Daytona Odds - Expect fireworks at Daytona on July 4th

NASCAR betting odds for Daytona's annual night race should be as exciting as the actual race, because this is one of the most highly-anticipated stops on the Sprint Cup schedule, due to its placement on July 4th weekend. Kyle Busch took the checkered flag in last year’s Coke 400, and he’ll be one of the main challengers this year at the legendary 2.5-mile track.

Daytona odds: Restrictor-plate racing is always thrilling at Daytona

• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with three wins in the Daytona summer race
• Lots of drivers have gotten their first Cup win in this race
• Daytona is a different track under the lights at night

Jeff Gordon should be at or near the top of the favorites in your offshore sportsbook, as his 12 wins on restrictor-plate tracks is tops among active drivers. Three of those wins have come in the Coke 400, where he has nine top-10s in 16 races. With teammates Dale Earnhardt Jr. (seven restrictor-plate wins), Jimmie Johnson (two) and Mark Martin (two), the Hendrick stable should form a very formidable drafting train, and those who make sports picks will back them tremendously.

One of Earnhardt Jr.’s favorite drafting partners is points leader Tony Stewart, who has two wins in the Coke 400. Stewart’s teammate, Ryan Newman, is also pretty good on the plate tracks; who can forget Newman storming past Stewart in the final lap of the 2007 Daytona 500 with drafting help from former teammate Kurt Busch?

Busch is another driver who is good on the plate tracks, as his 15.0 average is fifth among active drivers on these tracks. He and little brother Kyle could team up and do some damage, but they’ve been known not to play nice with each other in the past.

Speaking of Kyle, he’ll probably go with teammate Denny Hamlin, and don’t count out another JGR driver, rookie Joey Logano. He struggled in the Daytona 500, finishing dead last, but it was the first Cup race of his career and he’s improved immensely. Experienced drivers tend not to draft with younger drivers, but Logano’s earned the trust of some veterans, and bettors shouldn’t be afraid to take a shot on the rookie.

Of course, there could also be those random drivers who pop up at the end, having survived the first 390 miles to capture the checkered flag. Jamie McMurray’s 2007 win comes to mind, and his younger teammate David Ragan could be next. Ragan has five top-10s in 10 plate-track races, so it would be for the best to consider the No.6 driver’s sports betting odds.

For more NASCAR odds and lines heading into the Coke 400, bookmark the offshore sportsbook at betonline.com.

Born in the betting capital of Las Vegas, Lee-Roy has grown to appreciate the likes of IndyCar and Formula 1 racing, but his first love is the high-speed ovals of NASCAR and he is a HUGE Tony Stewart fan. When it comes to motorsports handicapping, Buckles takes the checkered flag. Thoughts or questions?