“Between Bets” is an article series revealing our staff’s best wagers across the NFL, NASCAR and PGA Tour. This edition’s bets feature our favorite wagers for the 2024 Grant Park 165 at the Chicago Street Course.
(Odds courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook)
2024 Grant Park 165 Betting Picks: Outrights
Shane van Gisbergen (+500)
There’s no better place to start than with the Kiwi who changed his life and put the series on notice in the Windy City last year. Though Shane van Gisbergen (SVG) is now the favorite at +500 on DraftKings, rather than a +5000 as he was last year, you would be a fool to think he couldn’t win here again.
Even though it’s no longer the first street course race for most of the field, SVG’s skill set here should still be better than the majority of drivers. In his only Cup Series road course start in 2024, he finished 20th, but that day was not without issue for him. His overall Road Course Next-Gen total speed ranking (courtesy of ifantasyrace.com) is second-best in the series on average.
We’ve also seen SVG kick ass on the Xfinity Series side of things; he won Portland and Sonoma and likely wins Circuit of the Americas (COTA) as well, if not for Austin Hill.
Tyler Reddick (+650)
Tyler Reddick was thought to be the new road-course king after earning his first two Cup Series wins, making lefts and rights in 2022, but that notion has slightly cooled off since moving to 23XI. Still, Reddick has quietly picked up consistently strong finishes at road courses, making a +650 DraftKings outright worth a look.
The No. 45 won at COTA and earned a trio more of top-eight finishes in 2023 and has kept it going this season, finishing P5 and P8 in the pair of 2024 road course events.
He ran into trouble after leading the opening eight laps and finishing strong in both stages last year at Chicago. Reddick will hope to have a more consistent day and immediately bounce back from a near-victory taken away by an unbelievably strong fuel-saving effort from Joey Logano this past week.
Michael McDowell (+1200)
We’ve already seen Michael McDowell go for it all on multiple occasions in 2024, looking for a win and a playoff birth. Road courses have become a strong suit for the No. 34 team; this being the final one in the regular season will mean McDowell (+1200 to claim victory) should once again have a win-or-go-home attitude.
That’s been the story the last two seasons for McDowell on road courses. He’s had four top-seven finishes but also a trio of 30+ ones due to crashes or mechanical issues. But a dominant win at last season’s Indianapolis road course farewell and a runner-up result at Sonoma last month gives me all the faith in the world that McDowell will be in the conversation come Sunday.
Check out all of our content for the 2024 Grant Park 165:
- PropKings: 2024 Grant Park 165
- Between Bets: 2024 Grant Park 165 Outrights
- NASCAR DFS Picks, Tiers & Rankings: 2024 Grant Park 165
Thanks for reading my best bets for the 2024 Grant Park 165. Be sure to catch us live every Thursday night at 8:30 p.m. EST on The Backroad! Also, follow me on Twitter/X @ehicks39 for more NASCAR takes and betting advice.
*Photo Credit: Michael C. Johnson– USA TODAY Sports*
