NASCAR Predictions at Daytona 2025: Coke Zero Sugar 400 Odds, Best Prop Bets & Expert Picks

The NASCR Cup Series playoffs are around the corner as the regular season ends. We’ll dive into the Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds to dish out our NASCAR predictions for this weekend’s action, which you can tune into on Saturday, Aug. 23, as multiple drivers look to lock themselves into the postseason.

Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano (+1000) are this weekend's betting favorites ahead of the 7:30 p.m. ET race at Daytona International Speedway. Watch the race on NBC.

📊 2025 NASCAR odds & favorites at Daytona

Here are the latest Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds and favorites at [LOCATION] via BetMGM as of Friday.

🥇 Coke Zero Sugar 400 betting favorites 🥇

• Ryan Blaney, +1000 ($10 to win $100)
• Joey Logano, +1000 ($10 to win $100)
• Austin Cindric, +1200 ($10 to win $120)
• Brad Keselowski, +1300 ($10 to win $130)
• Kyle Busch, +1400 ($10 to win $140)
• Chase Elliott, +1600 ($10 to win $160)
• Kyle Larson, +1600 ($10 to win $160)
• William Byron, +1600 ($10 to win $160)
• Christopher Bell, +1800 ($10 to win $180)
• Denny Hamlin, +2000 ($10 to win $200)
• Tyler Reddick, +2000 ($10 to win $200)
• Alex Bowman, +2000 ($10 to win $200)
• Chris Buescher, +2000 ($10 to win $200)
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr, +2000 ($10 to win $200)
• Bubba Wallace, +2200 ($10 to win $220)
• Ryan Preece, +2500 ($10 to win $250)
• Chase Briscoe, +3000 ($10 to win $300)
• Ross Chastain, +3000 ($10 to win $300)
• Ty Dillon, +3000 ($10 to win $300)

Claim our BetMGM bonus code, SBRBONUS, to receive up to $1,500 in bonus bets by placing a wager of any amount on the Coke Zero Sugar 400 or any other market!

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🏁 NASCAR predictions, expert picks & best bets at Daytona

Daytona, like Talladega and now Atlanta, is a drafting track. That means NASCAR, to keep drivers safe, effectively limits drivers’ top speeds. Without those limits, drivers were cracking 210 mph in the late 1980s, a speed that posed profound safety risks at the time.

Drafting tracks act as major equalizers, as equipment advantages matter less when top speeds are capped. As a result, surprising winners in underfunded equipment are common. Further, just as some drivers are more talented on road courses, others are more talented in the draft.

With this race marking the end of the regular season, many drivers must either win this race or face elimination, including a few of my picks to win. Ultimately, I predict Brad Keselowski will win the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona.

🏆 Pick to win Coke Zero Sugar 400: Brad Keselowski +1400 ⭐⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: +1400 via ESPN BET ($10 to win $140)
🔢 Implied probability: 6.67%

The No. 6 Ford has found itself at the front of the field for at least a lap in the last three races, but unfortunately for driver Brad Keselowski, never on the last lap. The veteran driver needs a win to make the playoffs this year, but his talent in the draft means such a performance could be in the cards.

Between Talladega, Daytona, and the repaved Atlanta, Keselowski has seven wins on drafting tracks along with 18 top 5s. Not listed there are several events that he dominated but crashed out of, an unfortunate consequence of the tight-nit pack racing caused by the draft. 

Keselowski is the favorite at DraftKings at +1000 but is a more generous +1400 via ESPN BET. With him in another all-or-nothing situation, I trust him more than anyone else in the field to get the job done, especially after he almost broke through for a win at Atlanta just two months ago.

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💎 Best value bet to win Coke Zero Sugar 400: Chris Buescher +2000 ⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: +2000 via BetMGM ($10 to win $200)
🔢 Implied probability: 4.76%

Keselowski’s teammate, Chris Buescher, has also found victory in the draft. He won the spring Daytona race in 2023, following a fourth-place finish in that year’s Daytona 500. While he isn’t as dominant at these venues as Keselowski, he faces the same issue: win, or his season is over.

This year, Buescher has been solid in the draft. He scored a top 10 after leading at Atlanta in the summer. He also brought the No. 17 Ford home inside the top 10 in the Daytona 500. Accidents cost him at Atlanta and Talladega, but he has the equipment necessary to run up front.

Like Keselowski, Buescher’s odds vary to a surprising degree depending upon the sportsbook. DraftKings lists him at +1300, but we can get him for a nice +2000 - enough to yield a $200 profit on a $10 bet - at that site.

🎯 Best long shot to win Coke Zero Sugar 400: Zane Smith +7000 ⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: +7000 via DraftKings ($10 to win $700)
🔢 Implied probability: 1.41%

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The Fords looked fast early at Atlanta two months ago, but after many drivers for the manufacturer decided to stay out to take stage points, an accident took out most of the Blue Ovals. Keselowski, Buescher, and Zane Smith avoided the accident, and they managed to stick at the front of the field for most of the day.

