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Would you look at this, another new racetrack on the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series schedule. This time, the series visits one of the most historic road courses in the United States, Road America.
This Sunday will mark the first time the Cup Series has competed at Road America since 1956! That year, Tim Flock led 17 of 63 laps en route to the victory. That race also included name such as, Junior Johnson, Herb Thomas, Fireball Roberts, Buck Baket and other legends of the sport. This time it will include, well, you'll have to wait just a bit longer to see who I expect to run well. But consider this, more than half the field has run at Road America in some form or fashion, particularly the Xfinity Series. In fact, four of the drivers in the field have Xfinity wins at the track.
Note: There is qualifying this weekend ahead of the race on Sunday. These are prices set as of Friday afternoon, July 2.
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Chase Elliott
(DraftKings $10,600 | FanDuel $14,500 | DK SportsBook +250)
Look, I don't care what road course it is, whenever the Cup Series visits one, Chase Elliott should be on your lineup. And this week, his value is really good on DraftKings, where you can get other big names for a bargain.
And on DK SportsBook, it's not surprising Elliott enters the race as the favorite. However, the No. 9 car is just slightly ahead of Kyle Larson, who edged Elliott out in the series' last road course event at Sonoma Raceway.
Truthfully, you can't go wrong with either Elliott or Larson this weekend. The Hendrick Motorsports duo have finished first and second in the last two road course races, and both had a shot of winning at the Daytona International Speedway road course in February. Either way, center your lineup around an HMS Chevrolet.
Martin Truex Jr.
(DraftKings $10,300 | FanDuel $13,000 | DK SportsBook +600)
Since winning at Darlington Raceway in dominating fashion on Mother's Day, Martin Truex Jr. has had little to celebrate. Over the last seven races, he has just one top-10 effort, which came on a road course at Sonoma.
If Elliott has been the best on road course for the past three years, which he has, Truex is a close second. Despite scoring just one victory in that time to Elliott's six, the 2017 Cup champion has been the one to keep the No. 9 team on its toes.
One glaring negative for Truex this weekend is he's never competed at Road America. But with 50 minutes of practice this weekend, surely the No. 19 car will figure its way around the 4.048-mile course and be a factor come Sunday.
Joey Logano
(DraftKings $9,800 | FanDuel $11,800 | DK SportsBook +1200)
With how well Joey Logano runs on road courses, it's quite surprising that he has just one road course victory in his career (2015 at Watkins Glen International). In the three road courses this season, the No. 22 team has been particularly sporty.
Logano started the year off on road courses with a runner-up finish at Daytona, getting passed by Christopher Bell -- who had fresh tires -- coming to the white flag. At Circuit of The Americas, the No. 22 Ford led 14 laps, won a stage and finished third. At Sonoma, Logano finished fourth -- and is the only driver to have top-five finishes in all three road courses in 2021.
Of all the Team Penske drivers, Logano has performed exceedingly well on road courses of late. Logano also enters the race with four consecutive top-10 finishes, his longest streak of the season. Don't be surprised to see the No. 22 car inside the top five come the checkered flag. He, too, has never raced at Road America.
AJ Allmendinger
(DraftKings $9,000 | FanDuel $8,900| DK SportsBook +2500)
Someone who has competed at Road America -- and won -- is AJ Allmendinger. And boy, do I have expectations set high for the No. 16 team this weekend.
Sure, Allmendinger and Kaulig Racing are running part time this season, but two weeks ago the team announced it will run two full-time Cup teams in 2022. Plus, Allmendinger has drove the No. 16 Chevrolet to a pair of top-10 finishes in two starts on road courses this season. He didn't compete at Sonoma because he was too busy winning the Xfinity race at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, another road course. And did so in impressive fashion.
Whenever Allmendinger is in the field on a road course, he's legit. Don't be afraid to put a couple of dollars down on the No. 16 car, with 25-1 odds of winning the race. He won the 2013 Xfinity race at Road America and finished runner-up last year.
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Kurt Busch
(DraftKings $8,800 | FanDuel $8,500 | DK SportsBook +4000)
Kurt Busch is a very underrated road course driver. Yes, he's got just one victory to his name while turning left and right in the Cup Series (Sonoma, 2011), but he seems to always run up towards the front.
Prior to finishing 27 at COTA (was running inside the top 10 when his brakes locked up and Busch gassed up his car to miss two racecars and needed to pit), Busch had consecutive top-five efforts on road courses. Last month at Sonoma, he placed sixth, which started a streak of three straight top-10 results and catapulted him onto the playoff bubble.
If you're playing for the win, Busch isn't a good pick, because the No. 1 Chevrolet will be chasing points this weekend. However, should he qualify mid pack on back, there's a good chance you'll look like a genius come the end of the race.
Austin Cindric
(DraftKings $8,300 | FanDuel $8,700 | DK SportsBook +4000)
Remember how Allmendinger finished second last August at Road America? He lost out to Austin Cindric, who has four career Xfinity road course victories. He also finished second to Bell in 2019, and blew an engine 15 laps int0 the 2018 event, though leading a pair of laps.
Good thing for Cindric is, he has the opportunity to qualify this weekend, and has among the most experience of all drivers in the field at Road America. Plus he drives for Team Penske, so you know the No. 33 Ford will have competitive equipment.
You don't have to look back too far to see how well Cindric runs on road courses, even in Cup. At COTA, it was the 22-year-old that soared to the lead and led four laps before setting his courage to the side and pitted for rain tires (last driver in the field to change from slicks). Expectations are high for Cindric, in just his sixth Cup start this weekend.
Michael McDowell
(DraftKings $7,600 | FanDuel $7,700 | DK SportsBook +8000)
Another driver who has an Xfinity win at Road America is Michael McDowell. In fact, up until this year's Daytona 500, it was his lone win in NASCAR.
In 2016 at Road America, McDowell piloted the No. 2 Xfinity car for Richard Childress Racing. He went on to dominate the race, leading 24 of 48 laps from second starting position and beating Brendan Gaughan by a half second for the victory.
Aside from that race, though, McDowell is an accomplished road course ace and has top 10 finishes at both Daytona and COTA this season. At Sonoma, he was running just outside the top 10 when he was dumped by Daniel Suarez on the final corner. Hey, his 80-1 odds are worse than when he won the Great American Race. Worth a shot,
Chase Briscoe
(DraftKings $6,700 | FanDuel $6,400 | DK SportsBook +10000)
Over the course of Chase Briscoe's rookie season, he's shown flashes of speed on road courses. Hell, he earned his lone top-10 finish of the season at COTA. And based off three years of Xfinity competition, it was expected of him to run well at these types of tracks.
At Road America, specifically, Briscoe has a pair of top-10 results in two starts. Last year, he finished third, just behind Cindric and Allmendinger. He did, however, win on the Indianapolis road course earlier that season and in 2018 on the Charlotte Motor Speedway ROVAL.
It's not of the question for Briscoe to have a respectable run on Sunday, for a Stewart-Haas Racing team that will look for any sign of success (hasn't won this year). He's got the credentials to be a driver to round out your lineup on a road course, should you stack it high with big names at the top.
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