The Indy 500 is among the most prestigious races of the year across all motorsports. Because it's such an important event, drivers and teams spend two weeks preparing at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, including plenty of time on track.
Indy 500 practice started Tuesday and cars have been on track all week as teams get ready for the weekend's qualifying sessions.
As a result, there is plenty of data to analyze to us help pick off drivers offering early value before qualifying sets the field and odds see a major adjustment.
There are two important data points that come from this week's practice sessions: tow and no-tow speeds.
Having a "tow" is the same thing as having a draft. While these speeds are important, they can be skewed based on whether a driver got a tow from another car during his or her fast lap.
No-tow speeds refer to lap times run by drivers without the assistance of a draft from another car, and are a better measure of raw speed in the racecar. While neither of these are perfect, they do provide valuable insight for bettors looking for the fastest cars.
I like to compile and rank cars in terms of both tow and no-tow speeds, then try to pinpoint which drivers have been consistently fast throughout all practice sessions both with and without a draft.
I've done that once again this year and the clear top driver (and it's not even close) in practice is still priced as a longshot at a couple of books across the market.
Based on my analysis of practice, there's one driver I'm jumping on right now before sportsbooks catch on to just how fast he's running at Indy.
Ed Jones (50-1) to Win Indy 500
Since unloading at the Brickyard, Jones has been an absolute rocket throughout all practice sessions.
In terms of no-tow speeds, Jones has ranked first, third and first through the first three Indy 500 practices, that's the best … by far.
He's shown plenty of speed as well with a tow as well, ranking in the top 10 overall in every practice session, including running the fastest lap with a tow on Thursday with a tow. Yes, Jones had the best tow AND no-tow laps yesterday.
It really shouldn't be a surprise to see Jones bringing so much speed to Indy considering he drives for Ed Carpenter Racing (ECR). Ed Carpenter, driving for his own team, won the pole, led the most laps and finished second in last year's Indy 500.
Spencer Pigot and Danica Patrick qualified sixth and seventh for ECR in that race as well, so the team certainly knows how to build cars that can get around Indy.
Despite only two Indy 500 starts, Jones finished third in this race two years, so he knows what it takes contend at the Brickyard.
Jones is 50-1 at the MGM casinos in Las Vegas and a handful of other books around the market, which is an absolute autobet. I'm snagging the 50-1 now, which leaves me plenty of bankroll to continue building my Indy 500 betting card.
Here's a look at what I've taken so far:
