Sports Handicapping NASCAR

The exploding popularity of NASCAR among sports betting players leads to the obvious question on how to successfully undertake effective sports handicapping of the weekly NASCAR races. The online sports betting boards offer sports betting players opportunities ranging from odds on an individual driver to win a race to matchups of one or more drivers against each other with sports betting odds on these matchups. Just as in the stick and ball sports there are very definite factors to take into account when sports handicapping NASCAR.

One of the most important characteristics for a sports betting player to take into account when handicapping NASCAR is the track. NASCAR has four different styles of tracks that it races on which are (1) super speedways, (2) intermediate speedways, (3) short tracks, and (4) road courses. Just as in stick and ball sports each track, like stadiums and arenas, has different characteristics and features that play on an individual driver’s strengths and weaknesses.

Super speedways Daytona and Talladega are run with cars that have engines with restricted speed, thus drafting and having help from other drivers is of critical importance. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Michael Waltrip, (who are teammates), are proven at the super speedways. The word is out on Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip however, and they offer poor value to sports betting players.

Intermediate tracks are often the “cookie cutter” tri-oval tracks of about a mile and a half or so in length and allow full speed from the cars, without restrictor plates placed in the engines such as is the case at the super speedways. These races often come down to successfully sports handicapping the drivers and their teams.

Short tracks are where most NASCAR drivers come from and are the roots of the sport. Drivers such as Tony Stewart and Rusty Wallace thrive at short tracks and often get favorable sports betting odds.

Road courses offer yet another challenge and true race car drivers such as Stewart and Gordon love the challenge while other drivers will skip the events and have substitute drivers fill in for them that few sports betting players have ever heard of.