Chase Elliott is +550 favorite to win Chicago Street race

 

9 CHASE ELLIOTT   Age: 27 (Nov. 28, 1995)   Hometown: Dawsonville, Georgia   Resides: Dawsonville, Georgia   Crew Chief: Alan Gustafson   Standings: 25th              No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1   Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, will be available to members of the media at the Chicago Street Course media center on Saturday, July 1, at 11:15 a.m. local time. NASHVILLE IN THE REARVIEW: Chase Elliott qualified 14th for last Sunday's 300-lap NASCAR Cup Series event at Nashville Superspeedway. The 27-year-old driver earned valuable stage points in each of the race's first two stages, finishing sixth and seventh, respectively. His strong run continued into the final stage, ultimately resulting in a fourth-place finish. The effort marked his second consecutive top-five finish dating back to Sonoma Raceway, and his fourth top-five finish of the season in just 10 starts. Elliott has now achieved two top-five finishes, including a win in 2022, in only three Cup Series starts at Nashville.   NEW IS GOOD: This weekend, the Cup Series heads to the brand-new Chicago Street Course, making it one of three road courses on the current schedule on which Elliott has yet to win (Sonoma and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Road Course being the others). New tracks have been good to the Dawsonville, Georgia, native throughout his career. He’s been victorious three times (all on road courses) at first-time events held in the modern era – Road America in 2021, Circuit of The Americas in 2021 and the Daytona International Speedway Road Course in 2020.  ROAD WARRIOR: In 26 Cup Series starts on road courses, Elliott has an average finish of 8.04, with seven wins, 15 top-five finishes and 18 top-10s. His average finish is not only the best among active drivers, but third all-time among drivers (five or more starts) behind NASCAR legends Fireball Roberts and Buck Baker. Elliott has proven his road-racing prowess, leading all active drivers with seven wins on road courses. He’s also third on the all-time list of drivers with road course victories, trailing only NASCAR Hall of Famers Jeff Gordon (nine) and Tony Stewart (eight). With triumphs across five different road courses, Elliott has won at the most serpentine tracks in series history. His seven stage wins are the most all-time on this track type. ROAD RACING RUNDOWN: Since the start of 2022, Elliott has earned a best finish of second on road courses, coming at Road America last season. In that span, he has a total of four top-five finishes and five top-10s across seven starts on serpentine tracks. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has paced the field for 128 laps on road courses since the beginning of last season and earned two pole awards (Road America and Watkins Glen International).  FIRST WIN: Elliott’s first career Cup Series win came at a road course – Watkins Glen in 2018. The five-time National Motorsports Press Association Most Popular Driver winner started the race from the third position and led 52 of 90 laps en route to the victory.   VIEW FROM THE TOP: While this is the first time the series will race on a street course, crew chief Alan Gustafson has plenty of experience on tracks where left and right turns are made. Across 47 Cup Series races on road courses, the veteran crew chief has led his team to seven wins – a series high among active crew chiefs – 18 top-five finishes, 25 top-10s and 527 laps led.   POINTING IN: Elliott currently sits 25th in the Cup Series point standings, 64 markers outside of the provisional cutline for a playoff spot with nine races left in the regular season. Last weekend at Nashville, the 2020 Cup Series champion gained 20 points on the bubble and needs to average eight markers per race on the cutline in the final nine races to advance to the playoffs on points.  WIN AND IN: While pointing his way in isn’t impossible, the easiest way for Elliott to lock himself into the playoffs is with a victory. Last season, the summer was a hot one for Elliott and the No. 9 team on the track. Together, they put together five consecutive finishes of second or better, including three wins (Nashville, Atlanta Motor Speedway and Pocono Raceway). Elliott has earned four of his 18 career Cup Series wins across three of the nine tracks left in the regular season (Pocono, Atlanta and two wins at Watkins Glen). At four of the other tracks, Elliott has nearly taken home the hardware. He’s finished runner-up at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Michigan International Speedway (three times) and Daytona International Speedway (twice).  HOOTERS IS BACK: Hooters is back as the primary partner of the No. 9 team this weekend at the Chicago Street Course for its second of three races in 2023. Earlier this year as part of the company’s 40th anniversary, Hooters unveiled a special Night Owl paint scheme for the 2023 season. Get a look at all the angles of the No. 9 Hooters Chevrolet here.   WHEN CHASE WINS YOU WIN: Fans can visit Hooters on Mondays after Cup Series races this season and ask their server for free fried pickles when Elliott and the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team finishes in the top 10. If the No. 9 team wins, customers receive 10 free wings with any 10-wing purchase. Get more details at hooters.com/racing.   STOP ON BY: Elliott will drop by the Hooters of O'Hare, located at 8225 W. Higgins Road in Chicago, this Saturday at 5 p.m. local time. Fans will have the opportunity to grab an autograph from the Hooters Racing driver and see the No. 9 Hooters Night Owl Chevrolet that he'll be driving on Sunday. Chase Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how he views the Chicago Street Course from an event perspective: "That’s a good question. I think it depends on which hat you’re wearing. If you’re wearing a competitor’s hat - for me, it’s us going up there and trying to put ourselves in position to win. From a fan standpoint, you’re tapping into a part of the country that I think has a lot of race fans, a lot of NASCAR fans, but into city limits that a lot of those people might not have typically come out to Joliet or somewhere up there. For them, I think it’s about it being a good event and it being exciting for them. There's a lot of stuff going on for them and they feel like they’re at the event. That needs to feel like the event that weekend over a (Chicago) Cubs game or whatever it may be. I think that will make it successful from a promoter’s standpoint. From the racing side, I don’t think I have to leave the racetrack and think – oh wow, that was a really great race for it to be successful to the viewership or the people that show up in attendance." Alan Gustafson, crew chief of the No. 9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1, on how experience plays a role in preparing for the Chicago Street Course: "I don't think you can comment too much about it as far as the competition side goes because you just don't know. You want versatility but with the format, you don't have the opportunity to really adjust. You just have to try and find places and corners from different tracks that you think may apply. You use that information to try and put it together and have something reasonable to go there and run with. It's just super hard to do anything besides lean on some of your experience and some tracks that have similar styles of corners."

