The NASCAR Cup Series stops at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 Saturday. The green flag is set to drop at approximately 7:05 p.m. ET. Below we analyze the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and predictions.
Hendrick Racing’s William Byron picked up the victory in last season’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, a race pushed back to Aug. 29, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to that, Spire Motorsports driver Justin Haley earned the win July 7, 2019, in a rain-shortened race.
2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400: What you need to know
- Byron started sixth in last season’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 to pick up checkers, while Haley started in the 34th position in the 2019 installment.
- The last time a driver started from the pole to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2015.
- Byron registered an average speed of 153.766 mph in last year’s race, for the fastest average speed in the race since former Hendrick teammate and seven-time champ Jimmie Johnson averaged 154.313 mph in the 2013 installment.
- Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon, the 2018 Daytona 500 winner, leads all drivers with an Average Finish Position (AFP) of 14.75 at Daytona International Speedway (min. three starts).
- Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin has three career wins at DIS, but all of those victories came in the Daytona 500, not the Coke Zero Sugar 400 summer race.
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Who is going to win the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400?
Odds courtesy of Tipico Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports’ betting odds for a full list. Lines last updated at 7:45 a.m. ET.
HAMLIN (+7500) is shares the third-best odds with Kyle Busch. While he has never won the summer run in Daytona, he does have three victories at this track to lead all active drivers. In 31 career starts at DIS, Hamlin has managed 11 top-five finishes with 628 laps led, three DNFs and a 15.97 AFP, second among all drivers with at least nine starts at the superspeedway.
JOEY LOGANO (+1000) won the 2015 Daytona 500. In 25 career Cup starts he has just one win in Daytona, but he has six top-5 finishes, nine top-10 runs, 182 laps led and a strong 17.92 AFP.
KEVIN HARVICK (+1500) has some rather long odds given his history on superspeedways. Outside of Hamlin, Happy is the only driver in the field with multiple victories at the Daytona International Speedway. His last win at the track was July 3, 2010, in the Coke Zero 400, rolling to a win from the pole.
Long-shot bets and props for the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400
It has been a rough season for BUBBA WALLACE (+40000), but if he was ever going to break through for a victory in the Cup Series, that first win is likely to come on a superspeedway.
Wallace has eight career Cup Series starts in Daytona, posting two top-five finishes, two top-10 runs and a stellar 15.13 AFP, which is second-best to any other driver in the field with at least three starts at the track.
Don’t sleep on ROSS CHASTAIN (+10000), either. He has six career Cup starts at DIS, posting two finishes inside the top 10. While he has two DNFs, he also has a respectable 18.17 AFP, which is right between Logano and Hendrick’s Alex Bowman.
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