With just two races left in the NASCAR Cup Series regular season, the series heads to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC).
I'm not ready to get involved in race-day bets at this point of the week, though NASCAR odds for qualifying, specifically which driver will win pole position, are interesting enough to get involved right now.
Below is a 35-1 long-shot bet I'm making ahead of qualifying for Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.
A 35-1 Long-Shot Bet for NASCAR at Daytona
*Odds as of Tuesday night
Michael McDowell has been a qualifying machine at superspeedway races so far this year, qualifying second for the Daytona 500, first at Atlanta and first against at Talladega.
Unsurprisingly, McDowell is priced among the favorites to win the pole at +800.
However, his Front Row Motorsports Racing teammate, Todd Gilliland, is much further down the odds board at +3500, providing plenty of upside with not much risk.
Gilliland posted the 11th-fastest time at Daytona in February, followed by qualifying efforts of fourth at Atlanta and third at Talladega.
Considering the driver of the No. 38 Ford is driving the same equipment as his teammate, McDowell, while also posting very fast times at superspeedways already this season, it's a bit surprising to see 24 drivers with better odds to win the pole for Saturday's race at Daytona.
In the name of transparency this is not a big bet for me, but it doesn't necessarily have to be at 35-1 odds, either.
The bet: Todd Gilliland (+3500) for Fastest Qualifier — Caesars
