Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images. Pictured: Chase Elliott
After one superspeedway race, one road course and two 1.5-mile tracks to start off the 2021 season, the NASCAR Cup Series will visit Phoenix Raceway, a flat, one-mile tri-oval for Sunday’s Instacart 500 (3:30 p.m. ET, FOX).
Phoenix is a very unique circuit and considering we have yet to see any races on shorter, flat tracks this season, I’ll generally be taking a conservative approach again this weekend, but do like the Instacart 500 odds board a bit more than I did the past two weeks and Homestead and Las Vegas.
Without further ado, here are the two drivers I’ve bet to win today’s NASCAR race at Phoenix.
NASCAR at Phoenix Picks
*Odds as of Sunday at 7 a.m. ET
Chase Elliott (+560) To Win
I’d be lying to all of you if I said I haven’t been waffling between Elliott and Brad Keselowski all week.
While it’s still very close in mind, I ultimately decided on Chase over Brad.
The No. 9 Chevy led the most laps AND ran the most fast laps in both Cup Series races at Phoenix last year, including Elliott’s championship-clinching win in the season finale in which Chase came from rear of the field after failing pre-race inspection.
The Hendrick Motorsports cars have been the fastest through the first four races this season, so expecting Elliott to have plenty of speed again this weekend isn’t that tough of a sell.
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Christopher Bell (+3300) To Win
There’s no two ways about it, Bell was a monster at Phoenix in the XFINITY Series.
In five career XFINITY races, Bell has two fourth-place finishes, a win, a 30th-place finish in which he led the second-most laps (behind Kyle Busch) before a crash ended his day, and a misleading 16th-place run in which he led the most laps.
Now with Joe Gibbs Racing, Bell is in top-notch equipment, which he already piloted to a victory at the Daytona road course three races ago, and has the advantage of a fourth-place starting spot and optimal pit stall.
At 33-1, I see little risk in betting on Bell to contend for another win on Sunday.
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