The Action Network: Best race-day bets for St. Louis
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The NASCAR Cup Series makes its debut at World Wide Technology Raceway for the Enjoy Illinois 300 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1).
This new track has introduced a bit of a shakeup to the top of the leaderboard, with Ford drivers performing best in practice and qualifying.
Chase Briscoe leads the field to the green flag and is the race favorite at DraftKings at +850. That’s some incredible movement from his pre-practice line of +2500.
However, I’m looking at two other Ford drivers who showed well in practice and qualifying as my top bets for today’s Enjoy Illinois 300 at Gateway.
NASCAR at Gateway Picks
*Odds as of Sunday morning
Ryan Blaney to Win (+1000)
I wrote up Blaney as a best bet at +1200 earlier in the week. If you missed the boat on that, I certainly think 10-1 at FanDuel is incredible value given the speed we saw out of Blaney in practice and qualifying.
Blaney posted the fastest five-lap average and backed that up with the second-fastest 10- and 15-lap averages, behind only teammate Joey Logano.
In fact, Team Penske was 1-2-3 over five and 10 consecutive laps. It is fast!
After how well Logano and Blaney moved forward at Martinsville, and with Gateway potentially presenting a blend of Martinsville, Phoenix and Richmond, Blaney should be strong all day.
My model has Blaney as the outright favorite at 11.8% to win. That certainly beats the 9.1% implied odds at FanDuel.
The Bet: Ryan Blaney +1000 to Win | Bet to: +900
Joey Logano to Win (+1000)
If you want to tag-team the Penske drivers, Logano is a great pairing with Blaney.
Logano was the fastest across 10 and 15 consecutive laps in practice, but comes in at a 10-1 price, instead of much shorter, thanks to a seventh-place qualifying effort.
Logano had a better car than Blaney at Martinsville and won The Clash in the preseason exhibition race at the LA Coliseum. That means he can get it done on these tight, flat tracks.
My model has Logano as the second favorite, only a fraction of a percentage point behind Blaney. That also makes Logano a value bet at 10-1 at FanDuel.
The Bet: Joey Logano +1000 to Win | Bet to: +900
