Jordan Taylor, Jenson Button to make NASCAR debuts at COTA: See betting picks, odds

BY SPENCER URQUHART | Home Field Sports

The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Circuit of the Americas in Austin for the third time in as many years, and it projects to be an intriguing race with multiple outside drivers making their NASCAR debuts.

IMSA sports car star Jordan Taylor will be making his debut in place of the inaugural COTA winner Chase Elliott, as well as former Formula 1 world champion Jenson Button. Not to mention another Formula 1 champion, Kimi Raikkonen, will be making his second career start.

Seven-time Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson will also be in the field, and while these big-name part-timers are tempting to bet on, the bottom line is that the Cup Series regulars are still likely to control the race.

We decided to include one of the newcomers in our “Fast Five” picks to win, though, which we’ve got down below along with the full field odds from Caesars Sportsbook.

Fast five picks chalk play

Kyle Larson (+650 to win)

Larson has had a rough start to 2023, but it’s had little to do with his driving ability. Larson was in a position to win at Las Vegas and Phoenix before late cautions struck. He was slapped with a huge points penalty over a part modification that he had nothing to do with. Expect him to shine this week as one of the top road course racers in the field as he looks to make up those points.

Tyler Reddick (+1000 to win)

Reddick’s 2023 started off rocky, but he’s recorded back-to-back top-five finishes and should be able to continue that momentum into this week having emerged as an elite road course racer. Reddick finished top-five here at COTA last year and won twice on road courses, so he projects to be among the contenders as he looks to reach victory lane for the first time with his new team.

Best value

Christopher Bell (+1500 to win)

Toyota is the only manufacturer yet to win a race this season, and while Reddick seems to be their best bet to do so this week, Bell feels slept on at +1500. Bell has had plenty of road course success having recorded his first career win on one and has been one of the most consistent drivers to start 2023, so he should be up front again this week and could easily break through and win.

Mid-pack play

Jordan Taylor (+2500 to win)

Taylor will be making his first career Cup Series start coming over from sports cars, and he’ll be in some of the best equipment as the injured Chase Elliott’s replacement. Elliott almost always runs up front at road courses, so Taylor should be able to contend despite his lack of experience since he’ll be in a car that’s more than capable of winning.

Longshot play

Todd Gilliland (+10000 to win)

It’s hard to feel confident in a long shot this week since road courses tend to see mainly chalk favorites contend for wins, but Gilliland ran surprisingly well as a rookie and led laps in two road races. While it will be tough for him to replicate that considering how deep the field is, strategy could see Gilliland sneak up front depending on how cautions fall.

Echopark Automotive Grand Prix full field odds

Odds from Caesars Sportsbook

+650 to win

Kyle Larson (+200 top three finish, +115 top five, -300 top 10)

+800 to win

Kyle Busch (+240 top three, +125 top five, -275 top 10)

Ross Chastain (+250 top three, +140 top five, -275 top 10)

+1000 to win

Tyler Reddick (+300 top three, +160 top five, -250 top 10)

+1200 to win

A.J. Allmendinger (+325 top three, +160 top five, -240 top 10)

William Byron (+350 top three, +180 top five, -225 top 10)

+1500 to win

Austin Cindric (+375 top three, +180 top five, -220 top 10)

Christopher Bell (+400 top three, +200 top five, -200 top 10)

Daniel Suarez (+400 top three, +200 top five, -200 top 10)

+1800 to win

Alex Bowman (+500 top three, +230 top five, -160 top 10)

+2000 to win

Ryan Blaney (+575 top three, +275 top five, -160 top 10)

Chris Buescher (+650 top three, +300 top five, -120 top 10)

+2200 to win

Chase Briscoe (+600 top three, +300 top five, -120 top 10)

+2500 to win

Joey Logano (+750 top three, +320 top five, +100 top 10)

Jordan Taylor (+750 top three, +320 top five, +100 top 10)

+2800 to win

Kevin Harvick (+800 top three, +375 top five, +110 top 10)

Michael McDowell (+1000 top three, +400 top five, +120 top 10)

+3000 to win

Martin Truex Jr. (+750 top three, +320 top five, +100 top 10)

Brad Keselowski (+1000 top three, +400 top five, +120 top 10)

Denny Hamlin (+1000 top three, +400 top five, +120 top 10)

Ty Gibbs (+1400 top three, +500 top five, +160 top 10)

+4000 to win

Kimi Raikkonen (+1200 top three, +450 top five, +140 top 10)

+5000 to win

Jimmie Johnson (+1400 top three, +500 top five, +160 top 10)

+6000 to win

Erik Jones (+1600 top three, +600 top five, +175 top 10)

+6500 to win

Austin Dillon (+1600 top three, +600 top five, +175 top 10)

+8000 to win

Bubba Wallace (+2500 top three, +700 top five, +320 top 10)

Justin Haley (+2500 top three, +700 top five, +320 top 10)

+10000 to win

Noah Gragson (+2200 top three, +650 top five, +275 top 10)

Ryan Preece (+2500 top three, +700 top five, +320 top 10)

Todd Gilliland (+2500 top three, +700 top five, +320 top 10)

Jenson Button (+2500 top three, +700 top five, +320 top 10)

+20000 to win

Aric Almirola (+3500 top three, +1000 top five, +500 top 10)

+25000 to win

Harrison Burton (+5000 top three, +1200 top five, +750 top 10)

+75000 to win

Corey LaJoie (+15000 top three, +3000 top five, +1200 top 10)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+15000 top three, +3000 top five, +1200 top 10)

+100000 to win

Connor Daly (+20000 top three, +3500 top five, +1400 top 10)

+150000 to win

Ty Dillon (+30000 top three, +4000 top five, +1600 top 10)

Cody Ware (+40000 top three, +5000 top five, +1800 top 10)

+250000 to win

Josh Bilicki (+40000 top three, +5000 top five, +1800 top 10)

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