One of the bigger races of the summer on NASCAR’s Sprint Cup series schedule takes place this holiday weekend with the running of the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Saturday night’s main event is set to get underway at 7:45 p.m. (ET) and it will be broadcast nationally on NBC.
Coke Zero 400 Favorites and Top Value Pick
Last Sunday on the road course at Sonoma, veteran driver Tony Stewart made his presence felt in his final season of Sprint Cup racing by taking the checkered flag. Denny Hamlin placed second in that race and Joey Logano took third. I went with Kyle Busch at +1000 betting odds as my top-valued pick, but he faded to seventh in the final standings.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Saturday night’s race along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by TopBet
Favorites
The wide-open nature of this race opens the door for quite a few drivers this Saturday night, but the top odds to win on the board belong to Dale Earnhardt Jr. at +600. He has yet to win a point race this season, but the No. 88 Chevrolet has been in the mix quite a few times with four runner-up finishes. This team is currently 12th in the Sprint Cup points standings and it is well aware that this could be its best opportunity to secure a spot in the Chase with a win. Also adding value is the fact that Dale Jr. comes in as the defending champion of this event.
The odds drop off from there with Jimmie Johnson next on the list at +1000. He is currently tied for seventh place in the standings with 469 total points, but safely in the Chase with a pair of victories this year. He has steered the No. 48 Chevrolet to seven Top 5 finished this season, but for the third race in a row this team has finished outside the Top 10. Johnson started this season with a 16th-place run at Daytona, but going back to a pair of victories here in 2013, he has finished fifth or better in five of seven runs in a Sprint Cup point race.
Denny Hamlin is also listed at +1000 betting odds as one of two second-favorites to win on Saturday night. He is coming off a solid run on the road course at Sonoma after disappointing finishes at both Michigan and Pocono in his previous two point race events. The No. 11 Toyota is in 11th place in the standings with 421 points, but in solid shape to make the Chase after winning this year’s Daytona 500 by the slimmest margin of victory in the history of that storied race. Hamlin will be going for the series sweep with an average finishing position of just 17.1 at this track; however he has placed sixth or better in his last five Sprint Cup point races here.
