NASCAR is shifting gears with its first road race of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series. NASCAR is running its first of four road races this season, beginning in Austin, Texas at the 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix at Circuit of the Americas. Austin has become one of the hottest tourist attractions in America in recent years and NASCAR fans will get a glimpse of the city from their televisions in a 20-turn, 3.426-mile road course.
Racing on a road course significantly changes the 2024 NASCAR at Austin odds from traditional NASCAR Cup Series races. Michael McDowell and AJ Allmendinger won the two NASCAR Cup Series road races last season, their only victories of the season. Tyler Reddick is the 4-1 favorite in the latest 2024 NASCAR at COTA odds. The green flag is scheduled to drop at 3:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, so who should you include in your 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix picks? Before making any 2024 NASCAR at Austin predictions, be sure to see the latest 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix picks from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.
McClure's model was red-hot in 2023, nailing Martin Truex Jr.'s Clash win (20-1) as well as his win in New Hampshire (11-2), Joey Logano's Duel win (8-1), Kyle Busch's Fontana victory (10-1), Denny Hamlin's triumph in Kansas (6-1) and Kyle Larson's wins at Martinsville (6-1) and the NASCAR All-Star Race (13-2). The model correctly predicted winners in two of the playoff races as well, with Ryan Blaney scoring a 12-1 payout at Talladega and Larson winning at 9-2 in Las Vegas.
Then it called its first winner of the 2024 season with Larson in Las Vegas for a 21-5 payout and predicted a Hamlin win last week in Bristol at 5-1. It also impressively nailed five of Larson's wins during his historic season in 2021. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 17 winners since 2021, including nine last year alone. Anyone who followed its lead on those NASCAR picks saw huge returns.
Now, the model simulated the 2024 EchoPark Automotive 500 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected NASCAR at Austin leaderboard.
Top 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix predictions
For the 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix, the model is high on Denny Hamlin, even though he's a 20-1 longshot in the latest 2024 NASCAR at Austin odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Hamlin is coming off his first victory of the season, winning the 2024 Food City 500 on a traditional raceway, so the move to a road course has significantly altered his odds. However, the model sees the odds as an overadjustment given Hamlin has proven to be a capable driver on road courses as well.
Hamlin finished second at Watkins Glen last year for his 12th top-five showing over his last 30 road races. The 43-year-old has led at least 25 laps in three of his last 13 road races and has the experience and expertise to adjust to different environments. Hamlin has 52 all-time NASCAR Cup Series victories, the 13th all-time and second among active drivers, and at 20-1 odds, the model projects value on backing Hamlin even on a road course on Sunday.
Another massive shocker: Shane Van Gisbergen, a road-course ringer and one of the top Vegas favorites, stumbles big-time and fails to crack the top 10. The 34-year-old New Zealander was a three-time Supercar champion in Australia and he's made the full-time move to NASCAR after winning the 2023 Chicago Street Race as a ringer last year in his first NASCAR Cup Series start.
Van Gisbergen is currently driving full-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he is 14th in the standings, and will race several road races in the NASCAR Cup Series this season. However, he'll be making his Circuit of the Americas debut on Sunday and the model is expecting some growing pains for the Kiwi. There are far better values in the 2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix starting lineup. See which other drivers to avoid and the rest of the projected NASCAR leaderboard at SportsLine.
How to make 2024 NASCAR at Austin picks
The model is also targeting three other drivers with 2024 NASCAR at COTA odds of 15-1 or longer to make a serious run at the checkered flag. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all of the model's NASCAR picks over at SportsLine.
So who wins the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix 2024, and which longshots are a must-back? Check out the latest 2024 NASCAR at Austin odds below, then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2024 NASCAR at COTA leaderboard, all from the model that has nailed 17 winners.
2024 EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix odds, drivers, lineup
See full NASCAR at COTA picks at SportsLine
Tyler Reddick 4-1
Chase Elliott 8-1
Ty Gibbs 10-1
Christopher Bell 10-1
Kyle Larson 12-1
Shane Van Gisbergen 12-1
Ross Chastain 12-1
William Byron 12-1
Martin Truex Jr. 12-1
A.J. Allmendinger 16-1
Kyle Busch 16-1
Michael McDowell 18-1
Chris Buescher 18-1
Daniel Suarez 18-1
Denny Hamlin 20-1
Austin Cindric 20-1
Alex Bowman 25-1
Ryan Blaney 40-1
Joey Logano 50-1
Chase Briscoe 50-1
Kamui Kobayashi 60-1
Brad Keselowski 100-1
Carson Hocevar 100-1
Bubba Wallace 100-1
Justin Haley 125-1
Todd Gilliland 125-1
Erik Jones 125-1
Austin Dillon 150-1
Zane Smith 150-1
Noah Gragson 150-1
Ryan Preece 250-1
John Hunter Nemechek 300-1
Josh Berry 300-1
Corey Lajoie 300-1
Daniel Hemric 400-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 500-1
Kaz Grala 500-1
Harrison Burton 750-1
Timmy Hill 1000-1
