NASCAR Coke Zero Sugar 400 Picks, Predictions

Kevin Rogers Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

The final race before the NASCAR playoffs begin over Labor Day weekend takes place at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

Fifteen of the 16 playoff spots are spoken for as William Byron sits atop the standings after picking up his fifth win of the season last Sunday at Watkins Glen.

Martin Truex, Jr., Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, and Kyle Busch round out the top five in the standings, while veterans Brad Keselowski and Kevin Harvick wrapped up playoff berths last week.

The question is who will clinch the final spot on Saturday night? Bubba Wallace currently owns the 16th position in the standings, as Ty Gibbs and Daniel Suarez are right behind.

This is the second race at Daytona this season as Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. captured the checkered flag at the Daytona 500 in February. That win was enough for Stenhouse, Jr. to qualify for the playoffs, marking his only victory of the season.

At last year's Coke Zero Sugar 400, Austin Dillon finished on top for his fourth career win, placing ahead of Tyler Reddick and Austin Cindric.

The winners of the first two stages didn't finish higher than 10th as Joey Logano (first stage winner) placed 12th and Kyle Busch (second stage winner) finished 10th.

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 TOP-5 FINISH PREDICTION

1.) #9 Chase Elliott (11/1)
2.) #12 Ryan Blaney (14/1)
3.) #23 Bubba Wallace (14/1)
4.) #48 Alex Bowman (25/1)
5.) #18 Kyle Busch (16/1)

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 PICKS & PREDICTIONS

Chase Elliott likely will not make the playoffs this season unless he wins on Saturday night. Elliott has never won at Daytona in his career, but in races at this track in which he didn't crash, he has finished 10th, 8th, 2nd, and 2nd since 2020.

Ryan Blaney won this race back in 2021 and doesn't need a victory at Daytona to get into the playoffs (he sits in 9th place). However, Blaney has crashed only once in the last seven Daytona races, while placing Top-10 five times in this span.

Wallace is on the verge of making the playoffs as he seeks his first win at Daytona. The driver of the #23 Toyota has favorable results at Coke Zero Sugar 400 recently with 11th, 2nd, and 5th place finishes since 2020.

Alex Bowman hasn't had the greatest season (20th in standings), but the driver of the #48 Chevrolet has put together three Top-7 finishes in the last six races at Daytona.

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 BETTING RESOURCES

Date: Saturday, August 26, 2023
Venue: Daytona International Speedway
Location: Daytona Beach, FL
Distance: 400 miles
Laps: 160
Network-Time: NBC - 7:00 p.m. ET
Defending Champion: Austin Dillon

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 ODDS

• Chase Elliott +1100
• Joey Logano +1100
• Brad Keselowski +1200
• Denny Hamlin +1200
• Ryan Blaney +1400
• Bubba Wallace +1400
• Kyle Busch +1600
• William Byron +1800
• Aric Almirola +1800
• Chris Buescher +1800
• Kyle Larson +1800
• Christopher Bell +2000
• Alex Bowman +2500
• Martin Truex, Jr. +2500
• Chase Briscoe +2500
• Daniel Suarez +2500
• Ross Chastain +2500
• Tyler Reddick +2500
• Austin Cindric +2800
• Austin Dillon +2800
• Ty Gibbs +2800
• Kevin Harvick +2800
• Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. +2800
• Michael McDowell +2800
• Erik Jones +3300
• Ryan Preece +4000
• A.J. Allmendinger +5000
• Corey Lajoie +5000
• Harrison Burton +5000
• Justin Haley +5000
• Josh Berry +6600
• Todd Gilliand +6600
• Austin Hill +8000
• Chandler Smith +10000
• Riley Herbst +10000
• Ty Dillon +50000
• J.J. Yeley +50000
• Brennan Poole +50000
• B.J. McLeod +100000

Odds Provided by bet365 - Subject to Change

COKE ZERO SUGAR 400 WINNERS

• 2022 - Austin Dillon
• 2021 - Ryan Blaney
• 2020 - William Byron
• 2019 - Justin Haley
• 2018 - Erik Jones
• 2017 - Ricky Stenhouse, Jr.
• 2016 - Brad Keselowski
• 2015 - Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
• 2014 - Aric Almirola
• 2013 - Jimmie Johnson

Kevin Rogers

Kevin has been handicapping professionally since 2007 at VegasInsider before shifting to ScoresAndOdds. He focuses on MLB, NFL, college football, NBA, college basketball, and NHL and mainly uses trends, systems, and situations as his top handicapping angles. More from Kevin Rogers