Category: NASCAR

With just two races left before the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, we head to Darlington Raceway for the Bojangles’ Southern 500, one of the more popular events on the NASCAR calendar. In analyzing the head-to-head matchups across the market, we should keep a few points in mind. With the end of the regular…

One of NASCAR’s crown-jewel events takes place tonight at the half-mile bullring at Bristol Motor Speedway. Bristol is a high-banked, concrete track known for lots of action. Because it’s such a unique track, where the car is less in play and the driver more in play, it’s not uncommon to see a driver that generally…

Tonight’s Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol should be a high-intensity affair, with playoff spots on the line. However, the real competition should be up front, with many drivers in contention to win, especially with race favorite Kyle Busch qualifying in 31st. Bristol often features lots of carnage, and one mistake can set…

Michigan International Speedway is the site of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series’ 23rd race of the year. With only four races remaining until the playoff field is set, the intensity should be high at one of the fastest tracks on the schedule. We’re back to a traditional race weekend schedule, with no post-qualifying inspection…

Head-to-head matchups are a great way to bet on NASCAR to maximize your chances of having a winning week. Only betting outrights to win can lead to a several race drought, so padding your betting card with props that are easier to hit can give you that winning feeling more frequently. However, head-to-head matchups aren’t…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to its second road course race of the year at Watkins Glen International. “The Glen” is a very different road course from Sonoma Raceway, where the first road course race took place. Watkins Glen is full of high-speed corners, whereas Sonoma has more low-speed turns. As a result,…

Today’s race at Watkins Glen International is scheduled for 90 laps at the 2.45-mile road course. Road course racing typically features plenty of randomness that bettors can use to their advantage. Overconfidence in the market, either by the betting public or by the bookmakers setting initial odds can lead to plenty of underdog value, especially…

Today’s Gander RV 400 at Pocono Raceway (3:00 p.m. ET, NBCSN) looks to be free of any weather issues, so that makes betting head-to-head props more of a sure thing than some of the questionable weather situations of the past. For Pocono, the key statistical predictors are: Pocono driver rating (last eight races) Flat track…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its return to Pocono Raceway for the second of two races in 2019. Kyle Busch won the season’s first race at The Tricky Triangle. Busch, Kyle Larson and William Byron were the only drivers to reach double-digits in both laps led and fastest laps. Notably, Larson wrecked his…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series is set for one of its shortest races of the year with the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS) at 3 p.m. ET. The outright bets for today’s race are pretty tough to call, but there is plenty of head-to-head value. The key statistical predictors for…

NASCAR makes its way to New England for the Foxwoods Resort Casino 301 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway (NHMS). This marks the fourth race of the Cup Series season at a short, flat track.

After a wild race at Daytona, where Justin Haley won as one of the biggest underdogs in NASCAR history, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to some normalcy with a Saturday night race at Kentucky Speedway. Kentucky is a traditional 1.5-mile oval that was repaved and reconfigured before the 2016 season. That places it…

Tonight’s Quaker State 400 takes place just a few hours after inspection, which could alter the starting lineup. Any driver whose car fails inspection will have to start at the rear of the 36-car field. That’s important because the betting market frequently overvalues driver starting position. Bettors can take advantage of lines that are incorrect…

(Note: The Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night has been postponed until Sunday, July 7 at 1 p.m. ET) Tonight’s Coke Zero 400 will feature high speeds and close racing. Superspeedway races are known for their inherent randomness, so that makes matchups run close. As a result, it can be hard to find value…

(Note: The Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Saturday night has been postponed until Sunday, July 7 at 1 p.m. ET) NASCAR heads to Daytona International Speedway for its annual Independence Day weekend tradition, the Coke Zero Sugar 400. Saturday night’s race features the second race run under the new superspeedway rules package. NASCAR Coke Zero 400…

Today’s Camping World 400 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN) will take place just a few hour after morning inspection, which could drastically change the starting lineup. Starting lineup is important, because the market frequently overvalues driver starting position. Bettors can take advantage of lines that are incorrect thanks to a driver’s starting position.

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series returns to its bread-and-butter track type: The 1.5-mile oval for 400 miles at Chicagoland Speedway. Chicagoland has an 18-year-old track surface, which leads to moderately-high tire wear. That means tire management and long-run speed will be extremely important.

I like betting on the NASCAR Gander Outdoors Truck Series (NGOTS) because there are often early-week values to pounce on that setup the potential for really nice race-day betting cards. Last week we were able to snag Christian Eckes at 25-1 before the Kyle Busch Motorsports driver closed between 5-1 and 6-1 across the market. Eckes…

Prior to the season the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) introduced a new aero package designed to encourage more passing and make the racing more exciting. Because of this, much of the historical data NASCAR bettors typically use to identify value became much less predictive, which therefore made betting on this year’s early-season races…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) heads to Sonoma Raceway for the first road course race of the 2019 season. In an added twist, this will be the first time since 1997 that the series races on the full 2.52-mile layout, which includes the “Carousel” section, instead of the 1.99 mile layout used the…

