The NASCAR Cup Series regular season will conclude this weekend at the same track where it began: Daytona International Speedway. The Coke Zero Sugar 400 will be run under the lights on Saturday night. It marks the 26th and final race before the start of the NASCAR Playoffs and serves as the final opportunity for drivers to win their way into the championship chase. The 2.5-mile, high-banked oval is as unpredictable as any track on the circuit. That being said, there are plenty of NASCAR betting trends and stats to be mindful of when handicapping this weekend’s action.
The following article looks at several different types of NASCAR betting trends, lays out driver stats specific to Daytona International Speedway and more to help get you set for Saturday night’s racing action.
NASCAR Betting Trends for the Coke Zero Sugar 400
The sections below break down several different types of NASCAR betting trends specific to the Coke Zero Sugar 400 race. These trends can be useful when making DFS and betting picks on this Saturday’s race.
NASCAR Betting Driver Trends
Given the unpredictability of superspeedway racing, perhaps it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that no current NASCAR Cup Series driver has multiple Coke Zero Sugar 400 victories. The majority of names atop the all-time driver wins list were driving in the days before restrictor plates and tapered engine spacers. David Pearson stands alone with five wins in this race, including a three-peat from 1972-74. Cale Yarborough notched four wins and Fireball Roberts, who won the inaugural race in 1959, wound up with three total victories.
There are only two drivers to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 three or more times with at least one of those victories coming after the turn of the century. Tony Stewart won the event a whopping four times in just an eight-year span from 2005-12. Jeff Gordon finished his career with three total wins in this race. The most recent came in 2004. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s win in 2015 was the last time a driver with a previous Coke Zero Sugar 400 victory took the checkered flag.
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Although interesting, the historical NASCAR Cup Series stats and records for the race don’t exactly aid in projecting what we might see on Saturday night. When it comes to NASCAR betting trends for drivers, the best approaches are to look at those who have a strong track record at Daytona International Speedway, as well as the other superspeedway track on the series circuit, Talladega Superspeedway. Study the tables with driver stats below to see how the current field has performed in recent races at Daytona.
Active Drivers to Win Coke Zero Sugar 400
As mentioned above, no active driver has won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 more than once. In total, seven full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers have previously won the race. In chronological order, they are:
- Kyle Busch (2008)
- Kevin Harvick (2010)
- Aric Almirola (2014)
- Brad Keselowski (2016)
- Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (2017)
- Erik Jones (2018)
- William Byron (2020)
NASCAR Betting Team Trends
Wood Brothers Racing leads all race teams with nine total victories in this race. However, the most recent came all the way back in 1983 and six of the nine came by way of just two drivers (Pearson and Yarborough). The Wood Brothers have been sitting on 99 all-time wins for a while now. Current driver Matt DiBenedetto not only must win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 in order to qualify for the NASCAR Playoffs, but he is also still searching for a ride next season. Could DiBenedetto and the No. 21 team put it all together on Saturday night?
Looking at other NASCAR betting trends for race teams, Hendrick Motorsports sits second on the all-time Coke Zero Sugar 400 wins list with seven victories. That total includes William Byron’s victory last year. Furthermore, HMS drivers have driven to victory in three of the last eight editions of the race. Meanwhile, Roush Fenway Racing ranks third with five total wins. The most recent came by way of current JTG Daugherty Racing driver Ricky Stenhouse Jr. in 2017.
NASCAR Betting Manufacturer Trends
Chevrolet holds a razor-thin lead over Ford when it comes to total manufacturer wins in the Coke Zero Sugar 400. William Byron’s 2020 victory broke a tie and gave Chevy a 20-19 advantage over Ford. Toyota, the only other current manufacturer, has just two total wins.
Daytona International Speedway Driver Statistics
The tables below contain NASCAR betting driver statistics specific to recent races at Daytona International Speedway.
