EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Picks, Odds & Predictions 3/26/2023

Circuit Of The Americas

Austin, TX

On Sunday, NASCAR heads to Austin, TX for the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at the Circuit of the Americas. It opened up back in 2012 and has played host to this race for the last nine years. There are 20 turns on this track overall with over 130 feet of elevation changes along the track. This road course runs 3.426 miles and goes for 68 laps. There are three stages to this race including the first two stages going for 15 laps and the final one going for 38 laps. The top speeds in this race are hampered by the high difficulty layout and number of turns. 92 mph is the pole number and as high of a speed as the driver will usually get.

One of the most fascinating things about this track is that every turn is meant to represent a section from infamous tracks around the world. It was also created as an F1 track which makes it unlike any of the tracks out there. It's a really unique idea and a really fun race to watch.

The first season at this track for NASCAR was hampered by rain. The consistent downpours created issues with practice, qualifying and most importantly, the race itself. Just to make the event possible, rain tires were used and they lack of visibility and grip made this extremely challenging and treacherous. NASCAR returned to COTA last season and the weather pulled a 180. It allowed for a very entertaining race that would come down to the last lap. It was Ross Chastain that was able to overcome Alex bowman after those two and AJ Allmendinger would fight for the win. There was contact between the leaders of the race that would cause Allmendinger to spin out with the finish line in sight. For those drivers that fared well in the last race, they should have an edge in this one because of their experience.

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It was a heroic end to the race run by Joey Logano and he was able to finish the race where he started, and that was in first place. He was able to get a late push from Christopher Bell on the backstretch of the last lap and it was enough to move to the outside of the current leader Brad Keselowski. It took the final two corners for Logano to pull down to the inside lane and get across that finish line just 0.193 seconds ahead of Keselowski.

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Joey Logano was able to launch himself into the top end of the standings with last weekend's win. William Byron still sits in the first spot with two wins and 55 points. Joey Logano is now in second place with 177 points and a win. Kyle Busch (153 points) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (124 points) both have one win and are holding down the third and fourth spot. In 5th place with 176 points and no wins sits Christopher Bell.

EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix Odds

Kyle Larson - +650
Ross Chastain - +800
Kyle Busch - +800
Tyler Reddick - +900
William Byron - +1,200
A.J. Allmendinger - +1,200
Ryan Blaney - +1,500
Daniel Suarez - +1,500
Christopher Bell - +1,500
Austin Cindric - +1,500
Alex Bowman - +2,000
Joey Logano - +2,500
Denny Hamlin - +2,500
Chase Briscoe - +2,500
Michael McDowell - +3,000
Martin Truex Jr. - +3,000
Kevin Harvick - +3,000
Chris Buescher - +3,000
Brad Keselowski - +3,000
Jordan Taylor - +4,000

Ross Chastain was hit or miss on road courses last season, but he showed up at Circuit of the Americas. Two seasons ago he was able to get in the top-5 in the rainy conditions and got the win last season. While he has been inconsistent on road courses in the past, he races well at COTA and we expect him to do it again.

Tony's Pick: Take Ross Chastain (+800)

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