Coke Zero 400 Betting News and Notes

Daytona - Driver Tale of the Tape

Ryan Blaney 18/1 (No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford Fusion)

· One top five, one top 10
· Average finish of 18.500, 10th-best
· Average Running Position of 14.693, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 82.7, eighth-best
· 24 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.307, series-fastest
· 483 Laps in the Top 15 (63.2), third-most
· 953 Quality Passes, 13th-most

Kyle Busch 12/1 (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· One win, seven top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 18.375, eighth-best
· Average Running Position of 13.340, series-best
· Driver Rating of 94.7, series-best
· 97 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.301, second-fastest
· 2893 Laps in the Top 15 (67.7), series-most
· 3313 Quality Passes, sixth-most

Kurt Busch 15/1 (No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fusion)

· One win, 13 top fives, 17 top 10s
· Average finish of 15.208, third-best
· Average Running Position of 15.355, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 90.6, third-best
· 84 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.760, 13th-fastest
· 2660 Laps in the Top 15 (62.3), fifth-most
· 3563 Quality Passes, second-most

Austin Dillon 30/1 (No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet SS)

· One top five, five top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 12.625, series-best
· Average Running Position of 16.857, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 79.4, 13th-best
· 34 Fastest Laps Run, 13th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.171, seventh-fastest
· 773 Laps in the Top 15 (53.8 ), 10th-most
· 1142 Quality Passes, 12th-most

Dale Earnhardt Jr 8/1 (No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Four wins, 13 top fives, 19 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 14.680, second-best
· Average Running Position of 13.634, second-best
· Driver Rating of 94.2, second-best
· 100 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.236, fifth-fastest
· 2917 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2), second-most
· 3522 Quality Passes, third-most

Denny Hamlin 10/1 (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· One win, six top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 17.130, sixth-best
· Average Running Position of 14.596, third-best
· Driver Rating of 89.7, fourth-best
· 91 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.237, fourth-fastest
· 2416 Laps in the Top 15 (58.8 ), sixth-most
· 3175 Quality Passes, seventh-most

Kevin Harvick 12/1 (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fusion)

· Two wins, nine top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 16.760, fifth-best
· Average Running Position of 19.464, 13th-best
· Driver Rating of 82.3, ninth-best
· 107 Fastest Laps Run, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.141, eighth-fastest
· 2192 Laps in the Top 15 (49.0), 13th-most
· 2929 Quality Passes, ninth-most

Jimmie Johnson 18/1 (No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Three wins, 11 top fives, 14 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 20.320, 11th-best
· Average Running Position of 14.660, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.6, sixth-best
· 57 Fastest Laps Run, third-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.211, sixth-fastest
· 2818 Laps in the Top 15 (63.0), fourth-most
· 3433 Quality Passes, fifth-most

Kasey Kahne 30/1 (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet SS)

· Two top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 18.480, ninth-best
· Average Running Position of 16.508, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 81.9, 10th-best
· 77 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.981, 10th-fastest
· 2414 Laps in the Top 15 (54.0), ninth-most
· 3514 Quality Passes, fourth-most

Matt Kenseth 15/1 (No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota Camry)

· Two wins, six top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 18.120, seventh-best
· Average Running Position of 16.244, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 86.8, seventh-best
· 94 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.792, 12th-fastest
· 2574 Laps in the Top 15 (57.5), seventh-most
· 2975 Quality Passes, eighth-most

Brad Keselowski 7/1 (No. 2 Team Penske Ford Fusion)

· One win, three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 21.125, 12th-best
· Average Running Position of 17.531, 12th-best
· Driver Rating of 79.6, 12th-best
· 58 Fastest Laps Run, second-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.830, 11th-fastest
· 1464 Laps in the Top 15 (51.0), 12th-most
· 2389 Quality Passes, 11th-most

Joey Logano 10/1 (No. 22 Team Penske Ford Fusion)

