Daytona is the wildest race on the Cup Series calendar, where pack racing turns favorites into afterthoughts. Superspeedway strategy rewards chaos over dominance, making longshots more than just lottery tickets. Here are the best bets to target for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400.
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NASCAR Best Bets for the Coke Zero Sugar 400
Race Winner — Austin Hill (+6000)
Richard Childress Racing announced that Hill will be one of their full-time Cup Series drivers next season. Hill doesn’t deserve it based on his 2026 Cup and O’Reilly Series results. Before this season, his stats justified the call-up. His lower series career has been defined by superspeedway wins — 11 O’Reilly Series wins and one Truck Series win.
Hill should be comfortable on Saturday night. He doesn’t have to worry about messing up and getting fired. He can be reckless and aggressive. That’s a necessary skill for winners. Many quality drivers are satisfied with a top-10 car and a car in one piece. Those picks are a trap. Big wins depend on checker-or-wrecker drivers.
Race Winner — Noah Gragson (+7000)
Smart wagers start with data. That’s science. Superspeedway racing is not scientific — it’s more random than quantum theory. The proper scientific method for Daytona doesn’t begin with a hypothesis. It starts with a conclusion and works backwards. NASCAR sharps and squares alike look at a longshot and convince themselves why the wager is worth it. Gragson has never won a Cup Series plate-track race, but most haven’t. He’s won at Daytona and Talladega in the O’Reilly Series — most haven’t. Front Row Motorsports is an underdog Ford team, but they’ve won at Daytona and Talladega over a decade ago. Gragson is the opposite of Austin Hill. His racing future is uncertain. A win might keep him in NASCAR’s top series.
