A wild NASCAR regular season hits the finish line Saturday night at legendary Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.
Many of the playoff spots are already set, but the "win and you're in" playoff format sets up an interesting dynamic for those chasing a postseason berth.
Get the inside track on your NASCAR bets with Auto Racing Advisor preview and picks for the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400, which gets underway at 7:00 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 28.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 favorites
Denny Hamlin (+750)
Pretty low odds for a superspeedway race, but Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 in three of the last six years including two of the last three. While he’s never won the annual summer race, he’s the best superspeedway racer in the game right now, so take him for these odds.
Chase Elliott (+1,200)
He was runner-up in last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 as well as runner-up in this past February’s Daytona 500 too.
Joey Logano (+1,200)
Crazy you can get him here for these odds. Logano has four points-paying superspeedway wins. He won his Duel at Daytona back in February of 2020. He also has six Top-4 finishes since 2013.
Covers NASCAR Betting Content
Coke Zero Sugar 400 long-shot picks
Aric Almirola (+2,000)
He’s better at Talladega, but his first ever Cup win came in this very race in 2014. He should have won the 2018 Daytona 500, was fourth in the 2017 Daytona 500 and seventh in this race in 2019.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2,200)
He’s always good on superspeedways and needs a win. Both of his wins came on these types of tracks.
Ryan Newman (+3,000)
Newman has five Top-10 finishes in his last seven Daytona starts.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 matchup pick
Denny Hamlin (-135) vs. Kyle Larson (+110)
Larson has never had a Top 5 in Daytona, while Hamlin has three Daytona 500 wins in the last six years.
PREDICTION: Hamlin (-135)
Coke Zero Sugar 400 fades
Kevin Harvick (+2,000)
Eight of his last 10 Daytona starts were 19th or worse. He's finished better than fourth just once this season.
Kyle Larson (+1,100)
He hasn't had a Top 5 in 26 superspeedway stars. He's been 29th or worse six times.
Kyle Busch (+1,600)
Seven of his last nine Daytona starts were 20th or worse finishes.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 preview
The time is here. The regular season of the NASCAR Cup Series schedule will wrap up with Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN). To have a cut-off race at the Daytona International Speedway is going to cause a lot of fireworks, even with the race moving off the Fourth of July race weekend for just the third time ever. The others came with the wildfires in 1998, and the move to this weekend last year.
Still, we have 15 drivers that have clinched a spot to the postseason with one more available for the taking.
The main question for this weekend is, will anyone outside the Top 16 in the playoff standings bump their ways back in?
Since the ‘win and you're in’ format to the Playoffs was initiated in 2016, Erik Jones’ 2018 summer race win and William Byron’s last year are the only summer races at Daytona to catapult a driver into the postseason.
Meanwhile, in the third iteration of the Playoff championship format from 2014-Present – Only one driver outside the Playoff cutoff has raced their way into the Playoffs in the regular-season finale through points or last-minute wins.
But, for the Coke Zero Sugar 400, three of the last four winners have earned their first career Cup victories. The other was just his second. A total of 21 drivers have posted their first NASCAR Cup Series win at Daytona. 11 of the 21 drivers posted their first win in the summer race – the most recent was the 2019 July race with winner Justin Haley and Spire Motorsports and last year with William Byron. Does that bode well for Saturday night for someone on the outside looking in?
Team Penske could have gone 1-2 in February but crashed out while fighting for the win on the final lap in Turn 3. Brad Keselowski made up for it via a win in Talladega this spring.
The “Big 3” teams have won the last seven Busch Clashes on the oval. They’ve won 16 of the last 18 Duels, six of the last nine Daytona 500’s and five of the last eight Coke Zero Sugar 400’s.
But, they went winless in February. SHR and RCR won the Duels with Front Row Motorsports winning the ‘500. But, factor in SHR and RCR into this, and you still get 9-for-9 in the Clash, 18-for-18 in Duels, 8-for-9 in the ‘500, and 5-for-8 in the ‘400 since 2013.
That’s 37 for 40.
Coke Zero Sugar 400 key stat
Just once over the last nine Daytona points-paying races has the winner come from a Top-5 starting spot.
Where can I bet on NASCAR?
You can bet on NASCAR odds at most online and casino sportsbooks, including NASCAR race winner, Top 3, and Top-10 finish odds. Head over to our top sportsbooks to bet on NASCAR odds in your area.
