It’s the week of the 4th of July, and if that’s the case, the boys of the Sprint Cup betting series are going to be on the track at Daytona International Speedway for the night race at Daytona. Check out the Daytona night race Coke Zero 400 betting lines, and don’t miss our Coke Zero 400 picks for this fantastic event near the halfway point of the Sprint Cup schedule.

2013 Coke Zero 400 Predictions & Info
2013 Coke Zero 400 Date & Time: Saturday, July 6th, 7:50 p.m. (ET)
2013 Coke Zero 400 Location: Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL
Defending Coke Zero 400 Winner: Tony Stewart
2013 Coke Zero 400 TV Coverage – Network: TNT

You can most certainly tell that the Coke Zero 400 is up in the air this year, knowing that there isn’t a driver listed at any reputable sportsbook that is opening up the week at better than 10 to 1. The favorite of the bunch, though only by the smallest of margins is Matt Kenseth (Odds To Win 2013 Coke Zero 400: 10 to 1 @ 5Dimes Sportsbook). Kenseth leads the senior circuit this year with four wins, and it’s awfully difficult to say that he isn’t going to win any race that he enters less than one out of 10 times. He’s hot right now, having won last week at the Quaker State 400 in a wild race in Kentucky, and now, he is going to hope to get some revenge after a poor race in which he finished 37th at the Daytona 500 back in February. We know that Kenseth has a real boom or bust factor to him, and though that could make us look awfully stupid if he ends up with a DNF, we know that he is going to find his way to Victory Lane at least one out of 10 races, especially when you’re talking about restrictor plate racing.

At some sportsbooks, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (Coke Zero 400 Favorite Odds: 13 to 1 @ 5Dimes Sportsbook) is a co-favorite, joining Kenseth, though the best odds on the board that we see for Little E at this point are 13 to 1. Dale Jr. had a great run at the Daytona 500 earlier this year, finishing second, and he has always been a strong competitor here at Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer are the only two drivers out of the first nine in line this year on the Sprint Cup standings not to have at least one victory, but all of that could reasonably change when push comes to shove on Saturday night. Little E does have a pair of wins on this track in his 27 races, and though his Top 10 percentage is a little low, he has a history of finishing in the Top 5 a solid percentage of the time here at the night race at Daytona.

List Of Past Coke Zero 400 Winners (Since 2000)
2012 – Tony Stewart
2011 – David Ragan
2010 – Kevin Harvick
2009 – Tony Stewart
2008 – Kyle Busch
2007 – Jamie McMurray
2006 – Tony Stewart
2005 – Tony Stewart
2004 – Jeff Gordon
2003 – Greg Biffle
2002 – Michael Waltrip
2001 – Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2000 – Jeff Burton

You can’t talk about racing at Daytona without mentioning the great Tony Stewart (Odds To Win The Coke Zero 400: 14 to 1 @ JustBet Sportsbook). Stewart has won the Coke Zero 400 a stunning four times in his career, each victory of which has come since 2005. Last year’s race was the start of a great run through the end of the campaign for the man they call “Smoke,” and perhaps this could be the start of a massive turnaround as well. Stewart finished 41st at the Daytona 500 and failed to finish the race, and now, he is down in 16th place in the Sprint Cup standings, 22 points off the pace of Joey Logano in that coveted 10th position. Stewart has been eking his way up the ladder in recent weeks, and his win at the FedEx 400 was his first of three straight Top 5 finishes. Since then, he has had two runs of 20th or worse, but we think that he should be back in his element here at Daytona on Saturday night.