Micah Roberts' Top-10 Finish Prediction: 2023 Grant Park 220 on Chicago Streets

Check out my full article on the Chicago race at Sportsline.com

1 #19 Martin Truex Jr. (7/1) - He just won at Sonoma leading a race-high 51 laps. His car dominated the end of the race. It was the best set-up he had with a JGR Toyota in the last 10 road races. It was his first top-five in his last 10 road races and also the first time he’s led a lap in his last 10 road races. The roads become more important in today’s NASCAR that Toyota has made huge grounds in setting up a quality ride. They had the best two cars at Sonoma, not by accident, but by making huge grounds in their road racing program. Truex has five road course wins now and might have six by the end of Saturday. He should be the favorite to win this race.

2 #45 Tyler Reddick (13/2) - He’s won three of the last six races on road courses and has led laps in five of his last six. The Toyota brand was on point for his car at COTA but finished 33rd at Sonoma after a decent start. But he never really contended at Sonoma after finishing sixth in the first stage. So the question is will he be set up better than everyone like he was at COTA or do we get the Sonoma set up? He’s batting .500 in his last six road races, so the price is somewhat attractive.

3 #17 Chris Buescher (20/1) - The new car has been his biggest edge on the road courses. He knows what he needs to run well, explains it to his team, and they give him what he needs to compete for a win. His last seven road starts with the new car have seen him finish in the top-10. His consistency in performance and car set-up has been amazing. He was runner-up at Sonoma last season and was fourth this season. He also was eighth at COTA in March. All top-10s, in seven straight of anything, is pretty good, but seven road courses are something that deserves some betting attention.

4 #16 A.J. Allmendinger (10/1) - His two wins in the NASCAR Cup Series have come on road courses, the last coming at the Indy course in 2021. His last six road starts have been amazing with a ninth or better in five of his last six. He was sixth at Sonoma three weeks ago. A new course, he’ll have an edge with attitude, arrogance, and skill.

5 #8 Kyle Busch (12/1) - He might offer the best value with his price-to-performance road racing ratio this week. Can he win? Sure why not, he has three wins already this season. But how about road courses? He has four wins and 18 top-fives over his 49 road starts. How about this season? He has a runner-up each at COTA and Sonoma, two-for-two in second place. It’s obvious the edge on roads that Tyler Reddick had last season in the first year of the NextGen car is still an edge with Busch driving it.

