The Cup Series heads out West once again for a weekend at Sonoma Raceway. This event will feature numerous road course aces, but it is a driver with no previous Cup starts at the track who remains the heavy favorite.
According to BetMGM, Shane van Gisbergen is the driver to watch entering the race weekend. He leads the series odds at +125. Kyle Larson, who has two Sonoma wins since 2021, is second at +600. He is the defending winner at the California road course.
The other top drivers in BetMGM's odds are Michael McDowell (+1,100), Tyler Reddick (+1,200), Ty Gibbs (+1,300), Chase Elliott (+1,300), Chris Buescher (+1,300), Christopher Bell (+1,700), William Byron (+1,800), and AJ Allmendinger (+2,000).
Larson is only one of three active Cup Series drivers with a win at Sonoma Raceway. He joins two-time winner Kyle Busch (+2,500) and Daniel Suarez (+6,000).
Van Gisbergen is an understandable choice considering his recent success on road courses. He dominated in Mexico City and won by nearly 17 seconds. He then won last weekend's race on the streets of Chicago, which marked his fourth overall win at the track in five starts.
The Trackhouse Racing driver is now second in the Cup Series with two wins. He has an opportunity to win his third during the trip to California, which would put him in a tie with Bell, Denny Hamlin, and Larson.
Not that van Gisbergen expects to go into the race weekend and easily defeat the other Cup Series regulars despite being the heavy favorite. They have hundreds of laps on the California road course while has only suited up for one event there.
"It kind of looks like a cool track," van Gisbergen told select media members on Wednesday. "I've driven there in Xfinity and drove a wheelforce car for Chevrolet, and I really like the track, but I don't know how it's going to race.
"Last year's race was a bit of a mess, there were cautions for the first half, but other races you watch, it goes green and it's quite spread out. So I don't really have any expectations, we'll just see how we go."