NASCAR Takes Over America’s Formula 1 Heart
For over a decade, North American motorsports fans have fallen in love with the purpose-built Circuit of the Americas (CoTA) in Austin, Texas: the heart of Formula 1 in America with tributes to some of the most legendary circuits in motorsports throughout the circuits 20 turns.
With two former Formula 1 World Champions, Jenson Button (2009) (+8000) and Kimi Räikkönen (2007) (+4000) — who won the 2018 Formula 1 United States Grand Prix – jumping in rides, the NASCAR Cup Series regulars get their first non-oval or speedway action on the technical CoTA, which could shake things up for sports betting options this weekend.
Logano and Ford Dominate in ATL
Team Penske-Ford’s Joey Logano (+2500) had an excellent weekend in Atlanta. Team Penske finished qualifying in the top three spots, with Logano taking the pole position for the Ambetter Health 400.
Logano paid off his perennial favorite status on NASCAR lines, winning stage 1, finishing second to teammate Austin Cindric (+1400) in stage 2, and holding off RFK Racing-Ford’s Brad Keselowski to win stage 3 and the race and reclaim the lead in the Cup Series Drivers’ Championship.
Atlanta was kind to all three Team Penske-Ford’s, with Cindric finishing 11th, while Ryan Blaney (+1400) has scored his third top-10 finish of the season and jumps to fourth in the Cup Series standings, edging closer to living up to his preseason online sports betting favorite status.
Retweet to congratulate Joey Logano on his win at Atlanta Motor Speedway! pic.twitter.com/hebP0gg3lj
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) March 19, 2023
Will Chevrolet or Toyota Strike Back?
Atlanta was the first race in the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season that a Chevrolet ride didn’t win or land on the podium.
However, Chevrolet rides headline the betting favorites heading into a stop on the NASCAR calendar only Chevrolet has won in its short existence. The obvious favorites at the front of the pack are Hendrick Motorsports-Chevorlet’s triple threat of Kyle Larson (+600), William Byron (+1400), and Alex Bowman (+2000).
Outside of Hendrick Motorsports and alongside previous winner Ross Chastain and Trackhouse teammate Daniel Suárez, Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger (+1200) is another potential Chevrolet ride that could put a Chevrolet back on Victory Lane.
AS for non-Chevrolet rides, we’ve been very high on Christopher Bell’s (+1400) performances this season, while Joe Gibbs Racing-Toyota’s Kyle Busch (+800) is among the betting favorites for this weekend.
NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Recent Results and Circuit Info
NASCAR has only run two Grand Prix at CoTA starting back in 2021 but has proven to be Chevrolet country so far. While still sidelined from a snowboarding accident, Hendrick Motorsports-Chevrolet’s Chase Elliott scored the win in the rain-shortened inaugural Grand Prix.
Trackhouse Racing-Chevrolet’s Ross Chastain (+850) won the 2022 Grand Prix in overtime. Chastain currently sits third in the Cup Series Drivers’ Championship standings and a sports betting favorite heading into CoTA.
Circuit of the Americas provides the NASCAR Cup Series regulars a taste of the highly-technical and demanding courses common in open-wheel racing.
One lap around CoTA is 20 turns for 3.426 miles, with three straights providing excellent overtaking opportunities at the end of each straight.
Turns 3-6 pay tribute to Silverstone’s legendary high-speed “Maggots-Becketts” section, while turns 13-16 are slow and technical, but the circuit opens up with the four apexes of turns 17-18 before drivers push around the final two corners to complete the lap.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Race Information
- Race: NASCAR Cup Series EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix – 68 Laps (232.9mi): Stage 1 – 15 laps; Stage 2 – 17 laps, Stage 3 – 36 Laps
- Location: Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas
- Day/Time: Sunday, March 26, 2023, 3:30 p.m. ET
- EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Live stream: NBCSports.com
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Betting Odds
| EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix | Moneyline |
| Kyle Larson | +600 |
| Kyle Busch | +800 |
| Ross Chastain | +850 |
| Tyler Reddick | +900 |
| AJ Allmendinger | +1200 |
| William Byron | +1400 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1400 |
| Daniel Suarez | +1400 |
| Christopher Bell | +1400 |
| Austin Cindric | +1400 |
| Alex Bowman | +2000 |
| Joey Logano | +2500 |
The odds in this chart are based on the time of publication. They are subject to change.
EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Prediction
Making successful sports bets on a race winner is extremely difficult, like CoTA itself.
We always mention our favorites on the NASCAR odds for this weekend to win the race outright but also mention these drivers as potential picks for the top five finishers to give you more opportunities to win.
Our favorites from the NASCAR betting odds to win the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain.
However, as motorsports fans, we’re going to bet on long-shot but previous CoTA Grand Prix winner, albeit in a different category, Kimi Räikkönen, at +4000 for fun.
