No matter which style of racing you prefer, there’s a little of something for you this Sunday. Formula 1‘s prestigious Grand Prix of Monaco starts us off at 9 a.m. ET, with IndyCar’s historic Indianapolis 500 at 12:45 p.m., and NASCAR’s longest race, the Coca-Cola 600 from Charlotte Motor Speedway at 6 p.m. to finish the day.
For racing enthusiasts, it’s the most compelling day of the year for on-track racing, but for casual sports fans, it might be your first time tuning in this season. If you’re looking to get in on the action yourself, there’s no shortage of ways to bet the races, from the pits to the checkered flag. Let’s get you caught up on your options.
All odds accurate as of publish time. For more, go to ESPN BET.
Outright winner bet
As former Raiders owner Al Davis said, “Just win, baby!”
Or maybe more fitting, “If you ain’t first, you’re last,” by Talladega Nights’s Ricky Bobby.
This bet is as straightforward as it sounds: Pick the race winner. Any other result is a loss, but you’ll get the highest payout compared to other results-based bets.
With how competitive each of the three series’ have been so far, all three race favorites are still at plus-money odds in Oscar Piastri (F1, +190), Pato O’Ward (Indy, +450) and Kyle Larson (NASCAR, +550). However, longshots have had their day in victory lane, as it wasn’t too long ago when Takuma Sato won the 2017 Indy 500 as a 30-1 longshot or when Ryan Blaney won the 2023 Coca-Cola 600 at 22-1.
Top 3/5/10 finish
Maybe you feel like a driver will do well, but don’t want to fully commit to betting the outright winner. If so, Formula 1 offers odds to finish in the top three (a podium), in the top six or 10 (drivers who finish in the top 10 receive points). With a 20-car field, you’re looking for drivers you feel confident will either have a strong day or exceed expectations.
For example, the McLaren duo of Piastri and Lando Norris have finished in the top three in six of the seven races this season, with Piastri winning four times and Norris once. However, with how consistently successful the pair have been, their odds to finish in the top three are shorter than their odds of a win.
Top five and top 10 bets are available in NASCAR and IndyCar as well.
Race Props
Winning manufacturer: Instead of betting on the winning driver, we’re betting on the winning car. In IndyCar, your choices are either Chevrolet or Honda, while NASCAR features Chevrolet, Ford and Toyota.
Double top 3/6/10: The aforementioned McLaren duo individually don’t have great odds to finish on the podium, but if you want to take both of them to finish on the podium in Monaco, that’s much closer to even money.
Race winning margin: Expecting a blow out? Or a late caution/safety car to bunch the field back up? Monaco is famous for its tight quarters not giving drivers many passing opportunities, and thus, a wide margin can build up. On the other side, NASCAR can feature late yellow flags to tighten the pack and spur close finishes.
Race winner number: This bet is much more random, essentially the equivalent of bringing a roulette wheel to the racetrack. The NASCAR number is set with an over/under of 17.5, and there’ll be a No. 1 (Ross Chastain) all the way to No. 99 (Daniel Suarez) in the field. The Indy 500 number is set at 9.5, with the under listed at -140 odds. O’Ward (No. 3) and third-favorite Scott Dixon (No. 9) both sport car numbers under that line, while second-favorite Álex Palou (No. 10) and pole-sitter Robert Shwartzman (No. 83) have higher numbers.
Top driver for manufacturer: This is specific to NASCAR, and you’re looking for the best finisher a driver to be in a Chevrolet, Ford or Toyota. Each manufacturer is expected to have between 10-17 cars in a race.
Number of leaders: For NASCAR, it’s set at 12.5 drivers, out of a 40-car field, to lead at least one lap. Last year, there were 10 leaders compared to 13 in each of the three prior years, but those are the only instances since 2012 in which we’ve seen such a high number.
Fastest lap: This is for which driver ran the single fastest lap of the entire race. F1 used to offer a bonus point for fastest lap from 2019-24, but has scrapped that as of this year, so there’s a lot less maneuvering to steal the point late in the race.
First driver/car retirement: In F1, this refers to a car pulling out of the race either for a mechanical issue or damage from a wreck, so you’re going to get longer odds here due to the unpredictability of it. Currently the favorite is “no retirements’ at 7-1, with each of the 20 starters between 10-1 to 25-1.
Safety car: A safety car is deployed in F1 when a wreck or adverse track conditions necessitate slowing the field. At Monaco, the safety car came out in 2022 and 2024, but not in 2021 or 2023. Currently it’s -650 to have one, +400 for none.
Fastest pit stop: This is another F1-specific wager in which you bet which team can get their driver in and out of the pits with four fresh tires the fastest. Each team fields two drivers, and Ferrari is the odds-on favorite at -160 with Lewis Hamilton or Charles Leclerc.
Race matchups/group winners: These will be matchups for one driver to finish better than another, or a driver to win against a group of three other drivers. For head-to-head matchups, you’ll get closer to even money return on your bet with a win. For the groups, you’ll get better odds than a head-to-head, due to the nature of needing to beat three other drivers.
Betting tips
Formula 1: I alluded to it earlier when discussing Piastri and Norris, but give me the Double top three: McLaren (-110) in Monaco.
Monaco is also famous for a lack of overtaking, making it hard for drivers to advance their position. I mean, you’ve seen that famous hairpin corner, right? So, if you get a surprise in Saturday’s qualifying, I’d sprinkle in a top-six finish for that driver. Especially if you’re getting somebody like Alexander Albon (+325) or Yuki Tsunoda (+400) at a good price.
Indy 500: Out in Indianapolis, I’m going to take the three-time series champion Álex Palou (+550), as my outright winner.
Coca-Cola 600: Turning our attention to NASCAR, where I’d pick Kyle Larson (+500) as my winner. That’s a good price for the favorite who led more than 80% of the laps in a win at a similar track in Kansas, an intermediate 1.5-mile track similar to Charlotte. Larson plans to run both the Indy 500 and Coca-Cola 600 in one day, a feat he attempted last year before rain prevented him from taking the wheels in Charlotte. A bet on Larson to finish first would still be valid, even if he were to miss the start of the race.
If you’re looking for drivers with slightly longer odds that I think could master the 600 on Sunday night, check out Josh Berry (25-1), Chris Buescher (25-1) and Carson Hocevar (40-1).
Source: espn.com