Smith’s performance in that race serves as a great reminder of how great he can be in the draft. He ranked sixth by average green-flag speed, led five laps, and scored the fifth-best driver rating - all in underwhelming Front Row Motorsports equipment. He legitimately looked like a threat to win.

While Smith’s No. 38 Ford hasn’t been great this year, Smith has shown enough talent in the lower series in the draft to warrant some faith in him: He won twice at Daytona in the Truck Series. With a simple $10 bet returning $700 in profit, Smith is well worth a shot.

💰 Best NASCAR prop bets & picks at Daytona

The three drivers above have one thing in common: they pilot Fords. Since 2023, Fords have led a dominant 62.5% of the laps on drafting tracks. This year, they have led a still-impressive 56.3% of the laps. As a result, we’re backing Ford to win this race - and we’re getting exposure to a true long shot to score a top 10 result.

🔥 Best prop bet for Coke Zero Sugar 400: Ford Winning Manufacturer +145 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: +145 via DraftKings ($10 to win $14.50)
🔢 Implied probability: 40.82%

When you do that math, Ford leading 56.2% of the laps on drafting tracks this season, over a four-race sample, would likely mean they won at least two of them, and possibly a third. Their inability to lead the last lap has been an issue, but it screams bad luck more than it suggests bad performance.

When looking at the odds board on DraftKings, Ford drivers take the first three spots. Of the 10 drivers with the shortest odds, six of them – Brad Keselowski (+1000), Joey Logano (+1100), Ryan Blaney (+1100), Chris Buescher (+1300), Austin Cindric (+1400), and Ryan Preece (+1700) drive Fords.

Look for another Blue Oval to end up in Victory Lane on Saturday.

🚀 Best long-shot prop bet for Coke Zero Sugar 400: Casey Mears top 10 +1400 ⭐⭐⭐

📊 Best odds: +1400 via FanDuel ($10 to win $1400)
🔢 Implied probability: 6.67%

If you’re new to NASCAR, the name Casey Mears may not mean anything to you. But Mears is a veteran driver with 26 starts at Daytona - along with six top 10s. He ran at Martinsville for the new Garage 66 team earlier in the year, and he now returns to drive their No. 66 Ford at Daytona.

According to team co-owner and former driver Carl Long, the team has secured a Robert Yates engine and a trained pit crew, so Mears shouldn’t be stuck out of the draft. While he probably won’t compete for a win, with enough attrition in front of him, he could easily steal a top 10 result.

With a 40-car field taking the track on Saturday night, the raw odds of any driver scoring a top 10 result equate to 25%. We’re getting almost 20 percentage points of a discount relative to that number, making it hard to pass up.

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📈 NASCAR trends & Daytona International Speedway history

Here are a few Coke Zero Sugar 400 trends to consider before betting on Saturday’s race at Daytona International Speedway.

🏎️ Qualifying, schmualifying. Since the NextGen era began in 2022, just two of the seven winners at Daytona did so after starting in the first three rows. Three drivers won after starting 20th or worse, including last year’s winner, Harrison Burton.

🏎️ Fords will lead, but can they win? Over the same sample as above, a Ford driver has led the most laps at Daytona in all but one race. Despite that early race success, none of those drivers managed to lead both the most laps and the last lap.

💡 How to bet on NASCAR at Daytona

When betting on NASCAR at Daytona - or any drafting track, really - there are some key NASCAR betting strategy tips to keep in mind:

• Long shots can get it done. Last year, Harrison Burton came out of virtually nowhere to win at Daytona in the summer. Justin Haley won this race for Spire Motorsports several years ago, thanks to some timely rain. Both drivers sported odds in the quintuple-digit range before raceday.
• Know the situation. Some races, like the Daytona 500, every driver wants to win. Others, like the regular season finale, feature a mix of drivers hoping to secure their way into the playoffs based on points (see: Alex Bowman) while others must win or face the end of their season.

🏆 Past Coke Zero Sugar 400 winners

Here is a look at the last 10 Daytona International Speedway winners entering Saturday’s race.

📺 How to watch the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona

📅 Race date: Saturday, August 23
🕒 Start time: 7:30 p.m. ET
📍 Track: Daytona International Speedway, (Daytona Beach, Fla.)
📺 TV: NBC | Streaming: Peacock

❓ Coke Zero Sugar 400 FAQs

Who is favored to win the Coke Zero Sugar 400?

Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano are co-favorites to win the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at +1000 (9.1%), and a bet on either of them would yield a $100 profit.

What are the odds for the Coke Zero Sugar 400?

After Blaney and Logano, Austin Cindric (+1100), Brad Keselowski (+1300), and Kyle Busch (+1300) are expected to compete for the checkered flag.

What time is the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400?

The 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 starts at 7:30 p.m. ET (NBC) on Saturday, August 23, in Daytona.

How to watch the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400

You can watch the Coke Zero Sugar 400 on NBC or stream it via Peacock.

Who won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 last year?

Last year, Harrison Burton won the 2024 Coke Zero Sugar 400 after opening (and closing) at odds of +7000 to do so.

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