Denny Hamlin may be celebrating the 11th anniversary of his win at Chicagoland Speedway with another in the No. 11 car, according to FanDuel.
The 2015 race-winner is the favorite to win the Eero400 on Sunday, NASCAR’s first race on the 1.5-mile oval since 2019.
Points leader Hamlin is currently +380 and followed by second place Tyler Reddick at +430, with Kyle Larson at +600, Christopher Bell at +900 and Chase Elliott at +1000 to round out the top five.
Brad Keselowski and Alex Bowman are the only other previous track winners entered in the race, but are ranked 14th and 15th in the odds at +3000 and +4000, respectively.
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NASCAR raced on the 1.5-mile oval from 2001 through 2019, before the event was cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic then replaed by Road America for two seasons and the Chicago Street Course for the past three.
The track hasn’t hosted a major event since and required some refurbishment before this year’s race, but it has never been fully resurfaced since opening in 2001 and has never hosted the seventh generation NASCAR Cup Series car.
A Goodyear tire test was held in April and significant wear is expected on the old pavement, which should play into the hands of drivers like Hamlin who are skilled at managing their car’s rubber.
Hamlin won three oval races in a row before the San Diego and Sonoma street and road course events.
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