· One win, four top fives, seven top 10s
· Average finish of 16.235, fourth-best
· Average Running Position of 16.357, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.8, fifth-best
· 69 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.279, third-fastest
· 1685 Laps in the Top 15 (55.7), eighth-most
· 2741 Quality Passes, 10th-most

Jamie McMurray 25/1 (No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet SS)

· Two wins, three top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 21.800, 13th-best
· Average Running Position of 17.432, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 80.3, 11th-best
· 71 Fastest Laps Run, series-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 191.031, ninth-fastest
· 2384 Laps in the Top 15 (53.3), 11th-most
· 3893 Quality Passes, series-most

Coke Zero 400 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

We get our third of four restrictor-plate races on the season with Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway's 2.5-mile, high-banked layout. Dating back to the spring Talladega race last season, Ford has won the past five plate-races. Will a Chevrolet or Toyota break the run this week? How about a Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota finally winning a race on the season?

JGR's Denny Hamlin won last years Daytona 500 and that's the last non-Ford to grab a plate win. The last three winners in 2016 were by a Team Penske Ford, including Brad Keselowski's win in this race where he led 115 laps. He also won at Talladega in the spring and led the most laps at Talladega during the playoffs.

Stewart Haas Racing's Kurt Busch won the Daytona 500 in February in the teams first attempt in a Ford after departing Chevrolet following last season. It was also the elder of the Busch brothers first plate win in his 64th attempt at it. He was considered the best plate racer to never win a race. In his last nine plate races he's got an 8.7 average finish. The next most consistent is Penske's Joey Logano with a 13.1 average that includes three wins.

At Talladega in May, Ricky Stenhouse captured his first career win, but it was Kyle Busch (finished third) and Denny Hamlin (11th) who led the most laps. Keselowski led the third most laps (31) and finished seventh.

Obviously Ford has something clicking in the plate races and one of their drivers is a good place to start, but also note that Busch's winning car is on display at Daytona for the entire year. His teammates Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick have always been good in plate races. You've got the Penske cars, including Ryan Blaney who finished second in the Daytona 500, and you've also got Roush Fenway Fords showing power.

There's lots to mull over this week. Up to 32 cars have a legitimate chance to win with the plates on, but there will be one driver I'll surely be rooting for as a fan and bettor as I watch NBC's first race broadcast of the season. This could be Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s last race at Daytona as he's set to retire at the end of the season.

For me, the Dale Jr angle is a big deal. There's a possibility that he could race at Daytona again someday, so this might not be the final time he starts at Daytona, but the link between he and the track make the possibility he won't ever race at Daytona enough to care that this might be his last. Make sense?

As a refresher, this is the track where his father died on the last lap of the 2011 Daytona 500. The cars Dale Earnhardt Sr. owned driven by Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr were running 1-2 when it was Dale Sr who was blocking for them which ultimately caused his fatal accident. I was there that day and it was the most emotional part of any sport I had ever been involved with. No words from my friend Fred and I on the way back to our Orlando hotel because we knew it was bad omen when the safety crew posts curtains around a wrecked car. We got word he passed from the radio while stuck in traffic.

After that, I immediately became a fan of Dale Jr and rooted for him to do well. I couldn't imagine the emotions he had to deal with. His father was the most popular driver is NASCAR, the biggest name in NASCAR and all of his fans jumped onto the back of Dale Jr. We were all rooting for him to do well, but he was a mess in the ensuing weeks.

We would see the third Dale Earnhardt Incorporated car driven by Steve Park win at Rockingham the week after the Daytona 500. A week later, Dale Sr's biggest rival, Jeff Gordon, would win at Las Vegas and then a week after that a rookie named Kevin Harvick, who took over Dale Sr's RCR car and put No. 29 over the famed No. 3, would win by a bumper at Atlanta. Dale Jr struggled. His head wasn't in it and it was quite understandable.

