The Cup Series travels back to Daytona International Speedway this week for the Coke Zero 400. This race used to be the last race of the regular season and the last chance for drivers outside the playoffs to win a race and earn a spot to race for the championship. Darlington is now the last race of the regular season, but that will not take the drama out of the Coke Zero 400. Many desperate drivers will make stupid moves in the race and cause a lot of chaos (just the way NASCAR likes it). You will either be really happy or really upset after the race this week. The Coke Zero 400 can be seen Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
DRAFTKINGS ODDS DAYTONA
* The odds are from DraftKings Sportsbook. The odds could change between the time of this article and the time you place your bet.
BETTING STRATEGY FOR DAYTONA
The two toughest races on the NSCAR schedule to cash a winning ticket at are Daytona and Talladega. I was able to pick Michael McDowell as the winner at 80-1 odds in 2021 and Austin Cindric as the winner at 60-1 in 2022. Those races were in the Daytona 500, after we got the see the cars in practice and in the Duel Races. The teams will not have track time to practice and there is no Duel Race to see how the cars handle in the pack. It is going to be a total crap-shoot Saturday night, so we are going to need a lot of luck in this race.
Most handicappers are going to be preaching … “Bet the long-shots” or “Bet the drivers on the bubble of making the playoffs because this is their best chance to win a race.” Is this the best strategy? I am not so sure….
NASCAR moved the summer race at Daytona for the 4th of July weekend to the end of August in 2020. The second race at Daytona has ended the regular season for the last four seasons. The winners of those races include William Byron in 2020 (had enough points to make the playoffs), Ryan Blaney in 2021 (already locked into the playoffs), Chris Buescher in 2023 (already locked into the playoffs). The only driver who was in a “must win situation” and won the August race at Daytona was Austin Dillon in 2022.
I will be betting a few drivers who have awesome stats in the summer race at Daytona and a few long-shots who need to win.
BETTING CARD FOR DAYTONA
KYLE BUSCH (+1200): Busch has been to Victory Lane for 21 consecutive seasons. He is quickly running out of races to extend his streak to 22 seasons. Busch is in a must win situation. He won at Talladega last year and he came an inch away from winning on the Superspeedway in Atlanta this year. Busch is going to be aggressive Saturday night. I would not want to be the car leading the race if Busch is in one of the top-three spots with one lap to go. I will take a chance with Rowdy at Daytona.
CHASE ELLIOTT (+1400): Elliott has wins on the Superspeedway tracks at Talladega and Atlanta, but never at Daytona. That does not means the No. 9 car is not a good bet Saturday night. Elliott has the best average running position on the Superspeedway tracks in the Gen-7 car. He is one of the best drivers at putting his car up front at the end of the races. It hasn’t worked out for Elliott at Daytona yet, but I think his win is coming soon at this track. I will bet that it will happen Saturday night.
WILLIAM BYRON (+1400): Byron nearly won Monday at Michigan. That is all I needed to see from the No. 24 team. They went into a slump after a hot start to the 2024 season. It looks like Byron is ready to catch fire again. He won the August race at Daytona in 2020. Byron also won on the Superspeedway in Atlanta and he finished second at Talladega last year. Byron is quickly becoming the best Superspeedway racer in the sport. I will bet him to win this weekend at Daytona.
BUBBA WALLACE (+1400): The chances of Wallace making the playoffs on points are getting slimmer as we reach the end of the regular season. The No. 23 team needs a win and a trip to Daytona may be what they need to get the job done. Wallace finished fifth in the Daytona 500 and fifth on the Superspeedway at Atlanta this year. Wallace has a win at Talladega (2021) and three second-place finishes at Daytona on his resume. The Toyota’s have looked fast in race-trim on the Superspeedways this year. Wallace may get a lot of help from Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick Saturday night. He is a good bet to win at Daytona.
ALEX BOWMAN (+2000): Bowman probably is not the first driver that comes to mind when people think about Superspeedway racing, but he should be near the top of the list. Bowman finished second (2024 Daytona 500), sixth (2023 Coke Zero 400) and fifth (2023 Daytona 500) in his last three races at Daytona. No driver has been better at Daytona over the last three races. Bowman also finished fifth at Talladega this year. He is a good bet at +2000 odds Saturday night.
CHRISTOPHER BELL (+2000): The price for Bell seems too good to pass up this week. He has never won on a Superspeedway but he has been close at Daytona. Bell led the third-most laps and finished 3rd in the Daytona 500 last year. He came back to the track in February and Bell led the second-most laps and finished 3rd again. He keeps knocking on the door and sooner or later it is going to open for him. I will take a chance with Bell at +2000 Saturday night.
ROSS CHASTAIN (+2200): You will be clicking on Chastain and adding him to your betting slip if you go back and watch the Daytona 500. He was leading the race with two laps to go and then he got into Austin Cindric and wrecked. His strong run at Daytona was not a fluke. He was smashing the watermelon in Victory Lane at Talladega in 2022. We all know Chastain will do whatever it takes when he is in a “must win situation.” I bet Chastain will be smashing a watermelon after the race Saturday night.
AUSTIN CINDRIC (+2800): Cindric won the 2022 Daytona 500. Can he win again at this track? I will bet that he can. Cindric nearly won the Daytona 500 again this year, but he wrecked while racing Ross Chastain for the lead in the final laps. He bounced back to finish fourth at Atlanta. I expect the No. 2 car to get a lot of help from Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney. That is not a bad place to be on the track.
** I will not be posting updated Best Bets this weekend, but you can ask me on Twitter or in the Member’s Forum s there are any other drivers I like after qualifying.
Good luck Saturday night!
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