The NASCAR Cup Series heads back to the streets of Chicago for the Grant Park 165 this Sunday. Last year's inaugural edition proved chaotic thanks to heavy rainfall over the entire racing weekend and, of course, the drivers' unfamiliarity with street racing.
Find out how our NASCAR betting picks think the Cup Series regulars will fare vs. Shane van Gisbergen, last year's runaway winner of the Grant Park 165, in their second go-around on the Chicago Street Course.
Odds to win 2024 Grant Park 165
| Driver |  |
 |
|---|---|---|
| Shane van Gisbergen | +425 | +500 |
| Christopher Bell | +600 | +750 |
| Kyle Larson | +650 | +750 |
| Tyler Reddick | +700 | +700 |
| Chase Elliott | +800 | +1,000 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +1,200 | +1,600 |
| Michael McDowell | +1,200 | +1,300 |
| William Byron | +1,400 | +1,600 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | +1,400 | +1,600 |
| Ty Gibbs | +1,600 | +1,400 |
| Chris Buescher | +1,600 | +2,000 |
| Kyle Busch | +2,800 | +3,400 |
| Daniel Suarez | +2,800 | +3,000 |
| Ross Chastain | +2,800 | +3,000 |
| Denny Hamlin | +3,000 | +2,800 |
| Ryan Blaney | +3,500 | +3,700 |
| Austin Cindric | +4,000 | +3,700 |
| Joey Logano | +4,000 | +4,600 |
| Alex Bowman | +7,000 | +7,500 |
| Justin Haley | +8,000 | +8,500 |
Odds as of 7-5-2024.
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Grant Park 165 field
Last year's race at the Chicago Street Course was scheduled for 100 laps, but was shortened to 75 after heavy rainfall and concerns about darkness. NASCAR decided to stick with the 165-mile, 75-lap distance for this year's return trip, with Stage 1 scheduled to end after 20 laps and Stage 2 after 45 laps.
Christopher Bell appeared to be in the catbird seat after taking the first two stages last year, but the shortening of the race as it was being run worked against Bell's pit strategy. Shane van Gisbergen was clearly the driver most comfortable with street racing as he wended through traffic early and cruised through Stage 3 to take the checkered flag over long shot Justin Haley.
Practice and qualifying will take place on Saturday afternoon, and the green flag will drop for the Grant Park 165 at approximately 4:30 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Grant Park 165 expert picks and predictions
Odds listed below courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of 7-5-2024.
Grant Park 165 pre-qualifying favorites
Kyle Larson (+650)
Kyle Larson enters off a win in the last road course race at Sonoma and finished fourth at Chicago last July. With the speed flashed in his No. 5 Chevrolet lately via Larson netting four Top-10 finishes in the last five races, he’s an easy pick.
Christopher Bell (+600)
Christopher Bell had a shot to win last year’s race, and he was runner-up at COTA and ninth at Sonoma this year. He enters off a Loudon victory two weeks ago while leading the most laps last week in Nashville following a stage sweep. Bell has two wins in the last six weeks.
Tyler Reddick (+700)
Tyler Reddick finished 28th last year but is typically a good road course racer. The 23XI Racing driver finished fifth at COTA in March and eighth at Sonoma last month. He enters with five Top-8 finishes in the last six weeks.
Chase Elliott (+800)
Chase Elliott finished fourth at Sonoma and third here last year. Should be in the mix Sunday with a pair of Top-5 finishes in the last four weeks.
Grant Park 165 sleepers
William Byron (+1,400)
William Byron's three consecutive road course race streak with a Top-2 finish was halted in Sonoma with a 30th-place result. He finished 13th last July at Chicago but I expect him to fare much better this time around.
Ty Gibbs (+1,600)
Ty Gibbs was only 37th at Sonoma but third at COTA and ninth in this race.
Chris Buescher (+1,600)
Eventually, Chris Buescher is going to pick up a road course win. He was 10th last year and eighth and third, respectively, on road courses this season.
Ross Chastain (+2,800)
Worth a flier. Ross Chastain was 22nd last year but has finished seventh and fifth, respectively, at COTA and Sonoma this season.
Grant Park 165 fades
Shane van Gisbergen (+425)
The odds are too steep for a back-to-back triumph. I don’t think lightning strikes twice.
Martin Truex Jr. (+1,200)
Martin Truex Jr. finished 32nd last year and 10th and 27th on road course events this season. Yes, the 27th was due to running out of gas on the final lap at Sonoma while running second, but I don’t think Truex gets the win on Sunday. He’s not finished in the Top 5 in the last seven weeks.
Denny Hamlin (+3,000)
He finished 11th last year but 14th and 38th, respectively, in the pair of road races this season.
Grant Park 165 prop pick: Michael McDowell Top 5 Finish
Michael McDowell (+1,200 to win outright) finished seventh in 2023 and was runner-up this past June at Sonoma. The road racer is a safer pick for a Top-5 finish than an outright win.
Pick: Michael McDowell Top 5 Finish (+175 at DraftKings)
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Popular motor sports futures odds
Chicago track analysis
This is still probably one of the most difficult races to handicap in recent years. At least when NASCAR has gone to a new track, there’s somewhat of a slew of comparisons to use in regards to like tracks. While the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum was the last difficult one to pick, one could compare the track to at least short tracks on the schedule in general.
A street race in Chicago however?
While some may say to compare Chicago to other road courses, which is arguably the only thing that you can try to compare this to, a street event and road course are entirely different disciplines.
Natural road courses are free-flowing terrain venues with some space for run off. Street courses are a hybrid short track, elbows-out mentality vs. a wall staring you in the face as there’s not much room for error. These single groove tracks don’t provide much room nor areas for passing, which could cause chaos and crashing.
Grant Park 165 trends
- Last year's race was marred by rain and ended short due to darkness. There’s not much you can take away from a race like that and apply to Sunday other than the drivers have a year’s worth of experience on a street circuit.
Previous Grant Park 165 winners
This is only the second-ever NASCAR Cup Series race at the Chicago Street Course, which means there's only one prior winner to report — Shane Van Gisbergen of Trackhouse Racing. The former Supercar driver was just about the only competitor in last year's race that was able to pass cars easily, and he dominated the latter stages of the race.
| Year | Winner |
| 2023 | Shane van Gisbergen |
How to make Grant Park 165 picks
NASCAR betting is a nuanced process that can take any number of factors into account, and spans several different types of bets. Fortunately, our How to Bet NASCAR guide walks you through the basics, including how to read odds, different markets that are available, and what to consider when making your bets.
