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The NASCAR Cup Series returns to the Daytona International Speedway on Saturday for the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400. Green flag is slated to drop shortly after 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC). Let’s analyze BetMGM Sportsbook’s lines around the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds, and make our expert NASCAR picks and predictions.

2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400: What you need to know

RFK Racing’s Chris Buescher won last season’s summer race at Daytona with an average speed of 158.389 mph, the highest average speed in the 400 since July 2011
Ford and Chevrolet have dominated the 400 at Daytona, winning 14 of the past 15 starts in the summer race. In that span, Chevy has 8 wins, and Ford has 6, with Toyota’s lone win coming courtesy of Erik Jones in July 2018
23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace leads all active drivers with a 12.4 Average-Finish Position (AFP) with a minimum of 4 starts. He has 5 top-5 finishes and 31 laps led in 14 Cup starts, but also 3 DNFs
Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin leads all drivers with 3 career Daytona wins (all the 500), with 11 top-5 finishes and 12 top-10 runs with 676 laps led in Cup starts with a 17.1 AFP
Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon has 2 career wins at the track, while posting 4 top-5 finishes and 9 top-10 results with 85 laps led and a 17.4 AFP in 22 Cup starts
JTG Daugherty Racing’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr., winner of the 2023 Daytona 500, has 2 career Cup wins at the track. He has 148 laps led with a 20.4 AFP in 24 Cup starts, but also 7 DNFs
Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman has a solid 15.2 AFP in 16 career Cup starts in Daytona, but he has never posted a win. He has been a runner-up before, while posting 2 top-5 finishes
Team Penske’s Austin Cindric, winner of the 2022 Daytona 500, has a respectable 16.8 AFP in 6 career Cup starts at the superspeedway, while posting 2 top-5 runs and 49 laps led
Legacy Motor Club’s John Hunter Nemechek is on the entry list, and he has managed finishes of 7th, 11th and 11th in his 3 career Cup starts at Daytona

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2024 Coke Sugar Zero 400 – Expert pick

Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Friday at 7:51 p.m. ET.

RFK Racing’s BRAD KESELOWSKI (+1300) is always a threat on the high-bank superspeedways. He is a speed demon at Talladega, and he has fared well over the years at Daytona International Speedway, too.

While Kes has plenty of DNFs at Daytona — 14 to be exact — he has a win, 4 top-5 finishes and 348 laps led in 30 career Cup starts.

Keselowski is a high-risk, high-reward type driver at Daytona, but that’s why it’s called gambling. He could be leading the race or contending on the final lap only to be collected in the “Big One.” We’ve seen it before, and we’ll undoubtedly see carnage late, changing the finishing order dramatically, likely on a green-white-checker finish.

2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Contender

BUBBA WALLACE (+1600) has fared well over the years at Daytona International Speedway and at the superspeedways in general. He is as good of a bet as any to get to Victory Lane in what could be a chaotic race, especially as this is the penultimate race before the Round of 16 playoffs begin at Atlanta Motor Speedway Sept. 8.

Wallace has 14 career Cup starts at DIS, with 5 top-5 finishes, a 12.4 AFP and an 80.2 driver rating. While he does have 3 DNFs, he seems to keep his nose relatively clean on the superspeedways, picking and choosing his spot to be there contending in the end.

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2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400: What you need to know

Richard Childress Racing driver Austin Dillon won last summer’s Daytona Coke Zero Sugar 400, posting an average speed of 138.943 mph. He goes off 21st Saturday night.

JTG Daugherty Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. picked up checkers at the Daytona 500 back in February to kick off the season. He’ll start 32nd in the 400

Stenhouse has 2 Cup victories at Daytona with 4 top-10 finishes, 147 laps led, 5 DNFs and a 19.3 Average-Finish Position (AFP) in his 22 career starts, the ultimate boom-or-bust driver

Stewart-Haas Racing driver Chase Briscoe starts from the pole position after managing a 181.822 mph best speed, just edging out teammate Aric Almirola (181.693 mph)

Fords occupy the first 3 starting positions Saturday night as well as the 6th, 8th and 12th spots

Chevrolet has won the past 2 Cup races at Daytona, and 4 of the past 8 starts, with Ford winning the other 4 events. Toyota hasn’t been to Victory Lane at DIS since Denny Hamlin won the 500 in February 2020

Front Row Motorsports driver Riley Herbst starts 6th Saturday. In his only previous Cup run at the track, he posted a top-10 finish

Wood Brothers Racing driver Harrison Burton starts 3rd in the iconic No. 21 machine. He has 3 Cup starts under his belt, finishing 19th, 26th and 39th with 1 DNF, good for a dismal 28th AFP

23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace is still searching for his 1st Daytona Cup win, but he has been impressive in 12 career starts. He has 4 top-5 runs, 28 laps led and a 13.0 AFP. He starts 4th as the top qualifying Toyota

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2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Expert pick(s)

BUBBA WALLACE (+1600) is a value play in Saturday night’s race. He is traditionally at his best on the superspeedways, and he has runner-up finish at the 500 in February 2022. While a Toyota hasn’t been to Victory Lane since Hamlin’s victory in 2020, Wallace is about to make some people very unhappy with a strong win and a Toyota beating a Chevrolet and Ford to checkers.

2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 – Long shot(s)

Hey, why not CHASE BRISCOE (+3000) at this price? While it’s a rarity for a driver to go wire-to-wire at Daytona, or any superspeedway for that matter, he is on the pole and he has an advantageous pit position, too.

Briscoe has had his issues in 5 career Cup starts at Daytona, posting just a single top-5 run with 5 laps led, a 21.8 AFP and 3 DNFs, which is 60% of his starts. But for a chance to multiply up by 30 times, he is worth a roll of the dice.

If you want an even larger long shot, let’s go with RILEY HERBST (+6000). He starts 6th, and he managed a 10th-place run in his Cup debut back in February. This will be just his 3rd career Cup start for SHR, and easily his most advantageous starting position, after going off 38th at the 500. He finished 10th in his 1st Daytona Cup start, and he was a respectable 20th at Talladega in April after going off 36th.