Sunday’s Toyota/Save Mart 350 (3 p.m. ET, FS1) provides bettors with an opportunity to find value all over the board. That’s because road course racing — and Sonoma in particular — is so unique that the stats that matter at other tracks don’t come into play as much here, yet the betting market still values these…

Some bets seem solid, some even seem great, and then there are those that you almost break your finger submitting before sportsbooks can move the line. Now that doesn’t mean these finger-breaking bets are locks, it just means the current value offered is so good that you’re willing to risk an appendage to make sure…

As a NASCAR fan I love road course racing. I also look forward to Sonoma Raceway because I’ve done well betting on road course races in the past. Because running well at these types of racetracks requires a different skill set than what is needed to click off fast laps on ovals, drivers other than…

Yesterday’s NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 was postponed until Monday due to rain. As a result, all bets made before the expected start to Sunday’s race are still action, and most sportsbooks have already reopened odds to accept more action before this afternoon’s 5 p.m. ET green flag. FireKeepers Casino 400 Start Time, Picks: Best Bets…

The NASCAR FireKeepers Casino 400 was delayed on Sunday due to rain, meaning all bets placed before yesterday’s scheduled start are still action. In fact, most books will reopen odds — if they haven’t already — allowing bettors to place wagers up until Monday’s 5 p.m. ET scheduled green flag. In terms of the racing…

Today’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Pocono Raceway is slated for 160 laps — or 400 miles — starting at 2 p.m. ET on FS1, but with inclement weather possible, this race could be a sprint to the 250- or 300-mile mark. Typically, rain-shortened races add an element of randomness, as strategy and…

NASCAR heads to Pennsylvania’s Pocono Raceway for 400 miles at the Tricky Triangle (2 p.m. ET, FS1). This marks the first of three races this year at a 2.5-mile flat track, with the other two races coming at Pocono again in July, and at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in September. Under the 2019 aero package, expect…

For the second consecutive weekend, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will be racing at Charlotte Motor Speedwday (6:00 p.m. ET, FOX). However, this time instead of an All-Star shootout, drivers are in for a grueling 600 miles in the Cup Series’ longest race of the year. Charlotte is a 1.5-mile oval with a relatively…

Tonight’s 600-mile race at Charlotte Motor Speedway (6:00 p.m. ET, FOX) caps off an awesome triple header of racing, and features a couple of excellent head-to-head value bets. With final practice occurring during the heat of the day but the majority of the race taking place in the cooler night-time weather, the market has overreacted…

With the greatest weekend in motorsports just a few days away, sportsbooks have already opened odds for Sunday’s trio of races, including NASCAR’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. At the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, Kyle Busch is the favorite to win at +300, followed by Kevin Harvick at +450, Martin Truex Jr. at…

Tonight’s All-Star Open (6 p.m. ET, FS1) and Main Event (8 p.m. ET, FS1) are short-field events, with 24 drivers competing in the open, and 19 in the All-Star feature. That means head-to-head and other prop bets for the race weekend are a bit limited. At the time of writing, no prop bets have been…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its way to headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. for the annual All-Star Race. As has been the case in recent years, there are two races. First, the Monster Energy Open (6 p.m. ET, FS1) hosts all the drivers not yet eligible for the main event. The winner of each…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series (MENCS) is back under the lights for a night race at Kansas Speedway. The series has not visited a 1.5-mile racetrack since Texas Motor Speedway on March 31, giving teams and drivers their first looks at single-car qualifying, which replaced the group qualifying format prior to last week’s race…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to Kansas for the second Saturday night race of the year (7:30 p.m. ET, FS1). Kansas is a 1.5-mile oval with variable banking that was repaved after the first of two races in 2012. That makes it a relatively low tire-wear track, and the practice times reflect the…

The 2019 aero package has not only been tough on drivers and teams trying to get a handle on the new rules, but it also makes betting on NASCAR more difficult because there’s very little data to analyze. Sure, there’s plenty of past metrics to look at, but how predictive are they when the current…

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (12 p.m. ET, FS1). Dover is a 1-mile, steeply-banked, concrete oval that lends itself to both tame stretches as well as chaotic stretches of racing. There have been races with very few incidents, as well as races with plenty…

Monday, we have the Gander RV 400 at Dover International Speedway (12 p.m. ET, FS1). This weekend’s race at Dover presents a few unknowns. This is the first time this year we’ll see the 750-horsepower, high-downforce package at a steep, 1-mile track. We shouldn’t let the unknown stop us from finding good bets. NASCAR ran…

NASCAR heads to Talladega Superspeedway for the first race at a track more than two miles in length under the new rules package. Restrictor plates are no more and have been replaced with a tapered spacer to limit the horsepower to 550. There is also a larger radiator pan, splitter and rear spoiler aimed at…

Sunday’s race at Talladega should race like a traditional superspeedway race. That means pack racing, passing, crashes and lots of randomness. We can take advantage of the random nature of these races by playing underdogs and long shots in our prop bets. To illustrate the nature of the randomness at Talladega, consider that I have created…