Best NASCAR Bets for Busch Clash at Daytona Road Course

It’s race day!

Man, it’s been a while since I’ve been able to say that. But, yes, it’s race day! With a week full of racing to come.

First up is the Busch Clash at the Daytona Road Course on Tuesday night. A field of just 21 drivers will be making 35 laps around the road course at Daytona with really nothing on the line except prize, as this is an exhibition race and the only thing that matters is getting a win. It’s a literal, if you ain’t first, you’re last scenario.

Speaking of winning, let’s check out the odds to win Tuesday night’s Clash. Also included are the odds from earlier in the week, as referenced in my Preview for this race (click here to read). As expected, we saw some significant line movement, especially Ryan Blaney, who went from 14-to-1 to 9-to-1 after drawing the #1 starting spot for this race. These odds were pulled from DraftKings Sportsbook and were current at the time this article was published.

My Favorite Bets for the Busch Clash at the Daytona Road Course

Kyle Busch Top 5 Finish (+180) – Kyle Busch at +180 odds to score a top 5 finish at a road course… I can’t say we’ve ever seen that before. If you go back to last year’s race here at the Daytona Road Course, Kyle Busch actually had one of the fastest cars, but like many times during the 2020 season, his luck was absolutely horrible. From flat spotting his tires after taking the lead early, to spinning out, to brake issues, to, finally, destroying his car, Rowdy did not have a good day here the last time we raced at this track. But like I said in my FanDuel Projections & Picks article (click here), this is Kyle F’n Busch we’re talking about, and in a race where it only matters if you win. I can’t think of a better combination.

Chase Elliott To Win (+190) – Somewhat surprisingly, Chase Elliott’s odds to win got longer after the random qualifying draw, going from +175 to +190. And while +190 isn’t great value, you have to like the fact that Chase’s main competitor at these road courses (Martin Truex, Jr.) starts way back in 18th while Elliott drew the 7th starting spot. Looking at the last four road course races, Chase Elliott has finished 1st, 1st, 1st, and 1st. No, that’s not a typo, he’s just that good on this track type. And until more than one driver can show that they can hang with Chase on the track, there’s no reason to bet against him.

William Byron Top 5 Finish (+200) – The Hendrick Chevrolets as a whole organization are strong on road courses, and that includes William Byron. As far as driver rating, he ranks 3rd in that category behind Elliott and Truex over the last five road course races, and is 3rd in fastest laps over that same span. One bad thing, though: he’s never finished inside the top 5 on a road course in Cup Series action…yet. Byron starts 5th in Tuesday night’s Busch Clash exhibition race and should be able to stay near the front all night. For what it’s worth, he ranked 2nd in Green Flag Speed here at the Daytona Road Course last season, and my algorithm (click here) has Byron projected to finish 4th on Tuesday night.

Joey Logano (+100) over Brad Keselowski – This is a late addition to the original article but might end up being my favorite “Best Bet” of the night. My algorithm has Logano ranked 5th with a Power Index of 36.24, while Keselowski is ranked 9th with a Power Index of 16.87 — a nearly 20-point difference. When there’s that much of a difference, and you can get even or plus-money odds like this, you have to take it.