Junior went through the first 16 races of the season with little purpose or desire which is why when the Daytona summer race (Pepsi 400) happened, I figured it was the perfect scenario for everything to go Dale Jr's way. A redemption of sorts on the track that took his fathers life. I wrote about it all in this very space for VegasInsider.com and suggested a wager on Dale Jr at 12-to-1 odds was a great bet.

He ended up leading 116 of the 160 laps and took the lead over for good with five laps to go. His teammate, Waltrip, who won the Daytona 500 in February would return the favor and be pushing him the entire way and made it impossible for anyone to catch and pass Junior. Waltrip sure as heck wasn't going to try and pass, either. It still remains one of my favorite races of all-time. Who sheds a tear when someone wins a car race? I've only done it once and that was it.

Dale Jr. would go on to win two more races that season and then for the next few years he would be considered the best restrictor-plate driver in NASCAR. He's won four times at Daytona, including this race in 2015. His 10 plate wins are the most among active drivers -- Keselowski and Jimmie Johnson have the second-most with five wins each.

I've bet him to win there again this week and it's not just nostalgia and hopes to see something magical at Daytona happen again. Dale Jr. is the biggest name is NASCAR right now. Of course I want to see him go out a winner and make the playoffs. But there's much more to it.

The question with Dale Jr. is whether or not his mind is into it and I got an answer to that last week at Sonoma. He's never won on a road course in his career, but he had the real look of determination last week. It began with an outstanding set of practices on Friday, great qualifying on Saturday and then a sixth-place finish on Sunday. I was impressed and it was at that moment I said to myself that this guy is going to win at Daytona next week.

Next week is here, let's do this!

Top-5 Finish Prediction

1) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8/1)
2) #11 Denny Hamlin (12/1)
3) #18 Kyle Busch (12/1)
4) #41 Kurt Busch (15/1)
5) #2 Brad Keselowski (8/1)

Coke Zero 400 Predictions
By Adam Burke
Bangthebook.com

In a Family Feud style sampling of 100 people, Daytona International Speedway would probably be the number one answer in the “Name a NASCAR race track” category. Well, that track also happens to be the site of this weekend’s Coke Zero 400. It will be a long week for the truck and trailer drivers that shuttle the teams from place to place after last week’s event all the way out in Sonoma, California. Prior to that, the circuit was at Michigan International Speedway, so the miles are racking up on the teams.

This will be the first race on the NBC family of networks, which owns the rights to the rest of the season after Fox and Fox Sports 1 shared duties over the first 16 races and the duels at Daytona that opened up the season. As we all know, Daytona is a restrictor plate race track and the odds for the Coke Zero 400 certainly reflect what that means for the field.

This is the 17th race of the 26-race regular season and almost the midpoint of the season as a whole, which ends with race #36 at Homestead-Miami Speedway, where a champion will be crowned on November 19. Through 16 races and the duels, Kyle Larson is your points leader with 659 points. Martin Truex Jr. was on pace to pass him, but finished 37th at Sonoma with a blown engine. Truex won the first stage and led the most laps on the road course. He has 646 points. Kevin Harvick has 548 points after scoring his first win of the season last week. Kyle Busch is fourth with 542 points. Brad Keselowski is fifth with 519 points.

Chase Elliott is sixth with 509 points. Jimmie Johnson, the only driver with three wins this season, is seventh with 483 points. Jamie McMurray, Denny Hamlin, and Clint Bowyer round out the top 10. Not everybody was happy with the finish order at Sonoma, but the fact that Kevin Harvick won allowed some teams to breathe a sigh of relief, as Ryan Blaney, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., and Austin Dillon all have wins and sit outside the top 10 in points. Adding another one to the mix like Chris Buescher or AJ Allmendinger would have been bad for some teams on the bubble.

