The end of NASCAR”s “regular season” is here. 25 races are in the books, and after Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, the field will be set for the first edition of the 16-driver “Chase.” Saturday night’s race under the lights at the “World Center of Racing” will take place on NBC, with TV time set for 7:30 PM ET. Let’s dive in and take a look at this week’s NASCAR picks, odds, and best bets for the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Denny Hamlin has clinched the top seed in the Chase, and 12 other drivers have locked up their spots in the Chase. Daytona will set their final seeding for the reset before the Southern 500 next week at Darlington. Bubba Wallace enters the race 75 points above the cut line; two points on the day secures his spot to race for a championship. Austin Cindric has a 44-point cushion, and Shane Van Gisbergen is 31 points above. Ryan Preece enters the race 31 points outside of the Chase; Brad Keselowski enters 66 points below. He’ll need a near-perfect day and a lot of help to get in.
Daytona is also the debut of the new “superspeedway package.” In an effort to make the races at Daytona and Talladega even more exciting. NASCAR has implemented the following beginning this weekend. The rear spoiler will be shortened from 7 inches to 4 inches, the same height as intermediate tracks, in an effort to reduce drag, along with a slight reduction in horsepower from 510 to 465 to adjust for the reduced downforce. NASCAR officials anticipate single-car runs to be approximately 3 mph faster than the current package, but cars in a pack are expected to run about the same speeds.
Odds to Win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona
Ryan Blaney +1000
Joey Logano +1200
Austin Cindric +1600
Brad Keselowski +1600
Bubba Wallace +1600
Tyler Reddick +1600
William Byron +1600
Chase Elliott +1800
Chris Buescher +1800
Kyle Larson +1800
Christopher Bell +2000
Carson Hocevar +2000
Denny Hamlin +2200
Alex Bowman +2500
Chase Briscoe +2500
Ryan Preece +2500
Ty Gibbs +2800
Josh Berry +3500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +3500
Ross Chastain +3500
Todd Gilliland +3500
Austin Dillon +4000
Daniel Suarez +4000
Corey Heim +4000
Erik Jones +4000
Zane Smith +4000
Connor Zilisch +5000
Michael McDowell +5000
Noah Gragson +5000
Shane van Gisbergen +5000
A.J. Allmendinger +6000
Austin Hill +6000
John Hunter Nemechek +6000
Ty Dillon +6000
Cole Custer +7500
Riley Herbst +7500
Cody Ware +10000
Casey Mears +15000
Daniel Dye +25000
Gray Gaulding +25000
Joey Gase +25000
NASCAR Picks, Odds, and Best Bets: Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway
Chris Buescher Top 10 Finish (+150)
Chris Buescher has been stellar at Daytona. Over the last seven races at the superspeedway, the RFK driver has finished top 10 in six of them. For as unpredictable as these drafting tracks have been, Buescher always finds a way to be here at the end of the day in the top-10 picture. Over the last 18 races at Daytona, Buescher has been running at the end of 15 of them. Earlier this year at Talladega, Buescher also scored a solid second-place finish. When my friends at Win The Race ran their 200k simulations of this weekend’s race, only Joey Logano finished in the top 10 more than Buescher, who scores the finish 38% of the time.
Carson Hocevar Top Finishing Chevy (+750)
The fun part about betting on superspeedway races is everything is in play. Carson Hocevar has proven to be a menace on this track type. Now the rule changes should be right up the alley of one of the most aggressive drivers in the field. The last time they were at Daytona, Carson Hocevar took the white flag as the race leader in the Daytona 500. He was spun from that lead, but had himself in position. The next week at Atlanta, he scored a third-place finish.
Then, at Talladega, Hocevar scored his first career win. He laid down the most epic victory celebration we’ve seen in a long time. All he has to do to cash this is beat the other Chevrolets in the race, although I like him at 20/1 to win as well.
Iconic. Carson Hocevar celebrates at Talladega hanging out the window. pic.twitter.com/Na2Qf3EPuE
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 26, 2026
Denny Hamlin to Win (+2200)
Denny Hamlin has struggled at Daytona in the NextGen car. His best finish has been a 17th-place run. However, at 22/1 odds, I love how everything lines up for Hamlin this week. The 3-time Daytona 500 champion enters this race having locked up the #1 seed in the Chase. There is nothing on the line for Hamlin in this one. No playoff points, no positioning, absolutely nothing.
If he finishes 40th or first, it makes no difference. Meaning, Hamlin has nothing to lose in this race. He can go all out for the win. Add on the rules package changes that should allow the car to race more like it did during the time Hamlin won those three Daytona 500s. It’s the perfect combination for a great driver at a great price.
Fueled by WIN THE RACE‘s Professional NASCAR Strategy Platform
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