The NASCAR Xfinity Series will join the Cup Series in Chicago this weekend for the inaugural event on the Chicago Street Course. We’re yet to see any real-life action at this venue, as the closest we’ve come was an eNASCAR event held in 2021, but the lack of data only serves to render the market less efficient. The inaugural The Loop 121 will get underway on Saturday, July 1 at 5 p.m. ET. Justin Marks stands out as sharp NASCAR Xfinity Series bet for the Chicago Street Course.
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Predictions for The Loop 121 at the Chicago Street Course: Race Preview
Which Non-Regulars are Entered?
No Cup Series regulars are in the field this weekend, but there are a handful of unusual names to mention. The most notable of these is the driver of the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing: Justin Marks. Marks currently owns Trackhouse Racing and is a one-time Xfinity Series winner. He took the checkered flag at Mid-Ohio in 2016 while driving the No. 42 for Chip Ganassi Racing.
A few other somewhat notable names jump out, but not many. Miguel Paludo will drive the No. 88 for JR Motorsports again. He led eight total laps at road courses in 2012 when driving for Turner Motorsports but hasn’t led any since. His best result was a seventh-place finish in 2021. Sage Karam is also back in the No. 44 Chevrolet for Alpha Prime Racing. Connor Mosack, who usually drives the No. 24 Toyota for Sam Hunt Racing, will get a shot at driving the No. 19 for Joe Gibbs Racing.
How Should We Evaluate the Chicago Street Course?
The Chicago Street Course uses a 2.2-mile road course layout with seven 90-degree turns and two (or three, if you don’t count Turn 3 as a true corner) straightaways of 0.35 miles or longer. As a street course, it’s also narrower than most road courses, and, instead of the traditional road-course boundaries like sand pits or tires, features hard concrete barriers.
These factors will combine to make passing difficult and put additional pressure on drivers’ brakes. Drivers will need to qualify well and manage their equipment effectively to win this event, so we’ll need to prioritize experience, and, to an extent, penalize aggression. We have results from three road course events to use when handicapping this race, but I’ll lean more heavily on the Circuit of the Americas and Portland due to their long straightaways.
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NASCAR Xfinity Series Predictions for The Loop 121 at the Chicago Street Course: Best Bets
It Was Always Justin Marks
Although the market doesn’t think so, Justin Marks should be one of the favorites to win Saturday’s race at the Chicago Street Course. Marks will pilot the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, the car that A.J. Allmendinger just won in at Nashville last weekend. Allmendinger also won at COTA and finished second at Sonoma. Jordan Taylor drove the car at Portland and was running up at the front before late-race trouble shuffled him to the back, largely because of his inexperience in NASCAR.
Unlike Taylor, Marks has a lot of experience in NASCAR, both as a driver and now as a team owner. Marks has made 80 combined starts in the top three levels of NASCAR, most of which came with backmarker teams. Let’s focus on his results with Chip Ganassi Racing from between 2015 to 2018. Across four years, he made nine starts on road courses and recorded one win, three top-5s and six top-10s. Marks also has a background in sports car racing, which should benefit him significantly, especially since a handful of those starts came on street circuits.
Marks is a supremely talented driver in a high-quality car. He should not slot in so low on the oddsboard. You’ll find Marks listed as long as 20-1 at FanDuel Sportsbook, below the likes of Miguel Paludo, Connor Mosack and Parker Kligerman. Marks has a much better chance of winning on Sunday than each of those drivers and is not priced accordingly. He also has longer odds than those drivers to score a top-5 finish at Caesars, slotting in at only +225 (30.8%). Let’s lock in these prices before they disappear.
Best NASCAR Xfinity Series Bet: Justin Marks 20-1 for 0.1 Units at FanDuel
Best NASCAR Xfinity Series Bet: Justin Marks T5 9-4 for 0.4 Units at Caesars
