Iowa 250 Odds – Briscoe will end Dixon-Castroneves IndyCar domination
Helio Castroneves and Scott Dixon have won the last four IndyCar races between them, which means they’ll be near or at the top of this week’s IndyCar betting odds for the third edition of the Iowa Corn Indy 250. The race will take place at Iowa Speedway, a track that is just under a mile in length, and although Dan Wheldon won last year, it’ll be the points leader who will steal some of the thunder from Castroneves and Dixon.
Iowa 250 odds – Look to the top of the standings for this week’s winner
- Castroneves wants revenge after leading most laps in 2008 at Iowa
- Andretti Green teammates need to put last week behind them
- Briscoe quietly putting together brilliant season
Castroneves won the race at Texas two weeks ago, and he led a race-high 92 laps last year at Iowa before fading all the way back to 14th. Castroneves ran eighth in the inaugural 2007 race while leading 57 laps. Castroneves has started second in each of the two Iowa races.
Dixon was tenth at Iowa in 2007, but that is deceiving because he finished 77 laps down due to a steering problem. Last year, he finished fourth after starting on the pole, but Castroneves took the lead from him on the first lap and he never led again. Still, you have to consider his Iowa 250 odds as he has four straight finishes in the top six, which of course includes wins at Kansas and Milwaukee.
Points leader Ryan Briscoe has finished second in his last two races, and he finished seventh last year in his first trip to Iowa. Briscoe has a pair of bad finishes this year, a 13th-place run at Long Beach and a 15th-place finish at Indy. He had the dominant car at Texas, leading a race-high 160 laps.
Andretti Green teammates Danica Patrick and Marco Andretti got into it at Texas, when Andretti was unhappy that Patrick wouldn’t let him by late in the race despite having a much faster car. This has happened before on this team, but they’ll have to sort themselves out before sportsbook players can take a chance on either driver. Andretti has finishes of second and third at Iowa, while Patrick improved from 13th to sixth. AGR vet Tony Kanaan should have the best chance of winning, even though he finished 18th here in 2008 after leading 71 laps.
Online sports wagering players have to consider Dario Franchitti and Dan Wheldon, who have won the two races that have taken place at Iowa. Franchitti has been very consistent this year and he is third in the standings, coming off a fifth-place run at Texas. Wheldon is sixth in the standings, and hasn’t finished outside the top 10 since the first race of the year at St. Petersburg (which is where Wheldon lives, ironically) with Panther Racing, who he joined in the offseason.
Lee-Roy’s Pick: Dixon and Castroneves have been taking most of the attention in IndyCar recently, along with Patrick (that’s a given), but this week’s winner will be Ryan Briscoe, whose consistency will be rewarded. After last week, he’s owed a victory, and he fared pretty well in last year’s Iowa race. Take Ryan Briscoe’s Iowa 250 odds this week.
For more IndyCar odds and lines, head over to the offshore sportsbook at BetOnline.com.
Born in the betting capital of Las Vegas, Lee-Roy has grown to appreciate the likes of IndyCar and Formula 1 racing, but his first love is the high-speed ovals of NASCAR and he is a HUGE Tony Stewart fan. When it comes to motorsports handicapping, Buckles takes the checkered flag. Thoughts or questions? Email Comments@BetOnline.com.
