The NASCAR Cup Series will take to the streets of Chicago today for the Grant Park 165. The green flag will drop shortly after 2:00 p.m. ET on TNT.
Shane Van Gisbergen's dominant road course victory in Mexico City is fresh in the mind of bettors and oddsmakers, as he's the runaway betting favorite for this race. But will he top our free betting picks for Sunday, July 6?
Odds to win 2025 Grant Park 165
| Driver |  |
|---|---|
| Shane Van Gisbergen | +125 |
| Tyler Reddick | +650 |
| Michael McDowell | +700 |
| Ty Gibbs | +800 |
| Christopher Bell | +1100 |
| Chase Elliott | +1600 |
| Kyle Larson | +1800 |
| Alex Bowman | +1800 |
| Chris Buescher | +2000 |
| William Byron | +2000 |
| Kyle Busch | +2800 |
| Chase Briscoe | +2800 |
| AJ Allmendinger | +2800 |
| Carson Hocevar | +3000 |
| Ross Chastain | +4500 |
| Joey Logano | +5000 |
| Daniel Suarez | +6000 |
| Ryan Preece | +6000 |
| Will Brown | +7000 |
| Ryan Blaney | +9000 |
Odds as of 7-6.
Grant Park 165 field
For the first time since 2018, there will be a "Did Not Qualify" attached to one NASCAR Cup Series driver's name with 41 entrants lined up for the Grant Park 165. Joining the 36 chartered drivers are No. 13 Will Brown, No. 33 Austin Hill, No. 66 Josh Bilicki, No. 67 Corey Heim, and No. 78 Katherine Legge.
Of this quintet, Will Brown is the only one with a realistic chance at the win. He hails from the same Australian racing series as road course ace Shane Van Gisbergen, and in fact, he was hired to take over SVG's ride full-time in that series.
Speaking of SVG, he is the overwhelming early favorite at the Chicago Street Course. It's a sizable gap back to Kyle Larson and Christopher Bell, the only two other drivers at less than +1200.
Grant Park 165 expert picks and predictions
Odds listed below courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook as of 7-5.
Grant Park 165 pre-qualifying favorites
Christopher Bell (+750)
Christopher Bell had a shot to win the 2023 race but finished 37th last year. He finished runner-up in two of his five road course starts last season, was runner-up at Mexico City this season, and won at COTA this year.
William Byron (+1200)
William Byron finished 13th in the inaugural race but improved to eighth last year. He had three Top-10 finishes, including a COTA win on road courses last season, and finished runner-up at COTA and ninth in Mexico City this year.
Ty Gibbs (+1200)
Ty Gibbs was ninth in this race in 2023 and qualified second but finished third a year ago. He crossed the finish line 11th in Mexico City.
Grant Park 165 sleepers
Chase Elliott (+1400)
Chase Elliott won last week in Atlanta. He finished third here in 2023 and 21st last year.
He had four Top-10 finishes in five road course starts in 2023, two Top-10 finishes last year, and ran fourth at COTA and third in Mexico City this year.
Chris Buescher (+2200)
His last five road course finishes of 2022 read: second (Sonoma), sixth (Road America), 10th (Indianapolis), ninth (Watkins Glen) and sixth (ROVAL). His six road course finishes of 2023 say: Eighth (COTA), fourth (Sonoma), 10th (Chicago), 11th (Indianapolis), seventh (Watkins Glen), seventh (ROVAL).
Last year, he finished eighth (COTA), third (Sonoma), 20th (Chicago), first (Watkins Glen) and 17th (ROVAL). He was seventh this year in COTA and 10th in Mexico.
Alex Bowman (+2200)
This is another great opportunity for the Hendrick Motorsports driver to shine. Alex Bowman was ninth in COTA, 10th in Mexico City, and won the second race at Chicago last year.
Kyle Busch (+2800)
Kyle Busch had four Top-5 finishes in six road course races in 2023, with three of the four resulting in a Top 3 and a pair of Top-10 finishes in five road course events last season. Can he go three-for-three with Top-10 finishes at Chicago?
Grant Park 165 fades
Shane van Gisbergen (+185)
I would rather cast my net wider and fade a driver with two career wins, one of which was here in 2023, and the other a couple weeks ago in Mexico City.
His credentials merit being the favorite as this is his ninth Cup Series road course start. He has three Top-5 finishes and six Top-10 results, two of which were wins. He also won three road course races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series last season. However, I don’t like these odds.
Kyle Larson (+650)
Kyle Larson finished fourth in the inaugural race at Chicago, and while he started on pole last year, he crashed and finished 39th. He did win twice on road courses last season at Sonoma and the Charlotte ROVAL. But, Larson finished 36th in Mexico City and 32nd in COTA and enters with one Top-5 finish in his last six Cup starts on the season.
Tyler Reddick (+1200)
Tyler Reddick finished 28th in 2023 but placed runner-up last year after qualifying fourth. Also, in his last 13 road course starts, Reddick has one win, four Top-5 finishes, and seven Top-10 results. He was third in COTA but 20th in Mexico City. He has one Top-5 finish in the last 10 races.
Denny Hamlin (+4000)
The number is enticing, but his finishes on road tracks in 2023 were 16th, 36th, 11th, 19th, second, and 37th, respectively, and 11th, 38th, 39th, 23rd, and 14th, respectively, a season ago. Hamlin finished 21st in COTA.
Grant Park 165 prop pick: Michael McDowell Top 5 Finish
Michael McDowell (+2200 to win outright) finished seventh and fifth, respectively, in the two races held here. He placed fifth in Mexico City.
Pick: Michael McDowell Top 5 Finish (+275 at DraftKings)
Popular motor sports futures odds
Chicago Street Course track analysis
This remains one of the most difficult races to handicap.
While some may say to compare Chicago to other road courses, which is arguably the only thing that you can try to compare this to, a street event and road course are entirely different disciplines.
Natural road courses are free-flowing terrain venues with some space for run off. Street courses are a hybrid short track, elbows-out mentality vs. a wall staring you in the face as there’s not much room for error. These single groove tracks don’t provide much room nor areas for passing, which could cause chaos and crashing.
Grant Park 165 trends
- Both winners earned their first road course victory, but neither race sparked enough for trends other than each winner started in the Top 10.
- Just three drivers have a Top-10 finish in both races: Kyle Busch, Ty Gibbs, and Michael McDowell.
Grant Park 165 info
| Location: | Chicago Street Course, Chicago, IL |
| Date: | Sunday, 7-6-2025 |
| Start time: | 2:00 p.m. ET |
| TV: | TNT |
Previous Grant Park 165 winners
Chevrolet has won both editions of this race so far.
| Year | Winner |
| 2024 | Alex Bowman |
| 2023 | Shane Van Gisbergen |
How to make Grant Park 165 picks
NASCAR betting is a nuanced process that can take any number of factors into account, and spans several different types of bets. Fortunately, our How to Bet NASCAR guide walks you through the basics, including how to read odds, different markets that are available, and what to consider when making your bets.
Odds are correct at the time of publishing and are subject to change.
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