It is time to head back to Daytona International Speedway for some “Saturday night under the lights” racing! The Coke Zero Sugar 400 winds down the regular season on a track that’s produced a flurry of winners over the last several races and it could happen again this weekend!

One driver that is hoping to get that win is Ryan Blaney who comes in as one of the favorites at +1200 along with several other drivers. As of now, there are 15 Cup Series winners this season and Blaney is the only one of the 16 drivers currently eligible for the Cup Playoffs without one. If a different driver without a win grabs the checkered at Daytona on Saturday then Blaney could fall below the cutline.

Where to Bet on NASCAR

Going into the race the outright favorite, as of Thursday, is Chase Elliott at +1000. The caveat is that Elliott has never won a Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway. But, he does have a Cup win at Talladega and a Daytona win in the Xfinity Series.

So why is there a log jam of drivers starting at +1200? That’s because Daytona, like Talladega, seems to favor drivers with a superspeedway mindset. That brings Blaney and other drivers such as Bubba Wallace and Denny Hamlin into a tight race. All of the drivers at +1200 through +4000 could be a threat.

Remember, Michael McDowell (+4000) won the 2021 Daytona 500 by dominating some of the race and the closing laps.

That’s worth making a note of as McDowell is a Ford driver and Ford drivers have won the last three Cup Series races at Daytona. That’s a stat to make note of as Chevrolet and Toyota won three of the six races before the Ford run. Blue oval drivers have won eight of the last 16 Cup Series races at Daytona. Now oddsmakers are looking at Blaney as the only Ford driver as a favorite to win the 2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 outright. The other favorites all drive Chevys or Toyotas.

Chase Elliott +1000

Ryan Blaney +1200

Denny Hamlin +1200

Bubba Wallace Jr. +1200

Kyle Larson +1200

How to Bet on NASCAR

2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Preview

Date: Saturday, August 27, 2022, 7:00 pm EST

Track: Daytona International Speedway

Type: Tri-oval, Asphalt, 2.5 miles, 4 turns

Race Distance: 400 miles, 160 laps

Defending Track Winner: Austin Cindric

TV/Radio: NBC/Peacock/SiriusXM/MRN & local affiliates

Fantasy NASCAR Guide

2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Predictions

Bubba Wallace Jr. +1200

Bubba Wallace Jr. is a driver that is known to be a great superspeedway driver. He finished second the last time the Cup Series visited Daytona. He also has a Cup Series win at Talladega Superspeedway. He also has racked up 8 top-five finishes and 11 top-ten finishes in his Cup career. Wallace has been a factor in every big track race this season and is only a few points away from breaking into the Playoffs. That playoff spot could be secured with a win this Saturday at Daytona.

Ryan Blaney +1200

Ryan Blaney has won at Daytona in the Cup Series and seems to love superspeedway drafting. He has five Cup Series wins on 2.5-mile tracks, not including wins in non-points races. He’s possibly the best Ford driver out of the Penske camp this weekend. Blaney is one of the regular season points winners but the lack of a win this year could prove to be his Achilles’ heel. Blaney needs a win to close out the regular season to ensure his playoff hopes. If a driver wins that have won, or not already won, this season then Blaney could miss the playoffs despite his regular season point standings.

Michael McDowell +4000

Michael McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500 and it was not a fluke. According to NASCAR fantasy stats on racing-reference.com, McDowell is the second-best driver at the speedway over the last ten races at the track (behind Denny Hamlin with a win and 5 finishes in the top ten and 3 in the top five. He seems to enjoy racing at Daytona as the stats prove and he is an attractive choice at +4000.

Others: Many people will flip a coin if they are considering Kyle Larson or Chase Elliott this Saturday. both are among the favorites and proven winners. But I’m thinking about drivers that are also proven winners this season such as Kevin Harvick (+2200) and especially the 2022 Daytona 500 winner Austin Cindric who comes in at +1600.

NASCAR Stats

2022 Coke Zero Sugar 400 Betting Lines

Chase Elliott +1000

Ryan Blaney +1200

Denny Hamlin +1200

Darrell Wallace Jr. +1200

Kyle Larson +1200

Ross Chastain +1400

Joey Logano +1400

William Byron +1400

Kyle Busch +1600

Austin Cindric +1600

Martin Truex Jr +1800

Tyler Reddick +1800

Daniel Suarez +2000

Alex Bowman +2200

Kevin Harvick +2200

Ricky Stenhouse Jr +2500

Christopher Bell +2500

Brad Keselowski +2500

Chase Briscoe +3000

Austin Dillon +3000

Aric Almirola +3000

Erik Jones +3300

Chris Buescher +3300

Michael McDowell +4000

Justin Haley +5000

Ty Gibbs +6000

Cole Custer +7500

Corey Lajoie +9000

Ty Dillon +10000

Daniel Hemric +10000

Todd Gilliland +15000

Noah Gragson +15000

Harrison Burton +15000

David Ragan +20000

Landon Cassill +50000

Cody Ware +50000

BJ McLeod +50000