Finally, a man that is due to make a huge move at some point in the second half of the season is Denny Hamlin (Coke Zero 400 Lines: 22 to 1 @ 5Dimes Sportsbook). Last year at this time, we would have been talking about Hamlin as one of those 10 to 1 type of drivers. This season though, he has been atrocious. Hamlin only has five Top 10 finishes over the course of the whole season, and though he does have three Top 5s and all five Top 10s were eighth or better, there are still no wins to show for the work. In order to get into NASCAR’s version of the playoffs, Hamlin is going to have to do a ton of work and pick up a lot of wins to likely snare a Wild Card spot. He knows how to get the job done, knowing that he won five races a season ago, and Daytona could be the spot when he starts to claw out of this 25th place hole that he is in at the moment in the NASCAR points chase.

Odds to Win Coke Zero 400 @ 5Dimes Sportsbook (as of 7/4/13):
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Matt Kenseth 10 to 1
Jimmie Johnson 13 to 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 13 to 1
Kevin Harvick 13 to 1
Tony Stewart 13 to 1
Kyle Busch 13 to 1
Jeff Gordon 16 to 1
Clint Bowyer 16 to 1
Kasey Kahe 16 to 1
Kurt Busch 19.50 to 1
Brad Keselowski 19.50 to 1
Carl Edwards 19.50 to 1
Greg Biffle 22 to 1
Denny Hamlin 22 to 1
Martin Truex Jr. 22 to 1
Joey Logano 25 to 1
Jamie McMurray 27 to 1
Jeff Burton 28 to 1
Juan Pablo Montoya 33 to 1
Ryan Newman 33.50 to 1
Michael Waltrip 33.50 to 1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 45 to 1
Marcos Ambrose 45 to 1
Paul Menard 45 to 1

2013 Coke Zero 400 Betting Lines @ JustBet Sportsbook (as of 7/4/13):
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. 10 to 1
Matt Kenseth 10 to 1
Jimmie Johnson 12 to 1
Kevin Harvick 12 to 1
Kyle Busch 12 to 1
Kasey Kahne 14 to 1
Tony Stewart 14 to 1
Clint Bowyer 15 to 1
Jeff Gordon 15 to 1
Brad Keselowski 16 to 1
Carl Edwards 16 to 1
Greg Biffle 18 to 1
Denny Hamlin 20 to 1
Kurt Busch 20 to 1
Martin Truex Jr. 20 to 1
Joey Logano 25 to 1
Jamie McMurray 28 to 1
Juan Pablo Montoya 28 to 1
Ryan Newman 28 to 1
Danica Patrick 33 to 1
Jeff Burton 33 to 1
Michael Waltrip 33 to 1
Paul Menard 33 to 1
Marcos Ambrose 40 to 1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 40 to 1
Trevor Bayne 40 to 1
AJ Allmendinger 50 to 1
Aric Almirola 50 to 1
David Ragan 50 to 1
Bobby Labonte 66 to 1
Casey Mears 66 to 1
Dave Blaney 75 to 1
David Gilliland 75 to 1
Michael McDowell 75 to 1
Scott Speed 75 to 1
David Reutimann 100 to 1
JJ Yeley 100 to 1
Landon Cassill 100 to 1
Terry Labonte 100 to 1
Travis Kvapil 100 to 1
David Stremme 150 to 1
Josh Wise 155 to 1
Joe Nemechek 200 to 1

There is just something special about going under the lights at one of the most famous super speedways in the world while celebrating our nation’s Independence Day. The dream scenario is exactly what will play out this Saturday night at Daytona International Speedway. The best drivers in the world will take to the 2.5 mile high banked track at speeds of over 200 miles per hour while racing merely inches a part. Over the past few weeks, NASCAR has been highlighted with a lot of big news with Tony Stewart grabbing his first points win as a driver/owner and rookie Joey Logano becoming the youngest driver in the history of the sport to win with last week’s victory at Loudon, New Hampshire. The big stories are sure to continue this Saturday night as drivers go door to door in restrictor plate style racing that allows cars to run all bunched together at amazingly high speeds. Restrictor plate racing has always been popular among the fans, but the night race at Daytona every July 4th weekend has become one of the most popular sporting events year round in NASCAR. As fans anticipate the upcoming race, major sports books like Betus.com have already released early betting opportunities for one of the bigger races of the year. We break down some of the best betting scenarios to take advantage of before this Saturday night.