6 #9 Chase Elliott (5/1) - He has the most glorious road racing resume in NASCAR with an eighth-place average finish, seven wins in 26 starts with 15 top-fives, and 470 laps led. But he hasn’t won in his last 10 road races. He hasn’t won the last seven races on road courses using the NextGen car and while it might make sense that NASCAR’s main character wins on a new street circuit I just haven’t seen it yet with the new car. So how can I bet him now as the 5-to-1 favorite to do something he hasn’t done yet? His time is ticking as the countdown to the playoffs behind and he needs a win to make it.

7 #5 Kyle Larson (7/1) - He’s won four of the last 13 road course events but most of that damage was done in 2021 with the old car. He’s only won one road race in his last eight starts, including two very mediocre performances this season. He didn’t lead a lap in his last three and five of his last six road events. His recent history suggests his true price is 18-to-1 so why would I take 7-to-1?

8 #99 Daniel Suarez (25/1) - Seeing his teammate win last week raised the bar for Trackhouse Racing. Now it’s Suarez’s turn and after winning at Sonoma last season he finished fifth at Road America and Watkins Glen. But he finished 27th at COTA and 22nd at Sonoma this season. I would need 35/1 odds to bet him to win.

9 #11 Denny Hamlin (30/1) - The reason you might bet him this week besides the attractive price is because his car was bad-fast at Sonoma when he won the pole and led the first 32 laps, won the first stage, and then got an accident to finish poorly. The top two cars there were JGR Toyotas. They’ve found something in the NextGen car to help them get a better balance in their road setups. Overall, he has one road win and 13 top-fives in 47 road starts.

10 #34 Michael McDowell (25/1) - He was discovered by NASCAR driving on road courses and he’s showing off his skills during his last seven road course races beginning with a third last season at Sonoma and a seventh this season at Sonoma. He’s been 12th or better in six of his last seven road course starts. He’s a player this week as his low odds indicate.

Race To The Playoffs: Chastain the latest to lock into the postseason with a win

Chase Elliott needs to win a race before the playoffs begin to participate.

Trackhouse Racing’s Ross Chastain has become the 11th different driver to win this season and lock himself into the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs after taking the checkered flag in a dominate performance at Nashville Superspeedway last weekend. With 11 spots in the Playoffs already taken and only nine races left until the postseason, time and space is running out for competitors to earn their spot.

 

NASCAR Cup Series Playoff Outlook - Drivers Without Wins This Season
Rank	Drivers Without Wins	Starts	Points	Race Wins	Stage Wins	Playoff Pts	+/- Cutoff
12	Kevin Harvick	17	515	0	1	1	164
13	Brad Keselowski	17	450	0	1	1	99
14	Chris Buescher	17	449	0	1	1	98
15	Bubba Wallace	17	381	0	0	0	30
16	Daniel Suarez	17	353	0	0	0	2
17	Alex Bowman	*14	351	0	0	-5	-2
18	Ty Gibbs #	17	343	0	0	0	-10
19	AJ Allmendinger	17	329	0	0	0	-24
20	Michael McDowell	17	326	0	0	0	-27
21	Corey LaJoie	17	308	0	0	0	-45
22	Austin Cindric	17	302	0	1	1	-51
23	Justin Haley	17	298	0	0	0	-55
24	Ryan Preece	17	290	0	1	1	-63
25	Chase Elliott	*10	289	0	1	1	-64
26	Todd Gilliland	17	281	0	0	0	-72
27	Aric Almirola	17	272	0	1	1	-81
28	Austin Dillon	17	247	0	0	-5	-106
29	Harrison Burton	17	235	0	0	0	-118
30	Erik Jones	17	220	0	0	-5	-133
31	Chase Briscoe	17	189	0	0	-25	-164
32	Noah Gragson #	*16	154	0	0	0	-199
33	Ty Dillon	17	151	0	0	0	-202

 

Holding the most comfortable spots on the Playoff outlook of the drivers without wins, is Stewart-Haas Racing’s Kevin Harvick, who is 164 points ahead of the Playoff cutline. RFK Racing teammates Brad Keselowski (+99 points) and Chris Buescher (+98 points) are also in good standing heading into this weekend. But 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace (+30 points) in 15th and Trackhouse Racing’s Daniel Suarez (+2 points) in 16th will have their work cut out for them if they want to hold on to their positions.

Currently there are five drivers that made the Playoffs last season that are below the postseason cutline heading into this weekend – Alex Bowman (-2 points), Austin Cindric (-51), Chase Elliott (-64), Austin Dillon (-106), and Chase Briscoe (-164).