We’re likely to see some competitive and tight racing this weekend at the Coke Zero 400. The odds back that up. Kyle Busch is the race favorite at 5Dimes Sportsbook at +650. Busch was 38th in the Daytona 500, though he did win the first stage before running into trouble. He was third with the most laps led at Talladega, the other restrictor plate track on the schedule. Busch has never won the Daytona 500 and hasn’t won this race since 2008. That’s his only win at Daytona. He did finish second in this race last year after finishing second at Talladega in the spring, so he has run well in these restrictor plate races. He was third in the 500 last year. It makes sense to see him atop the board.

Brad Keselowski comes in at +700. One thing that restrictor plate races do is level the playing field from a manufacturer standpoint. It becomes about the driver at that point. Joe Gibbs Racing is probably the most product team out there, but that team has one career win in the 500 and hasn’t won the Coke Zero 400 since 2008. The first win for Team Penske in this race came last year when Keselowski picked up his first win in this race and first career Daytona win. Keselowski was fourth in his duel with the most laps led and finished seventh with a Stage 1 win at Talladega. His last top-five finish at Daytona before last year’s win was the 2014 Daytona 500 when he finished third.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is calling it quits after the season with some long-term concerns about his health. It would be great to see Junior grab a win and make the NASCAR playoffs in his final year. Realistically, he’s probably got one shot left and that’s this one. The second race at Talladega falls during the NASCAR playoffs and Earnhardt’s team probably won’t grab a win outside of a restrictor plate race. Earnhardt Jr. has four career Daytona wins, which is one more than his old man. Quietly, Earnhardt’s team has gotten it going lately, with a ninth at Michigan and a sixth at Sonoma. They’re trending upward and +850 isn’t a bad price, though it’s not a great one either.

Denny Hamlin checks in at +950 with one win at Daytona under his belt. He won the Daytona 500 two years ago in the closest finish in NASCAR history. Hamlin won his duel earlier this year at this track and won the second stage at Talladega to scoop up some points despite finishing 11th. He was third in this race two years ago and sixth the year before that. He tends to be a factor in restrictor plate races, so he may be a decent look.

Those looking under the radar a bit may want to consider Chase Elliott at +1500. Elliott won his Daytona Duel to open the season and has been the fastest qualifier at each of the last two Daytona 500 races. He hasn’t parlayed those starts into good finishes and doesn’t have much of a track record, but he also had the pole at Talladega in the spring last year. A lot of times, these restrictor plate races are just crapshoots. If Elliott can stay out of the inevitable wrecks, he’s shown a knack for having some good speed in these types of races.

The only active two-time winner of this race is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jimmie Johnson and Matt Kenseth have two Daytona 500 wins and Johnson has an additional win in this race, but that speaks to how hard it is to avoid all of the wrecks and come out on top in these events. That means that a lot of different guys have a chance to win. That makes for a tough handicap, but usually some pretty good racing.

Daytona Fantasy Racing Preview
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com

Detailed driver notes and statistics to help set your fantasy racing lineup for Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.

Who's HOT at Daytona

• Joey Logano has finished sixth or better in four of the last five races, including a win in the 2015 Daytona 500.
• Denny Hamlin has finished sixth or better in the last five of the last seven races, including a win in the 2016 Daytona 500.
• Kurt Busch has finished in the top 10 in four of the last five races, including a win in this year's Daytona 500.
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads all drivers with 601 laps led and has two wins in the last seven races, including this event in 2015.
• Austin Dillon has finished in the top 10 in five of the last seven races, including the last three Coke Zero 400.
• Brad Keselowski won this event last season after leading 115 laps.
• Jimmie Johnson, who is the last driver to sweep both races at Daytona in 2013, has finished in the top five in three of the last seven races and has led 114 laps in that span.
• Kevin Harvick has finished in the top five in three of the last five races and led 50 laps in this year's Daytona 500.
• Kyle Busch, winner of this event in 2008, has finished in the top three in two of the last three races.

