NASCAR Betting: How to Bet on NASCAR, Markets and Race Stats

NASCAR betting is betting on American stock car racing: who wins a race, who finishes in the top 3, top 5 or top 10, which of two drivers finishes higher, which make of car wins, and how many times the lead changes hands. A Cup Series race usually has 36 to 40 cars and no draw, so the main market is a long list of prices. This guide covers the markets you will find on a NASCAR race and the Cup Series statistics from 2017 to 2025 behind them.

How NASCAR works for betting

• Three national series. The Cup Series is the top level and gets the most markets. Below it are the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series (called the Xfinity Series until 2024) and the Craftsman Truck Series, which usually race on the same weekend.
• 36 points races a season. The Cup Series runs from February to November. Exhibition races such as the Clash and the All-Star Race are separate events.
• Qualifying sets the starting order and has its own market at some sportsbooks: who takes pole.
• Stages. Most races are split into stages, with championship points for the top 10 at the end of each stage before the final one. A bet on the race is settled on the finish of the whole race.
• Overtime. If a caution comes out near the end, the race is extended past its scheduled distance so it can finish under green. If a caution comes out on the last lap, the order at that moment is the result.

A car can be disqualified in post-race inspection, which changes the official result after the race. Whether a sportsbook settles on the finish at the line or on the official result is set out in its rules, so check them before betting.

NASCAR betting markets

A Cup Series race on 22bet carries more than 200 selections, plus separate events for qualifying and for groups of drivers. These are the markets you will find:

The O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series races carry fewer markets than the Cup Series. Prices are decimal odds, and a price converts into the chance it implies by dividing 1 by it: 11.0 implies 9.1%, 2.05 implies 48.8%. The odds formats guide converts them into American and Asian formats.

Drafting tracks and the rest

The single biggest difference between NASCAR races is the track. At Daytona and Talladega, and at Atlanta since it was rebuilt for 2022, cars run in tight packs and draft off each other at full throttle. Positions change constantly, multi-car crashes are common, and the order can change on the last lap. On short tracks, intermediate ovals and road courses, the fastest cars spread out and the field is far more predictable.

Starting position matters much less in NASCAR than in Formula 1: across all tracks only 13.3% of races were won from pole, against more than half in F1 (see F1 betting). At the drafting tracks it barely matters at all, and more than half of the races were won by a driver who started 11th or lower. That is why race-winner prices at Daytona and Talladega are spread across the whole field instead of a few favourites.

Lead changes and leaders at Talladega

The over/under markets on lead changes and on drivers to lead a lap are set race by race, and a drafting track runs to very different numbers from anywhere else. These are the last eight Cup races at Talladega:

Lead changes have climbed from the 40s and 50s to between 66 and 80 in the last five races, with 23 to 27 different leaders. Away from the drafting tracks, no Cup race from 2017 to 2025 had more than 54 lead changes, and the average was 16.

Manufacturers and winners

Three makes race in the Cup Series. From 2022 to 2025 the winners split like this, against each make’s share of the cars that started:

Toyota runs the fewest cars, so the “top Toyota driver” market has the shortest list. Winners are also spread across many drivers: 19 different drivers won a Cup race in 2022, 15 in 2023, 18 in 2024 and 14 in 2025, and no driver won more than six races in any of those seasons.

Before you bet on NASCAR

• Look at the track first. Daytona, Talladega and Atlanta behave differently from every other race on the schedule, as the tables above show.
• Wait for qualifying on short tracks, intermediate ovals and road courses, where the starting order counts for more.
• Read the settlement rules for post-race disqualifications and for a race shortened by rain.
• Check which series a market is for. Cup, O’Reilly Auto Parts and Truck Series races are often on the same weekend at the same track.
• For bets placed while the race is running, see the in-play betting guide.

Sports betting is for adults 18 and over. Set a budget before you bet and stop when it is used up.