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.

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.

Credit: Getty Images

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)

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.

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

RankDriverStartsBest FinishAverage Finish
1Michael McDowell10111.0
2Denny Hamlin10113.5
3Bubba Wallace8215.1
4Kyle Larson9615.8
5Austin Dillon10116.1
6Ryan Newman10516.2
7Christopher Bell31316.7
8Alex Bowman7717.9
9Ross Chastain6718.2
10Joey Logano10418.3
11Corey LaJoie9618.7
T-12Aric Almirola9418.9
T-12Matt DiBenedetto10718.9
14Ricky Stenhouse Jr.10119.0
15Chris Buescher10319.2

Driver Rating at Daytona

Note: Ratings include current full-time Cup Series drivers and reflect all Daytona races since February 2018

RankDriverStartsCar NumberAverage Driver Rating
1Joey Logano72293.1
2Denny Hamlin71192.1
3Ricky Stenhouse Jr.74787.2
4Kyle Busch71886.3
5Chase Elliott7985.6
6Ryan Blaney71283.8
7Alex Bowman74883.2
8Kevin Harvick7482.8
9Austin Dillon7382.6
10Michael McDowell73482.0
11Christopher Bell32081.4
12William Byron72478.7
13Bubba Wallace72376.9
14Kyle Larson6576.1
15Brad Keselowski7275.2

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.

Credit: News-Journal File

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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Henry’s passion for sports dates all the way back to childhood and has ultimately led to a full-fledged career as an analyst and content creator. After getting his start penning fantasy football articles, he forrayed into the betting side of the business in early 2019. His love for sports and statistics proved to be an ideal match with the dedicated research and strategy that handicapping requires. Henry currently specializes in betting analysis and picks for college football, college basketball and NASCAR. He counts the NFL, the WNBA, and NBA player props as additional leagues/markets of interest. Henry graduated from SUNY Buffalo in 2021 with a Communication Studies degree and a Psychology minor. A native of the Finger Lakes region in Upstate New York, he and his pup, Harold, have since relocated to Laramie, Wyoming. Thanks to his professional goals within the sports betting industry, there has been a whole lot of steam on the odds for a move to Las Vegas in 2023! Most of Henry’s free time is spent on outdoor adventures, playing chess, snowboarding, or reading a good book. He is also a competitive powerlifter and aspires to qualify for the USAPL Nationals meet within the next 2-3 years.

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