, but this is a great rebound spot for him.
Denny Hamlin at these odds is a pretty big steal. He is coming into this race hot. Three weeks ago at Pocono, he won, then two weeks ago it was a runner-up finish at Richmond. Last week, he took third place at Michigan. He did well in the Chicago Street Race, finishing 11th, but struggled in the other two road courses this year. He led 27 laps in the first race on this track in 2021 and did finish 14th here last year. The pole winner has historically done well on this track, including winning last year. Hamlin has won the last two poles. If he can do that again, he should be looked at to win this race.
Finally, last week's winner Chris Buescher should be looked at. He has been much better on-road tracks overall. He is coming in off of two straight wins and will be looking to make it three in a row. At Chicago this year, he finished tenth and then was fourth at Sonoma. At COTA he was an eighth-place finisher. He continues to get better on this track as well. In his first race here, he finished 12th, and then last year he was a tenth-place finish. With his history on road courses this year, and how he has been driving, he has to be looked at for being the winner.
Verizon 200 Prediction & Pick
Taking any of the sleepers as a top ten pick, or a top five may be a solid pick. They are all quality picks in this race. The racers will be gunning for Shane Van Gisbergen in this one after he took the win at Chicago. The prediction is, he will run well again here at the Verizon 200 at the Brickyard. He could be a great top-five pick, but he is also the pick as the winner in this race.
Verizon 200 Prediction & Pick: Shane Van Gisbergen (+500)