Betting on NASCAR is much same experiences as placing a wager on the ponies, except the horsepower and race length is exponentially greater. And sometimes, so is the payoff. As in horse racing, a myriad of factors go into producing a winner on the track and on the betting slip.
NASCAR fields three “national” touring series, the third-tier trucks series and a second-tier stock car circuit, all of which can be bet in the same manner, but this page will focus on the top rung, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series, which boasts performers such as multi-time champion Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Martin Truex Jr.
At 36 regular season races, the Cup series provides one of the longest continuous betting opportunities in sports, with individual positional wagering available each week and prop bets aplenty.
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Betting on a driver in a helmet and a fire suit and racing a stock car is much the same as betting a horse being ridden by a jockey. All are subject to unfavorable track or weather conditions, have performances impacted by different types of venues, and are susceptible to the actions of other racers.
Betting on a Cup event is also generally more challenging because a field is based on 30 entrants, much greater than a typical horse race. A win bet is therefore the most difficult to hit, but also the most lucrative, and betting on numerous drivers is a fun and wise hedge (and will maintain interest if one wrecks out or has a mechanical problem).
A menu of drivers available to bet is typically presented in either money line or fractional format. Various betting outfits also allow for wagering on places as far back as fifth, but odds will not be as long, as expected, as compared to a win bet.
NASCAR racing strategy is impacted by a multitude of factors. Fans form a rooting interest by where a driver a grew up, their sponsor, or maybe the manufacturer of the car they drive. Bettors can make bets the same sentimental way, or maybe picking a lucky number from the lineup. But a little knowledge is a major benefit in a sport that offers a lot of clues to the outcomes.
Some horses are mudders, some drivers perform better at speedways, some short tracks. Some excel on road courses. The venue and a driver’s success in that style of racing is one of the most important factors in picking a winner.
With hundreds of laps in every race, and pit cycles and the flow of competition dictating outcomes, cars just don’t lead every lap very often. But being the fastest in qualifying is indicative of a strong car for a given track.
Multiple pre-race sessions provide teams a chance to find the right combination of shocks, springs and other mechanical adjustments. A driver can be stunningly off-pace if his crew chief is experimenting, but if they are atop the speed charts consistently, particularly if they are much faster, they are likely to do well in a long race.
Drivers change teams and manufacturers, and both can heavily impact performance. If Chevrolet has been poor on 1.5-mile tracks throughout a season and Ford strong, there is a likelihood that trend will continue through a season as making great strides is difficult before the offseason.
In 2015 Joey Logano had won three races consecutively in the Cup playoffs and was cruising at Martinsville, ready to punch his ticket to the final at Homestead-Miami Speedway when a driver who was angry with him – Matt Kenseth – wrecked him intentionally while several laps down and effectively ended his title hopes. The boys get mad with each other. Others’ mistakes can undo everything, and NASCAR often makes rules that alter competition in the middle of a season.
NASCAR’s Monster Energy Cup Series crosses North America in an expansive 36-race schedule, commencing, oddly, with its most prestigious event – the Daytona 500 – and culminating at Homestead-Miami Speedway where the top four drivers to survive the 10-race postseason contest a one-off final:
The Super Bowl comes first in the Cup series, with two weeks’ worth of preliminaries culminating in the most important race of the season. Cars race in 200-mph packs around the massive 2.5-mile track, with restrictor plates choking oxygen from the intakes of the race cars in an effort to curtail speeds.
Velocity remains high, though, and is compounded by the proximity of the drivers as they work with and against each other in the aerodynamic battlefield of this type of racing. The result is often massive wrecks which can claim scores of cars at one time.
This is partially the reason why restrictor plate racing at Daytona and Talladega can often produce odd, unexpected winners. For a bettor, that can make for a handsome payday, or loads of frustration. Plate racing is roulette on wheels.
The sister track of Daytona International Speedway produces much of the same type of gonzo racing, but, incredibly with higher banks, slightly longer distances – it’s 2.66 miles long – and violent, destructive crashes.
If a sure thing can vanish in a cloud of fire smoke and crumpled metal at Daytona, it can do so even quicker in the Alabama track between Birmingham and Atlanta, Ga.
Plate racing can seem random at times, but certain drivers are better at it than others, do making a pick isn’t a pure dartboard proposition. Just be prepared for your intelligent handicapping to hit the Turn 3 wall at 220 mph.
The Southern 500 is one of the most historic and coveted races on the circuit, which provides for high drama in the rural wilds of South Carolina. The 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval is notoriously difficult, especially for newcomers.
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