Toyota is aiming for its third straight NASCAR Cup Series victory on Sunday at Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas.
The car manufacturer tops the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix odds board with Tyler Reddick (+450). Seven-time road course winner and 2021 COTA winner Chase Elliott isn’t far behind (+700).
COTA has seen three different winners in three years.
Reddick, Elliott, and Ross Chastain aim for their second COTA victory, while everyone else seeks to capture that elusive first victory in Austin.
Check out which drivers I’m backing for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at COTA, which can be broadcast at 3:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix best bets
To win: Ty Gibbs (+1200, FanDuel)
At just 21 years old, Gibbs is on the verge of winning his first career Cup Series.
He enters Sunday’s race with four straight top-10 finishes, and he likely had the car to beat in last week’s race at Bristol.
Gibbs finished ninth in his only start at COTA in the Cup Series, but this pick goes well beyond that race.
The Toyota camp showed much speed at road courses later in the 2023 season, including Gibbs.
If you look at the speed rankings, he had the second-fastest car at Watkins Glen and the Charlotte Roval.
The path to his first win looks a lot like what happened a few years ago to Ross Chastain, who entered COTA in 2022 with three straight top-three finishes before scoring his first career victory in this race.
Gibbs’ first career win in the Xfinity Series came on a road course.
There’s a good chance we’re saying the same for his first triumph in the Cup Series.
Tyler Reddick top-3 finish (+150, FanDuel)
Reddick has been very hit-or-miss this season.
He nearly won at Las Vegas and led 68 laps en route to a top-10 at Phoenix. Aside from that, he has three finishes of 29th or worse.
This is the perfect venue for Reddick to put his season back on track.
He has been the best driver at COTA in the Cup Series, winning last year’s race after leading 41 of the 75 laps.
Overall, Reddick has three road course victories in the Cup Series.
The speed rankings show he has been the best driver on the track type in the Next-Gen era.
There’s a strong chance Reddick scores his second straight COTA victory, but we’ll settle for a top-three finish.
AJ Allmendinger top-5 finish (+230, FanDuel)
Allmendinger is back on a part-time schedule after running the 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 victories came on road courses, including last year’s race at the Charlotte Roval.
The COTA numbers only show one finish better than 30th, but that’s severely misleading.
He was leading on the final lap of the 2022 race before Chastain wrecked him.
He had the third-fastest car in last year’s race before a late crash ruined his day.
The speed rankings show he has had a top-three car in the last two COTA races.
Expect him to be upfront and compete for a top-five finish on Sunday.
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Alex Bowman top-10 finish (+150, bet365)
Alex Bowman is coming off a much-needed top-five finish at Bristol.
The strong performance should give him confidence as he heads to one of his best tracks.
Bowman has never been known as a road course racer.
In the Next-Gen era, he ranks 13th in speed rankings. His speed in most road course races has him outside the top 10.
However, there’s something about COTA that works for him.
He has back-to-back top-three finishes at COTA and finished eighth in the 2021 race.
These aren’t fluke finishes, as Bowman showed top-five speed in the last two years.
We only need a top-10 finish to cash this bet. It’d be a big surprise if Bowman failed to finish among the top-10 cars.
