This weekend features an auto racing betting bonus for sportsbook users who like to bet on auto racing. The Chevrolet Detroit Grand Prix has a unique doubleheader format including two full, points-paying races – one on Saturday and another on Sunday. Here are some of the candidates to score those bonus points.
Will Power
Power is the most recent winner at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park, finishing first in the Sunday race of the 2016 Detroit GP after placing 20th on Sunday. That was Power’s second victory there, having won the Saturday race in 2014 – and coming in second on Sunday, coming close to becoming the only driver to win back-to-back races in the same year. Additionally, Power finished 4th in 2012 (the last year the event was held in a single day), 8th and 20th in 2013, and 4th and 18th in 2015.
Hélio Castroneves
The leader of the IndyCar Series drivers’ standings finished 5th and 1st at the 2014 Detroit Grand Prix, and has three other top 10 finishes at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park. Moreover, Castroneves came in second place in the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday – his fourth straight top 5 and seventh consecutive top 10 finish this season.
Takuma Sato
The Nippon wheelman has never won the Detroit GP – his best finish a second place in 2015 – but he is hot off winning the Indy 500 (snapping Team Penske’s three-race winning streak) and fans who bet on auto racing have to believe that momentum alone makes him an auto betting racing favorite this weekend.
Carlos Muñoz
The Colombian has only won one IndyCar event in his career, but that was precisely the 2015 Detroit Grand Prix Sunday race – and having already won once, who’s to say he can’t do it again? Especially considering every driver has two shots at it.
Simon Pagenaud
Pagenaud always does better on Sunday than on Saturday at Belle Isle Park. He finished 12th and 1st in 2013, 22nd and 6th in 2014, 10th and 3rd in 2015, and 13th and 2nd in 2016. The French racer is second in the standings 11 points behind Castroneves and finished out of the top 5for the first time in Indianapolis.
Sébastien Bourdais
The French professional racing driver has won two of the last four Detroit GP races – making him, along with power, the only multiple winner. Bourdais won the Sunday race in 2016 after finishing 14th on Saturday, and won the Saturday race in 2016 following which he placed 8th on Sunday. Other than that, his best finishes at the Raceway at Belle Isle Park were 11th in 2013 and 13th in 2014, having finished in the top to mid 20s in three other starts. The Frenchman would be a strong auto racing betting fave had he not fractured his pelvis, a hip, and two ribs when his car blowed up real good and spun through Turn 2 during qualifying at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last weekend.