The 60th running of what’s billed as The Great American Race has moved to President’s Day weekend. NASCAR And at sportsbooks, in addition to picking the winner of the Daytona 500, you can wager on a wide selection of prop bets for different drivers.
The 2018 NASCAR season gets revved up with the 500-lap race at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, on Sunday, at 2:30 pm ET.
Brad Keselowski opened as the favorite at 8/1, and since then at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook his odds have dropped to 5/1. Some internet sites have the 34-year-old racer at 7/1.
Brad Moon Rising
Keselowski believes this could be his year to beat a race that has given him problems in the past. The highest he’s ever placed at Daytona was third, in 2014, and in his three runnings since then, he hasn’t finished better than 20th.
“I feel like I’ve choked the 500 away a couple times,” Keselowski said at a press conference. “I felt like I had a shot at it in 2014 and just didn’t make the right move on the restart. Felt like we had a shot at it last year and got caught up in a wreck, and it was 2013 I was leading it, and we ran over a piece of debris, and just different things happened.”
Sportsbooks definitely believe this is his year. In addition to his status as betting line pole position, he’s the pick to win head-to-head matchups with other drivers.
Keselowski, the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion, is pitted against Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, and Joey Logano. All three of these drivers are a +110 to Keselowski’s -130. He is also the favorite for a bet offered on finishing in the top three, at 19/10, with Chase Elliott following at 11/5 and Harvick and Kyle Busch at 14/5. Last year’s winner, Kurt Busch, is at 25/1 to repeat.
A group bet on who will finish highest among Keslowski, Hamlin, Logano, and Harvick is also available. Guess who is the top pick in this one, at 9/4? Odds for Hamlin and Logano are 5/2, and for Harvick are 3/1.
Funny Car Wagers
NASCAR betting can be quite profitable for the knowledgeable. But not all available wagers require historical knowledge of the Petty family or a strong opinion on who makes better trucks, Ford or Chevy.
The Westgate offers prop bets on what number car will win. Nos. 1-18, or Nos. 19-99 both pay at -110. They offer similar lines on odd or even numbers, though in that bet there is a clear favorite, with evens coming in at -270, and odds at +220.
Think the race will be messy? The over/under on caution flags is set at 7.5, with the over paying -150, and the under +130.
And if you do have an opinion about which make of car is better, the odds of a Chevy taking the checkered flag are 6/5, Ford is a 7/5, and Toyota is at 3/1.
