Betting NASCAR Online
There are a lot of things to like about NASCAR events. For some people, it’s the thrill of seeing their favorite racer cross the finish line before anyone else. For others, it’s the visceral thrill of seeing high performance vehicles flying at an inhuman rate of speed around the course. For gamblers, however, all of that is well and good, but what they really enjoy is making a good bet on the event and pocketing a nice profit from it.
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If you’ve only enjoyed NASCAR from an observer’s perspective, you’ll be happy to know that betting on NASCAR is just as simple as watching it. Most sportsbooks offer three types of bets: wagering on a driver to win the race, wagering on a driver to finish in the top three (also known as placing), or betting that a driver finishes higher than another driver. It is always a good idea to check several sportsbooks before placing your bet as the lines vary greatly between sportsbooks.
Our recommended top choices for betting NASCAR are BetUS.com, SportsInteraction, and Bodog. For those outside the USA, a good selection of NASCAR lines can also be found at Bet365.com.
To simplify things as for betting options, the odds of these bets are listed as moneylines. An example of a moneyline looks like this:
Pepsi 500: Odds to Win The Race
Jimmie Johnson +420
Jeff Gordon +600
Mark Martin +700
Greg Biffle +900
Tony Stewart +1100
Field +1600
Since there are no underdogs listed above, you will be taking odds from the sportsbook on any bet you make. Take Jimmie Johnson, for example. +420 means he is a 4.2-1 underdog to win the race outright so, for every $100 you wager on him, you will win $420 if he wins the event.
If you look at the bottom of the list, you’ll see an entry called “Field.” This basically means you are betting on every driver that isn’t specifically listed by the sportsbook. A win by any of these unnamed drivers would net you $1600 for every $100 you risk. While this might sound tempting, the sportsbooks aren’t in the habit of just giving away their money and the field usually consists of drivers who have absolutely no chance of winning, making a wager on the field a classic example of the sucker’s bet.
The idea of betting on a top three finish is the same as betting on a outright winner. The only difference is the payouts are lower as the sportsbook has to pay three bets rather than one. An example of a top three finish moneyline looks like this
Pepsi 500: Odds to Place
Jimmie Johnson -200
Jeff Gordon -120
Mark Martin +100
Greg Biffle +120
Tony Stewart +240
Field +200
Unlike the previous example, these odds list Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon as favorites to finish in the top three. This is denoted by the different moneyline than the rest of the drivers. Jimmie Johnson is listed as -200 meaning he’s a 2-1 favorite to place. If you were to place a bet on him to place, you would have to wager $200 to win $100 on him finishing in the top three.
Finally, the most unique bet in NASCAR is betting on a specific driver finishing ahead of another driver. Again, it’s the same principle with slightly different execution. The two favorites in the Pepsi 500 are Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, so let’s take a look at how a head to head line would look between those two:
Pepsi 500: Head To Head
Jimmie Johnson -125 Jeff Gordon +105
With Jimmie Johnson as the favorite to finish ahead of Jeff Gordon, a bettor would have to risk $125 in order to win $100 on a Johnson finish. Gordon bettors, however, will see a $105 return on a $100 bet if he is able to finish ahead of Johnson.
As NASCAR becomes more popular, casual sports bettors are starting to focus more on betting racing events. Sportsbooks like to try to keep each side of their bets balanced based on the volume of money coming in, and they do this by updating lines as needed. A savvy sportsbettor will always be aware of line movements as well as shopping around between different sportsbooks to ensure that he or she gets the best possible price on their bet. Keeping this in mind will give you the insurance of knowing that you received maximum value for your money and give you the peace of mind of enjoying the pure adrenaline of the race.