The NASCAR Cup Series at Daytona capping off college football's Week 0 slate is a great way to spend a Saturday.
With just two races until NASCAR's playoff begins, Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400 (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC) is the best opportunity for a driver who doesn't typically run up front to steal a win and earn a surprising postseason berth.
When it comes to NASCAR odds for Daytona, Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin are the race co-favorites at +1200. They're followed by Ryan Blaney (+1400) and Brad Keselowski (+1400).
Personally, I'm bypassing the favorites and keying in on a 30-1 sleeper pick for Saturday night's race.
A Sneaky 30-1 Pick for NASCAR at Daytona
*Odds as of Friday night
While racing at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega is certainly unpredictable, there have been 10 total races at these two tracks since NASCAR introduced the Next Gen car in 2022. Those races give us some interesting data to analyze.
For example, the top-10 drivers in driver rating over those 10 races include mostly heavy hitters – Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, William Byron and Kyle Larson.
On the other hand, Austin Cindric, who ranks fourth in driver rating at Daytona and Talladega since 2022, is a bit of a surprise when compared to the rest of the drivers on that list.
And whenever there's a surprise at the top of a key NASCAR statistical category, there is often also betting value.
Cindric is +3000 to win Saturday's Coke Zero Sugar 400, an enticing enough price to invest in the 2022 Daytona 500 champion.
The Bet: Austin Cindric (+3000) to Win – bet365
