The Cup Series teams take on the first road course race of the season this weekend at Circuit of the Americas. A surprising name joins Shane van Gisbergen as the co-favorite to win.
According to BetMGM, Trackhouse Racing development driver Connor Zilisch enters the weekend at +500 as he prepares to make his series debut. These are the best odds to win among Cup Series drivers.
2023 Chicago winner Shane van Gisbergen is the co-favorite at +500 as he continues his rookie season in NASCAR's top series. SVG has four career top-10 finishes and two top-fives in Cup, all at road courses.
Tyler Reddick, who won at Circuit of the Americas in 2023, enters the weekend at +750. He is just ahead of defending race winner William Byron at +900.
The rest of the top 10, per BetMGM, includes Christopher Bell (+900), Kyle Larson (+1,000), Chase Elliott (+1,200), Ty Gibbs (+1,400), Ross Chastain (+1,400), and AJ Allmendinger (+1,400).
Listing Zilisch as the co-favorite could be a surprise for NASCAR fans, but the North Carolina native has shown an ability to contend in his other series debuts.
He won the pole for his Truck Series debut at Circuit of the Americas last season and finished fourth after recovering from multiple rookie mistakes. Zilisch then won the pole for his Xfinity debut at Watkins Glen and won the race.
He doesn't have Cup Series experience on any road course, but he has one other thing playing in his favor. The race will feature a different, shorter layout.
"Honestly, I feel really comfortable going to COTA," Zilisch told media members on Tuesday. "It's a great track for me, and especially with the new layout, it changes a little bit for everybody.
"So I feel like it's at least a little bit more of an even playing field, even if it's just a little bit."
One other name to watch is Alex Bowman, who enters the weekend at +2,000. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has one career road course win -- Chicago last season -- but has also shown consistency on the longer Circuit of the Americas layout.
Bowman has four career starts at Circuit of the Americas. He finished eighth in the rain-shortened event in 2021. He has since finished second, third, and fourth in the Gen 7 car.