The key to successful NASCAR betting is research, plain and simple. The best approach combines a strong understanding of the sport, historical trends and recent events leading up to the race.
Not only do you have to know the history, you also have to follow everything that happens in the week leading up to the race including what’s going on for each driver, each team, the specific race track and the weather conditions.
Let’s take a closer look at the most important parts of NASCAR betting strategy.
Following the Odds
Many people will make their wagers on race day without factoring in anything that’s happened in the week leading up to it. Big mistake. There are heaps of vital information to be had leading into the day of the race.
Oddsmakers will lay odds before qualifying to lure early punters into reckless betting only to remove those odds, observe qualifying speeds, times, performances and pole positions and place newly adjusted odds the day before the race. You definitely want to wait for these later lines because a lot can change in qualifying.
It is highly recommended to check the publicly available practice-lap times on Speed Channel. Sometimes drivers can put up blistering times that may lead to them haven a ‘fastest lap’ time which can earn you a big win on a prop bet.
Sometimes that driver may have little-to-no chance of winning the full race but might still be the one to put up the fastest single lap time of the day.
Driver Behavior and Tendencies
The same way certain athletes have their comfort zones in traditional non-racing sports, so too do drivers. Like a pitcher who always plays his best in a specific ballpark or a quarterback who excels in a certain stadium, some drivers perform their best in different circumstances or places. If you are on top of this knowledge you can gain an edge.
This holds true not just location but also for weather, pole position and track type.
Team Goals and Decision Making
Since NASCAR races have stages and because points are accumulated all season long, sometime a driver and a team will have ulterior motives aside from strictly winning the race.
In some situations, for example it may be that a driver needs to win a stage in a race and will expend all of their efforts early on to achieve this while sacrificing their vehicle for the long haul.
At other times one teammate might sacrifice something in their own performance to help another driver on the team.
Whatever the circumstance, you should never go into a NASCAR wager without knowing that a team might have an ideal approach to a race that could ultimately cost you on your ticket. Do your research and find out first.
Whether
Driving at ludicrous speed amongst more than three dozen other racers trying to pass you is already hard enough without having to worry about the weather. Rain or other inclement conditions can make a big difference. From a betting perspective it’s crucial to pay attention to the weather and how it may affect the race.
Weather poses driving challenges both physically to the car as well as visually for the driver. Surely we know that slick conditions are going to cause problems but what about the heat? If it’s going to be extra hot on race day, expect a lot of slippage as tires lose their grip. A cooler day will help drivers stay the course.
As a savvy punter, you want to factor in the weather on race day but also the weather on qualifying days. Was it the same or different? How will that impact race day performance?
NASCAR Betting Strategy Summary
Overall, remember that in order to win in the short and long term you need to have a well thought out plan and solid strategy. The more information you can gather going on the race the more likely you are to make informed and intelligent wagers.
It isn’t always about swinging for the fences. You wan to find value in your bets. For NASCAR, just as with every sport, you should compare odds across multiple sportsbooks because you don’t want to leave value on the table by paying a higher price for the same bet. You wouldn’t take 3:1 odds from one person when someone else is offering you the same bet at 5:1, would you?
When it comes to specific statistical research for races, our best advice is to look up the specific tracks recent results per driver. Find out how many races they’ve had there, the number of wins, podium placements, top-10s and finishes. These numbers are usually also given with a driver performance rating at a given track.
Ideally, you also want to find