NASCAR Picks: NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona Best Bets, Odds to Consider on DraftKings Sportsbook

NASCAR closes out the 2023 regular season this Saturday night with the new tradition of destroying millions of dollars worth of equipment at the super speedway in Daytona. As always, trust the data but also trust your eyes. Here are the best bets for the NASCAR Cup Series Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.

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You know the drill. Daytona is a plate race. Yes, the plates are long gone but the style of racing at the super speedways remains the same. Pack racing returns this Saturday night. Tightly grouped stock cars running at speeds close to 200 mph only leads to trouble. The majority of the cars do not survive a super speedway race. And this isn’t a normal super speedway race. The summer Daytona race was always the most volatile. Now that it’s the final cut race with a playoff spot on the line, this race is a time bomb waiting to explode. Given these circumstances, it only makes sense to chase the long shots.

Race Winner — Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

A.J. Allmendinger +4500

Kaulig Racing knows plate racing. This team has won a handful of races at Daytona and Talladega in the Xfinity Series. One of those wins was Allmendinger’s 2022 Talladega victory. Kaulig has been competitive in the Cup Series, but they have not yet won a Cup Series race at a super speedway. The same can be said for Allmendinger. In his last six races at Daytona, Allmendinger has six top-15 finishes with an average finish of seventh over that span. Those aren’t wins but there is an old adage to racing, and it’s exemplified at super speedways. To finish first, first one must finish. The Dinger is surviving and he’s finishing within striking distance.

Ryan Blaney +1200

This isn’t a long shot but the pay out isn’t a potato. Team Penske has not had a great season, but their super-speedway program is still elite. Joey Logano (+1400) won the first super-speedway race at Atlanta earlier this season. Austin Cindric (+2000) won the 2022 Daytona 500 and finished third in the 2022 summer race at Daytona. Ryan Blaney’s 47% top-10 finish rate in super-speedway races is the best in NASCAR. On top of that, Blaney has three plate-track wins and has been the runner-up in the last two races at Talladega.

Check back later this week for additional NASCAR matchup bets and prop bets as they become available on DraftKings Sportsbook.

Race Winner — Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

Daniel Suarez +2000

This is a do-or-die race for Suarez. He’s not going to point his way into the playoffs. He needs a win. To most NASCAR fans, the 16th seed in a deeply flawed playoff system is meaningless. This is true, but for a fringe driver, making the playoffs can extend a career by a season or two. Suarez has been a solid driver this season. His Trackhouse car has been strong. Winning isn’t easy. It won’t be easy at Daytona on Saturday night, but it’s doable. Trackhouse has won a plate race before and Suarez is approaching Daytona as an all-or-nothing event. In previous races, Suarez may have laid up. In the four Atlanta races, he has finishes of second, sixth and fourth. In the 2023 Daytona 500, he finished seventh. He has top-10 finishes in the last two Talladega races. He’s been in position to win, but he has not been in a must-win position. Now he is.

Todd Gilliland +6000

Every driver is in play. The Daytona summer race is aggressive. Also, weather comes into play and makes the racing even more volatile. Landon Cassill, Noah Gragson, Cody Ware, B.J. McLeod and David Ragan all earned top-10 finishes in the 2022 summer Daytona race. Anything can happen and anything will happen. Todd Gilliland has a capable car. Front Row Motorsports has always had a strong super-speedway program. Michael McDowell (+2800) and David Ragan have won plate races driving FRM cars at Daytona and Talladega. Even former Front Row drivers Cole Whitt and Landon Cassill were competitive at the plate tracks. Gilliland has an ARCA win at Talladega, and a second-place and third-place finish in four Truck Series races at Talladega. In the Cup Series, he has not had much luck at Daytona (finishes of 27th, 23rd and 33rd). Atlanta has been better (16th, 15th, 17th and 27th), and Talladega has been his best — top-10 finishes in the last two races at Talladega.

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All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.

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