For the sports leagues and organizations that were disrupted at the start of the pandemic, getting back to business can be a little complicated. Part of the problem is trying to find a way to either finish a season that was close to ending, or to put one together from scratch. IndyCar fall into that latter category, as their season didn’t even get off the ground before it was indefinitely suspended. They will return to action on June 6 with the Genesys 300 at the Texas Motor Speedway, which will be the first of 14 races this coming season. While some races had to be cancelled, 6 in all, they made up some of those losses with doubleheaders later in the season. Let’s take a closer look at some of the favorites for the Genesys 300 so you can start planning your bets against their IndyCar odds, which can be seen on NBC at 8 PM on Sunday night.
Genesys 300 Odds & Picks
Josef Newgarden
Given that Newgarden has topped the driver’s standings twice in the last 3 years, including winning in 2019, he has to be considered a favorite to win every single race. It was consistency that took Newgarden to the title last season, picking up 50+ points (50 points awarded for a win) in 5 of his 17 races in the 2019 season. The scoring in IndyCar is more than just points for final position, as drivers also amass points for Pole Position, leading for at least one lap, and for most laps led. Those bonus points can mean the difference between winning and losing the title.
Alexander Rossi
Rossi finished 3rd overall in the driver’s standings last season, amassing a total of 608 points, which left him 33 points out of first. His strong finish at Indianapolis got him 82 of those points, with Rossi also picking up over 50 points in 3 other races. It was a solid enough season, but Rossi will be well aware that had he won at Indy, he might well have done enough to land on top of the standings at the end of the season. Still, this is a driver that needs to be considered a threat.
Will Power
The driver with perhaps the coolest name in sports will once again be in among the favorites at the start of the season, not just for the Genesys 300, but also for the driver championship. Power is a former winner of the IndyCar season, but that came back in 2014, so there is a question as to whether or not he can outlast the other drivers over the course of the 14-race season. Last year, Power finished 5th overall, amassing 50+ points in 2 races, with one of those being the Indy 500.
Simon Pagenaud
It was Pagenaud who took the driver title back in 2016 and who came ever so close to winning it all again last year. Pagenaud ended up finishing second behind Newgarden, just 25 points back of the eventual winner. The highlight of the season for Pagenaud will have been taking the checkered flag at Indianapolis, but there will still have been some disappointment at falling short overall. Outside of that win, he had 2 other races where he took more than 50 points.
