Following a weekend at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Watkins Glen International for Sunday's Go Bowling at The Glen (3 p.m. ET, USA).
Goodyear will also be bringing a much softer tire than what teams have run here in the past, which may be impacting this week's NASCAR odds.
In fact, there is expected to be up to three seconds of tire falloff over the course of a green-flag run, which will likely result in a very different race at Watkins Glen compared to what we've seen in recent years.
And because of the new tire combination, Cup Series teams will get 50 minutes of practice on Saturday to feel out the new rubber, which will also provide bettors with more data.
All of this adds up to a race that I'm not interested in betting heavily right now, but – there's always a but – one of the best road-course racers in the series, who also tested this new tire combination, is simply too long based on early NASCAR odds for Watkins Glen.
A Favorite to Bet Early for NASCAR at Watkins Glen
*Odds as of Tuesday afternoon
Tyler Reddick has been among the best road-course racers in the Cup Series since 2022, when NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car.
I know, I'm not breaking any news here.
So, me liking Reddick for Sunday's race at Watkins Glen shouldn't be all that surprising.
However, it's more than just his prowess at road courses that makes me like him so much.
Reddick was one of three drivers (along with Daniel Suarez and Austin Cindric) to participate in a Goodyear tire test at Watkins Glen, giving him an advantage over most of the field in that his team already has experience and data to lean on heading into the weekend.
Throw in the fact that we can grab the driver of the No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota at +950 odds, and I'm willing to bite early despite the uncertainty regarding how the tire change will impact Sunday's race.
The Pick: Tyler Reddick to win (+950 at FanDuel)