Keep an Eye On at Daytona

• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. gave Ford its second restrictor-plate win this season in May at Talladega.
• Clint Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in the last four Coke Zero 400s.
• Trevor Bayne has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four starts, including a third-place finish in this event last year.
• Martin Truex Jr. has a top 10 Driver Rating since 2015 at Daytona.
• Ryan Blaney finished second in this year's Daytona 500 for his third career top 10 at a restrictor-plate track.
• Kasey Kahne (6.0), Paul Menard (7.0), Kyle Larson (12.0), Matt DiBenedetto (13.5) and Jamie McMurray (15.0) rank in the top 10 in average finish in the two restrictor-plate races this season. McMurray is a two-time Daytona winner, including this event in 2007.
• Chase Elliott has three poles, 78 laps led and one top five in six restrictor-plate starts.
• Logano, Erik Jones, Ryan Newman, Danica Patrick tested the new tire combination in April that will be used this weekend at Daytona.

MRN.com Staff Picks

Jeff Wackerlin: Clint Bowyer
Pete Pistone: Joey Logano
Robbie Mays: Denny Hamlin
Tyler Burnett: Chase Elliott
John Singler: Joey Logano

Driver Notes - Ordered by Average Finish (Top 15) in the Last 10 Races (Four or More Starts) at Daytona

Denny Hamlin has finished 17th in the last two Daytona races. Those two finishes snapped a streak of five consecutive finishes of sixth or better, including a win in the 2016 Daytona 500. Hamlin's best finish in the July race is third (2009 and 2015). This season, Hamlin has led 43 laps and posted a 14.0 average finish in the two restrictor-plate races.

Austin Dillon has finished in the top 10 in five of his last seven starts at Daytona. He's finished seventh or better in the last three July races. A crash at Talladega in the spring raised Dillon's finishing average to 27.5 in the two restrictor-plate races this season.

Joey Logano has finished sixth or better in his last three Daytona starts, including a fourth-place run in this event last year. He's combined to lead 53 laps in his last five starts, including 31 en route to the win in the 2015 Daytona 500. A crash in the spring at Talladega raised Logano's average finish to 19.0 in the two restrictor-plate races this season.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his fourth Daytona win and second in the July race in 2015. Since the win, Earnhardt has finished 21st or worse with two crashes in the Daytona 500. Earnhardt led 96 laps en route to his last win and has led a series leading 601 overall. This season, Earnhardt has posted a 29.5 average finish in the two restrictor-plate races.

Kurt Busch scored his first win in 32 starts at Daytona in this year's Daytona 500. The win was one of five top 10s in the last seven races. Busch finished sixth in the spring at Talladega to give him a series leading 3.5 average finish in the two restrictor-plate races this season.

Ryan Newman finished eighth in this event in 2015 for his only top 10 in seven Daytona starts with Richard Childress Racing. Newman won the 2008 Daytona 500 with Team Penske and has seven top 10s in 31 overall starts. Newman's 21st-place finish in this year's Daytona 500 is his best in the two restrictor-plate races this season.

Brad Keselowski scored his first Daytona win in this event last year after leading 115 laps. The win was his first top 10 since the 2014 Daytona 500. Keselowski's best restrictor-plate finish this season came at Talladega where he led 31 laps en route to a seventh-place finish.

Jimmie Johnson scored his last of three Daytona wins in this event in 2013 when he swept both races that year. Johnson's last of 14 top 10s in 31 overall starts came in this event in 2015, in second. Johnson finished 34th in this year's Daytona 500 after a crash, but went on to finish eighth at Talladega.

Ryan Blaney finished second in this year's Daytona 500 to lower his average finish to 18.5 in four Daytona starts. A crash at Talladega raised his average finish to 20.5 in the two restrictor-plate races this season.

Clint Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in his last four starts in the July race at Daytona. He finished 32nd in his first track start with Stewart-Haas Racing in this year's Daytona 500 after be involved in an accident. Bowyer led 10 laps and finished 14th at Talladega in the spring with SHR.

