We’re only a few hours away from the green flag at Daytona, so there’s still time to do one of the following:
- Pick yourself a winner and treat the gang to drinks at the next gathering, or…
- Throw away another sawbuck or maybe even a Benjamin (your big bucks!).
Let’s start with the summary from Hard Rock Bets and remember that these payouts (+1200, +1600 etc.) are based on a $100 bet. Bet $10 and win 10% of it, and yes, do your own math.
GREAT AMERICAN READCelebrate a fast-paced history of the Daytona 500 with a new book; foreword by Richard Petty
NASCAR Odds for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
Courtesy of Hard Rock Bets
+1200: Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin
+1300: Ryan Blaney
+1400: Brad Keselowski
+1500: Kyle Bush, Chase Elliott, William Byron
+1600: Michael McDOwell, Bubba Wallace, Chris Buescher
+1750: Kyle Larson
+2000: Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell
+2250: Martin Truex Jr., Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman
+2500: Austin Cindric
+3000: Ty Gibbs, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
+4000: Austin Dillon, Erik Jones, Noah Gragson, Chase Briscoe, Todd Gilliland
+5000: Josh Berry, Corey LaJoie, Daniel Suarez, Ryan Preece, Justin Haley
+6000: Carson Hocevar, John Hunter Nemechek
+7500: Zane Smith, Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric, Harrison Burton
+10,000: Shane Van Gisbergen
+20,000: Parker Retzlaff, Joey Gase, BJ McLeod, Cody Ware
Time to do something narrator
Notice anything different about the numbers above? The payouts at the top are much higher than the norm, while those at the bottom are much lower.
Why? It’s a saucer race, kids and long stories, practically anyone can win. Well, that explains why the odds for longshots aren’t as long as usual.
Why are the favorites’ payouts bigger? Because while anyone can win, it’s much, much easier to lose one of these crapshoots. The “Big One” doesn’t check IDs, it just collects sheet metal.
So we’re looking for good paydays with the kind of driver you can imagine sneaking into the lead pack at the end of the night, and believe me, the guys at the checkout window aren’t allowed to withhold payment by saying, “You only won because everyone else crashed out!”
Time to hit the checkout window at Daytona
OK, let’s take a look at some choices in different categories and make some money. Or feed the Hard Rockers, which can also happen.
For the win: I’m forced to pick a winner and I always like Hamlin at Daytona because he’s so good in the big packs. And while he’d normally be around +500 when favored, that +1200 looks like Jed Clampett money.
So I hedge with a little bit on Denny, but scan down to find bigger money from guys who are definitely capable of winning at Daytona. That’s right, give me a little slice of Dillon, Stenhouse and Suarez.
Wouldn’t a Dillon win be fun right now?
Winner of Phase 1: Michael McDowell is on pole with teammate Todd Gilliland next to him. McDowell talked yesterday about Gilliland getting the win so I think he at least makes Todd lead early then everyone plays nice for the first 35 laps and the end of stage 1.
I’ll take Gilliland at +2000 to lead at the end of 35. round.
Exclusively: That’s right, Hard Rock offers an “exclusive” category and you need to pay attention to the offers.
Here’s one I like: “Any of Ross Chastain, Brad Keselowski or Kyle Busch can win.” It pays +550.
Here is an I love because I like the odds and I love the odds: “Denny Hamlin to win the race and Chris Buescher to finish top-10.” And look at this number: +2250!
Sit up.