Monday, February 8, 2010

Daytona 500 Preview: Betting Will Be Good in Las Vegas With Lots of Props

by Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com

NASCAR’s big show gets underway this Sunday as the 52nd running of the Daytona 500 jump-starts the season. It is NASCAR’s biggest race of the season and even though it may sound a bit off from the traditions of other sports where the biggest event is normally reserved for the end of the season, it’s so perfectly perfect. There is no bigger opener in any sport.


We just saw the NFL season end with hundreds of propositions available for that game. This week for the Daytona 500, the Las Vegas sports books will do the same. There are only two races a season that are treated like Super Bowls by the books, Daytona and Las Vegas.

The handle for those two races are the best all season and because of that volume, the books will offer several props that aren’t normally seen from week to week.

Winning car number, number of Ford’s in the top 10, over-under driver finishes, and head-to-head driver match-ups are just a few of the things that will be available at most places that aren’t for the other 34 races on the season.

The sports books have had odds on this race since the available since last season ended when the NASCAR award ceremonies were in Las Vegas. Kyle Busch was installed as the early 8/1 favorite by the Las Vegas Hilton Super Book, followed by a bunch of drivers getting double-digit odds or higher.

Busch has had the best restrictor-plate car over his last two seasons with Joe Gibbs Racing. The Las Vegas native only has two wins in eight attempts, but should have had a few more, including last year's Daytona 500.

The one thing about Daytona is that the favorite rarely wins. Because of the nature of the draft and so many cars being close together as the finish nears, it really is a crapshoot to who will win, unlike many of the other races where the possible winners are narrowed to about seven legitimate candidates.

Read More Here...for the Top 5 selections

No comments: