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NASCAR at Indianapolis 2021: Odds, TV Schedule, Live Stream and Drivers
August 14, 2021
The NASCAR Cup Series will experience another first trip to a road course Sunday.
Instead of running on the oval at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the Cup Series race will be contested on the road course inside the track.
Sunday's Verizon 200 at the Brickyard is the sixth road course challenge posed to the Cup Series drivers this season. They will take on a seventh in October at the Charlotte Roval.
Chase Elliott did not continue his road course dominance last time out at Watkins Glen. Instead, Kyle Larson extended his fantastic season by cashing in on his status as second-favorite.
The odds for Sunday's race suggest Elliott and Larson will be at the front of the pack again. They are the two clear favorites ahead of Martin Truex Jr. and others.
Verizon 200 at the Brickyard Info
Date: Sunday, August 15
Start Time: 1 p.m. ET
TV: NBC
Live Stream: NBC Sports app and NBCSports.com.
Odds
Chase Elliott: +200(bet $100 to win $200)
Kyle Larson: +350
Martin Truex Jr.: +600
Kyle Busch: +900
Denny Hamlin: +1200
Christopher Bell: +1800
Austin Cindric: +2000
A.J. Allmendinger: +2200
William Byron: +2500
Joey Logano: +2500
Preview
Since the Indy road course is new to the Cup Series drivers, a practice and qualifying session will be held on race weekend.
After the resumption of the 2020 schedule following a pandemic-related break, NASCAR has used a formula based off race finishes and points to determine the starting grid for most races. Sunday's trip around the Brickyard brings with it a special set of circumstances. A practice round will take place Saturday morning, and the grid will be set through Sunday's qualifying session.
Even though the starting lineup is not set, it feels like a guarantee to see Elliott and Larson up front at some juncture of the 200-mile race.
Elliott worked his way up from the back of the pack at Watkins Glen to take second behind Larson. The No. 9 car driver has four straight top-two finishes on that type of track. The pre-race favorite has landed inside the top two in eight of his past nine points races on road courses. The lone exception was a 21st-place mark at Daytona in February.
Larson has been equally as dominant during most of NASCAR's road course races in 2021. The No. 5 car driver won at Watkins Glen and Sonoma and took second at the Circuit of the Americas. He is one of the few drivers in the field who can match Elliott on this type of track because he carries an extensive amount of experience racing all sorts of vehicles on every surface imaginable.
The Hendrick Motorsports teammates should qualify high. Even if they do not, they should be in the mix for the lead sooner rather than later Sunday.
Truex should be viewed as the biggest threat to Elliott and Larson. He took third behind the duo at Watkins Glen and owns three straight top-10 marks on road courses. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver carries better odds across the board than the Hendrick cars. Getting Truex at -145 to finish in the top five is reasonable given his high level of performance on the road surfaces.
It is hard to see a long shot coming out of nowhere to upset the three favorites, but keep an eye on Christopher Bell at +1800.
Bell won at the Daytona road course race to clinch his spot in the playoffs and had top-10 finishes at Road America and Watkins Glen. Bell may be the best driver to target on props since he is +250 to finish in the top five.
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