Average Finish at Daytona International Speedway
Note: Data taken from the ten most recent Daytona races and includes current full-time Cup Series drivers with multiple starts
| Rank | Driver | Starts | Best Finish | Average Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Michael McDowell | 10 | 1 | 11.0 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 10 | 1 | 13.5 |
| 3 | Bubba Wallace | 8 | 2 | 15.1 |
| 4 | Kyle Larson | 9 | 6 | 15.8 |
| 5 | Austin Dillon | 10 | 1 | 16.1 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | 10 | 5 | 16.2 |
| 7 | Christopher Bell | 3 | 13 | 16.7 |
| 8 | Alex Bowman | 7 | 7 | 17.9 |
| 9 | Ross Chastain | 6 | 7 | 18.2 |
| 10 | Joey Logano | 10 | 4 | 18.3 |
| 11 | Corey LaJoie | 9 | 6 | 18.7 |
| T-12 | Aric Almirola | 9 | 4 | 18.9 |
| T-12 | Matt DiBenedetto | 10 | 7 | 18.9 |
| 14 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 10 | 1 | 19.0 |
| 15 | Chris Buescher | 10 | 3 | 19.2 |
Driver Rating at Daytona
Note: Ratings include current full-time Cup Series drivers and reflect all Daytona races since February 2018
| Rank | Driver | Starts | Car Number | Average Driver Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Joey Logano | 7 | 22 | 93.1 |
| 2 | Denny Hamlin | 7 | 11 | 92.1 |
| 3 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 7 | 47 | 87.2 |
| 4 | Kyle Busch | 7 | 18 | 86.3 |
| 5 | Chase Elliott | 7 | 9 | 85.6 |
| 6 | Ryan Blaney | 7 | 12 | 83.8 |
| 7 | Alex Bowman | 7 | 48 | 83.2 |
| 8 | Kevin Harvick | 7 | 4 | 82.8 |
| 9 | Austin Dillon | 7 | 3 | 82.6 |
| 10 | Michael McDowell | 7 | 34 | 82.0 |
| 11 | Christopher Bell | 3 | 20 | 81.4 |
| 12 | William Byron | 7 | 24 | 78.7 |
| 13 | Bubba Wallace | 7 | 23 | 76.9 |
| 14 | Kyle Larson | 6 | 5 | 76.1 |
| 15 | Brad Keselowski | 7 | 2 | 75.2 |
Tradition of U.S. Presidents at Daytona International Speedway
Alright, now for a little fun section to wrap things up. For those who don’t already know, the sport of NASCAR traces its roots to the flat coast of Daytona Beach. Hence why the Daytona 500 is also known as “The Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing.” When it comes to NASCAR, it doesn’t get any bigger or more prestigious than Daytona International Speedway. And while the 500 is certainly the bigger race of the two, winning the Coke Zero Sugar 400 is still a monumental career achievement for those drivers who pull off the feat. Given the magnitude of any and all NASCAR Cup Series events held at Daytona, multiple U.S. Presidents have attended, and, even taken part in the festivities, over the years.
President Ronald Reagan the First to Attend NASCAR Racing at Daytona
The tradition of sitting presidents attending actually began with the 1984 running of the Coke Zero 400, known then as the “Firecracker 400.” Given the race’s historical link to Independence Day, a tradition that ended after the 2019 season as part of NASCAR scheduling changes, President Ronald Reagan made the decision to become the first U.S. President to attend. He served as the grand marshal watched the race alongside former driver Ned Jarrett in the Tower Suites. The photograph of Reagan touching down on Air Force One right behind the iconic No. 43 car of Richard Petty turning a practice lap is timeless and awe-inspiring to this day.
Since Reagan attended the ’84 Firecracker 400, three other sitting U.S. Presidents have been present for NASCAR Cup Series action at Daytona International Speedway. President George H. W. Bush was at the 1992 Pepsi 400, which just so happened to be Petty’s final race at the speedway. In 2000, Texas governor George W. Bush attended the race while on the summer presidential campaign trail. Bush would return to “The World Center of Racing” for the 2004 Daytona 500, becoming the third sitting president to attend.
President Donald Trump Serves as Daytona 500 Grand Marshal
A U.S. President in attendance at a NASCAR race is pretty surreal by itself. Well, President Donald Trump upped the anty last year. Not only did Trump attend the 2020 Daytona 500, but he was actively involved in the pre-race festivities as well. No. 45 became the first president to serve as grand marshal for the Daytona 500. After giving the ceremonial command to start the engines, Trump and his Presidential motorcade took a lap around the 2.5-mile track. It was an unforgettable scene as is typically the case whenever NASCAR returns to its Daytona Beach roots.
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