The excitement, and the somewhat surprising result of the Indianapolis 500, is now in the rearview mirror, as IndyCar drivers now need to look ahead to the next race on the schedule. There is a lot to look at here, though, as we have a doubleheader set to go this coming weekend. Yes, there will be two races run in Detroit over the weekend, with the first of those races set to go on Saturday afternoon. Please be aware that for the purposes of this piece, we are looking solely at Race 1. With that in mind, let’s take a closer look at a few of the IndyCar Betting favorites ahead of this 1st race of the 2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix.
2021 Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix Race 1 | IndyCar Betting Analysis
Scott Dixon (+400)
Despite starting the Indy 500 in pole position, Dixon only managed to deliver a 17th place finish, which was certainly a surprise to a lot of the fans of this sport. That finish also meant that Dixon gave up the top spot in the driver standings, with Alex Palou taking his place. He is now on a run of 3-straight races without a podium finish, so Dixon will be looking to get back on track this weekend. If you look at his last few runs in Detroit, you would certainly like his chances of doing so. The race in Detroit last season was cancelled, but in the 3 years prior, Dixon had 2 wins and a 2nd. Those are stats that are tough to ignore.
Josef Newgarden (+550)
Over the past 3 seasons, Newgarden has won 3 races each year, so the fact that he is still looking for his first of the 2021 season may well be seen as a sign that he is due to deliver. He has been close a couple of times this year, finishing 2nd in St. Petersburg and Texas. Newgarden is coming off what he will consider a disappointing 12th place finish in the Indy 500, and he really needs a good performance here to start closing the gap on Palou at the top of the standings. His most recent runs in Detroit suggest that this might not be the track where he will win, but this is an unpredictable sport more often than not.
Colton Herta (+900)
In just his 2nd full season in IndyCar in 2020, Herta surprised a lot of people by finishing 3rd overall in the driver standings. Given that performance, the expectation was that he might take another step forward and challenge for the championship in 2021. That might yet happen, but the reality is that he needs to reach a higher level of consistency the rest of the way. Herta does have a win this season, but that one came back in the second race of the year. He has failed to have a podium finish since then and has only cracked the top 10 once. He finished 12th in each of his previous 2 races in Detroit.
Will Power (+900)
Since the 2010 season, Will Power has never finished worse than 5th in the overall driver standings, and while we are still very early in the season, he is going to have a tough time keeping that top 5 streak alive. As it stands now, Power is down in 12th in the standings and still on the lookout for his first win of the season. He finished 2nd in the opening race of the year, but it has been all downhill since then. In recent years, though, he has had a win and 3 other podium finishes in Detroit, so well worth a look.
