2 #8 Kyle Busch (8/1) - He has four road course wins over his Cup career with 17 top-fives and 404 laps led in 48 road starts. He hasn’t led any laps since 2021 at the Charlotte Roval but he’s got RCR power now and last season they were stout on road courses with Reddick. In his first shot on a road course with RCR, he was runner-up at COTA. He has three wins on the season.
3 #24 William Byron (9/1) - He’s got four poles on road courses over his career and he’s probably spent more time in simulators on them than anyone and he was rewarded with his first top-five on the roads in an official race at COTA in March. He was fifth after leading 28 laps. This seems like the best bet to me at Sonoma when considering his momentum on the season with three wins. It’s the summer of Lord Byron!
4 #16 A.J. Allmendinger (16/1) - This is why he’s in NASCAR. This is why his only two wins have come on road courses and the fact that he did it before everyone was allegedly equal with the NextGen car makes it even more impressive. Seven tip-fives in 31 Cup starts. He closed out last season with a 9th, 7th, 2nd, and 4th-place finish. He’s worth a small bet just so the rascal doesn’t beat your portfolio and ruin your betting day.
5 #9 Chase Elliott (5/1) - He was the King of the roads by winning seven of 11 races on them from 2018 to 2021. It’s an awesome feat, but then NASCAR started putting loads of roads on the schedule. Six of them last season after just two of them run for years in NASCAR. Why? Elliott was the biggest star and they gave him more chances to win races and win championships. But he hasn’t won on a road course since 2021 at Road America. Two runner-ups, but no wins. What’s up with that? Maybe NextGen being introduced coupled with other drivers getting better. Either way, I don’t like NASCAR stacking the deck for Elliott by adding more race tracks where he has a decided edge.
6 #2 Austin Cindric (14/1) - He’s third-best among active drivers with a 13.4 average finish in his 10 Cup starts on them. That’s what he did in Xfinity Series racing, that’s what he did to get noticed in Cup. He’s got the natural edge of getting in and out of the corners fastest. He was fifth at Sonoma last season and has been ninth or better in six of his last eight road course races. I’m searching for the best number, and Caesars isn’t it. Shop around.
7 #5 Kyle Larson (5/1) - He won the 2021 Sonoma race for his first win on a road course and then he would win three more in his last 10 races on them. He’s won four times in his last 12 starts on the roads, just another thing in NASCAR that he has learned to dominate. The key here with him is strong Hendrick set-ups for the roads.
8 #48 Alex Bowman (25/1) - This is a good bet based on the 25-to-1 price considering he drives a Hendrick set-up car and that he also finished third at COTA in March. He’s got four top-fives in 25 Cup road races. His best finish was runner-up at COTA in 2021.
9 #17 Chris Buescher (20/1) - You might bet him because he was runner-up at Sonoma last season. I bet him because road racing is in his blood and the reason why he was discovered in NASCAR, but more importantly is because he’s been top-10 in his last six road races in the NextGen car. Mr. Consistency on the roads.
10 #99 Daniel Suarez (16/1) - He dominated last season’s Sonoma race by leading 47 laps for his first career Cup win. And he had a huge entourage in the stands, the Amigos! The reason you might bet him to win again is because of the new car. It’s basically the same as last season and his team had this car dialed in for Sonoma.
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