Prop Bet #1 – Tony Stewart (-115) vs. Jeff Gordon (-115)

This match-up is fairly interesting considering how both drivers have exceeded expectations thus far in the year. Gordon maintained the points lead after grabbing early victory at Texas this season and has been a consistent front runner the entire season. Stewart has had a huge impact this season taking over what is now Stewart-Haas Racing. Who could have imagined in Stewarts first season taking over the team, he would have an All-Star victory and leading the points. Despite how they have run this season, they are both great drivers on the super speedways. Stewart has two top 10s in his last two trips to Daytona and went through an impressive stretch from 2003-2006 only finishing outside the top 10 once at Daytona International. Gordon has 6 victories to his resume at Daytona including 15 other top 10 finishes. However, Gordon has not done much of anything at Daytona in his fast few attempts, but still remains excellent in restrictor plate racing. When breaking down this Saturday night’s race, there is simply no reason to bet against Tony Stewart for the race much less against Jeff Gordon. Stewart has been on fire lately, winning at Pocono and was the car to beat last week at Loudon before rain shortened the event. Stewart may not get the recognition he deserves for being superb at the super speedways, but he could likely be the best driver at restrictor plate racing outside of Dale Earnhardt Jr. If you would like some extra assurance, Jeff Gordon’s back problems remain a big issue as well. Gordon has been getting weekly treatments to avoid back surgery. Daytona is a very fast track that presents a lot of g-force in the driver’s seat and that could take a toll by race end. Expect Stewart to be the man to beat in the field.

Pick – Tony Stewart -115

Prop Bet #2 – Dale Earnhardt Jr (-115) vs. Carl Edwards (-115)

Dale Earnhardt Jr is NASCAR’s most popular driver, but he has been a part of a lot of criticism throughout the season for under performing. While the Hendrick cars have been impressive all season, the #88 machine has failed to compete. Long time crew chief Tony Eury Jr was replaced and in just few short races Earnhardt has looked a lot better throughout the race. The driver of the #88 ran great at Sonoma before getting wrecked late in the race and also ran very strong at Loudon before the rain hurt his finish. Earnhardt will make his much anticipated return to Daytona this weekend after causing a big wreck in the Daytona 500 that also stirred up a bit of controversy. While Earnhardt has been criticized for not living up to his popularity, his accomplishments on the super speedway are unchallenged. He is a former Daytona 500 winner and has 7 victories combined at Talladega and Daytona which are very similar. Carl Edwards on the other hand is not known at all for his restrictor plate racing. Edwards did make an impressive showing few weeks back at Talladega when he was caught up in that big wreck going for the win in the final quarter mile of the last lap. Edwards’ career poses a surprisingly low 23rd place average finish and the driver of the #99 machine have never won a restrictor plate race. We will side with the numbers here and Earnhardt’s family inherited talent of being perhaps the best driver ever in the draft.

Pick – Earnhardt Jr -115

Prop Bet # 3 – Who will be faster in qualifying?

Jeff Burton (-110) vs. Kevin Harvick (-120)

This particular betting match-up simply considers composes of some repeating factors. Jeff Burton has made a reputation for being a poor qualifier. Whether it is he is not exactly that fast, for one lap or the way the #31 guys setup the car is not known. However, Burton has been nearly bottom of the board with average start position holding at the 22nd position. Kevin Harvick has not been very impressive qualifying this season either holding down a 21st average starting position. The different here is Harvick has been fairly consistent qualifying in the top 15 at Daytona over the past few races. While the teammates continue to face hard times at Richard Childress Racing, we expect Harvick to win this battle hands down.

Pick – Harvick (-120)

Bonus Bet – To Win the Coke Zero 400

Pick – Tony Stewart +700