Kevin Harvick has finished in the top five in three of his last five Daytona starts with Stewart-Haas Racing, including a fourth-place finish in this event in 2015. Harvick led 50 laps in this year's Daytona 500 before being involved in a multi-car accident. Harvick finished 23rd at Talladega in the spring after leading 15 laps.

Kyle Busch has finished in the top three in two of his last three Daytona starts, including a runner-up in this event last year. Busch's lone Daytona win came in this event in 2008. This year, Busch has led the most laps (66) in the two restrictor-plate races.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished fifth in this event last year for just his second top 10 in 10 Daytona starts. Stenhouse is the most recent restrictor-plate race winner - winning at Talladega from the pole.

Michael McDowell has finished in the top 15 in his last three Daytona starts, including a 10th-place run in this event last year. Two of McDowell's three top 10s at Daytona have come in the July race.

Jamie McMurray scored his last of five top 10s at Daytona in this event in 2013. McMurray is a two-time Daytona winner with one coming in this event in 2007 when he drove for Roush Fenway Racing. McMurray finished second at Talladega in the spring to lower his average finish to 15.0 in the two restrictor-plate races this season. He led 13 laps in the Daytona 500 before being involved in an accident.

Coke Zero 400 - Drivers to Bet
By: StatFox.com

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to iconic Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night. Last week, the drivers competed in the Toyota/Save Mart 350. Kevin Harvick is the guy that emerged victorious in that one, and Clint Bowyer was the runner-up. Now the drivers will be giving it a go in Daytona Beach, where all of them will be eager to win on one of the sports’ biggest stages. One driver to keep an eye on here is Dale Earnhardt Jr. The legendary driver is the only guy in this race that has won the Coke Zero 400 twice in his career. He is incredible at Daytona International Speedway, and he’ll surely be extra excited for this one. Earnhardt Jr. is retiring after the season, so this could very well be his last race ever at his favorite track. He’ll want to go out with a bang. The team that has won this race the most is Wood Brothers Racing, but they have not had a winner since 1983. Second on the list of most successful teams would be Hendrick Motorsports, which has had a winner in two of the past four Coke Zero 400s. As for the manufacturers that have been the most successful, Chevrolet and Ford share that claim. Both Chevy and Ford have 18 winners here, but Ford has had two of the past three winners. With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the best values:

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (7-to-1) - Dale Earnhardt Jr. has not been considered this much of a favorite in quite some type, but it is for good reason. He has been driving extremely well in recent weeks, coming in ninth at the FireKeepers Casino 400 two weeks ago and following that up with a sixth-place finish at the Toyota/Save Mart 350 last week. And, as previously mentioned, Earnhardt Jr. has already won this race twice in his career. He is very comfortable driving at Daytona, and he definitely will be fueled to win this one. Don’t be afraid to back him at 7-to-1.

Chase Elliott (12-to-1) - Elliott is getting some favorable 12-to-1 odds this week, and it would be wise to take a shot on him this week. Elliott has never won a Monster Energy Cup Series race, but that is going to change very soon. He just might be the hottest driver right now, as he has finished inside the top-five in two of the past four races. And it’s not like he struggled in the other two. Elliott finished in eighth in each of the other two races. He is confident right now and should be able to break through shortly.

Clint Bowyer (18-to-1) - Clint Bowyer has not won a race since 2012, but there is pretty good reason to believe that he’ll change that rather shortly. Bowyer has had a very good season thus far, as he has finished in second place twice already and also has four other top-10 finishes. One of those second-place finishes came at last week’s Toyota/Save Mart 350. That means he should be confident when he gets behind the wheel on Saturday.

Austin Dillon (40-to-1) - Austin Dillon is receiving 40-to-1 odds and it almost seems like Vegas has not caught on to how good of a driver he is. Dillon has come in seventh in the Coke Zero 400 two years in a row, and he also happens to have a victory already this season. Dillon won the Coca-Cola 600, and he’ll be hoping that yet another cola related event brings him luck. He is certainly worth a shot with the odds he is getting, as he would pay out very well if he won.