By Ryan Bologna
It’s Memorial Day weekend and that means one thing, it’s time for the best racing weekend of the year. As a race fan, there is nothing better than having breakfast while watching the Monaco Grand Prix, lunch during the Indianapolis 500 and dinner as the Coca-Cola 600 starts. Here are the favorites for each race and a parlay for all three that might be worth a shot.
Monaco Grand Prix
This is the one you have the best chance of getting right. Monaco is a tight street circuit, so there will not be a lot of passing, especially for the lead. Barring a disaster in the pits (looking at you, Red Bull) the driver who qualifies on pole position on Saturday will likely win the race.
Charles Leclerc comes into the weekend as the favorite at -140, and this makes sense given that Ferrari has the best car. Because Monaco does not have many long straightaways, the engine is not of much importance this weekend. But the Ferrari is still the best car on the grid in medium and low-speed corners, which is almost exclusively featured at Monaco. Despite that, the defending world champion Max Verstappen can challenge for the win this weekend. The Red Bull might not be the best car on the grid, but it is not far off from the Ferrari and Verstappen’s driving ability can make up the difference. He might be a good value bet at +255 ahead of qualifying.
Indianapolis 500
This is where it gets a lot tougher. Like the superspeedway events in NASCAR, almost anyone in the field can win the Indy 500. Unlike Monaco, there will be countless lead changes and multiple crashes in this 200-lap race.
Veteran driver and six-time IndyCar champion Scott Dixon comes in as the slim favorite to win at -550. He won the race in 2008 and is starting from pole position on Sunday. Perhaps the most interesting contestant in the race is Dixon’s teammate at Chip Ganassi Jimmie Johnson. The seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion is in his first full season in IndyCar and has +1600 odds to win the race on Sunday.
Coca-Cola 600
While this race isn’t as hard to predict as the Indy 500, it still isn’t easy. The fact that it is 600 miles long makes it a race of attrition and opens up the possibility of the race coming down to fuel management as it did in 2011. That alone opens up the possibility of an unexpected winner.
Kyle Larson and Kyle Busch are tied for the best odds at -550. The 2021 Coca-Cola 600 was one of Larson’s ten wins in his championship a season ago. Busch won the race in 2018, leading 377 out of 400 laps. So the possibility of a dominant win is there. If you don’t opt for Larson or Busch, going with one of their teammates at either Hendrick Motorsports or Joe Gibbs Racing would be a good choice.
A Parlay That Is Worth A Shot
Parlaying the winners for all three races could make for a fun day. A bet on Verstappen pays out better than one on Leclerc and he still has a good shot at winning Monaco. Ex-Formula 1 driver Marcus Ericsson has been in the top five for three of the four practice sessions in Indianapolis and qualified on the second row for the race. He would be good to include in a parlay at +1800 odds. Lastly, Chase Elliott has a good track record at Charlotte Motor Speedway and has the equipment to win with Hendrick Motorsports. This is a parlay that has the potential for a big payout and includes three racers with legitimate chances at winning their event.
Photo Credit: Grindstone Media Group
