Pictured: Will Power, Alex Palou and Pato O’Ward. Getty Images

IndyCar at Nashville best bets for 2024 IndyCar Championship race on Sunday, Sept. 15

Originally posted on Action Network | By Nick Giffen | Last updated Sep 13, 2024 5:19 PM ET

The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series concludes this weekend with the championship race at Nashville Superspeedway, a 1.33-mile concrete oval that hasn't hosted IndyCar since 2008.

Only two drivers slated to run this weekend at Nashville ran in 2008: Scott Dixon, who was the winner of that race, and Will Power, who was in his rookie season racing for the now-defunct KV Racing Technology.

That said, there are still some pretty strong trends we can rely on for handicapping Sunday's race (2 p.m. ET, NBC), which leads me to one team focusing on one driver, as well as another driver who is undervalued for the season finale.

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What About the Others?

When we look beyond Team Penske, two names pop up: Scott Dixon and Pato O'Ward. Of the two, I prefer O'Ward, who's had a stronger string of results than Dixon.

O'Ward leads Dixon 1-0 in oval wins this year, 2-1 over the last three years, and 3-2 over the last four. In addition to O'Ward's three oval wins in the last four years, he's also had an astonishing eight runner-up finishes on ovals in those four years. Add in two other third-place oval finishes, and O'Ward has finished on the podium in 13 of the last 20 oval races.

This year, O'Ward also had strong cars at both Gateway and the second Milwaukee race, though he ultimately retired in both events with mechanical issues.

If there's a driver who's going to upset Team Penske on an oval, he's the most likely candidate.

That makes his 9-1 price at Caesars Sportsbook and DraftKings quite juicy. I'm along for the ride.

The Bet: Pato O'Ward to win (+900)

One Final Note

As of this writing, sportsbooks have not released any other bets besides outright winner markets. That said, I expect a full slate of bets, including podium finishes, matchups, top manufacturer bets and more to pop up.

I'd definitely take O'Ward's equivalent top-three (podium) price should he remain +900 for the win.

I'm also interested in the upside of young guns, and betting on future A.J. Foyt teammates Santino Ferrucci and David Malukas to make their podium finishes at longer odds is potentially playable.

Be sure to join the racing channel in the Action Network Discord, and follow me in the Action App to see if I grab any more bets as different markets are released.