Kyle Larson
USATSI

The NASCAR Cup Series schedule reaches a crucial point this week as the circuit heads to Daytona International Speedway for the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 on Sunday at 7 p.m. ET. This event will be the regular season finale, and once again, high drama is expected. Kyle Larson, listed at 12-1 odds in the latest 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds from Caesars Sportsbook, should wrap up the regular season championship, but the real excitement will surround the last of 16 playoff berths that remains up for grabs. Tyler Reddick, listed at 35-1 odds, is holding onto the final playoff berth with a 25-point lead. 

He is one of 15 drivers who can sew up the last postseason spot by winning the Coke Zero 400. This is the second year that Daytona International Speedway has hosted the regular season finale. Last year, William Byron, listed at 12-1 odds, won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 to earn a playoff spot. Denny Hamlin, listed at 15-2 odds, leads all active drivers with three Daytona victories, but has not won yet this season and would need help to have any hope of stealing the regular season title away from Larson. You'll want to check out the NASCAR at Daytona predictions from Micah Roberts, the legendary Vegas bookmaker who pioneered wagering on racing, before locking in any 201 Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks.

Roberts is the nation's premier NASCAR betting expert, and his top pick, Chase Elliott, won the Jockey Made in America 250 in early July at 2-1 odds. He also correctly predicted the Coca-Cola 600 winner in the final event of May, hitting Kyle Larson's win at 11-2 odds. The previous week, he was on point at the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, targeting Elliott as the winner at 8-5 odds. 

He began a stretch of three winners in six races on April 25, when he nailed Brad Keselowski's win in the GEICO 500 at 14-1 odds. Roberts correctly called the first two races of the 2020 season and also enjoyed success the previous year, as his top four choices in each race during the 2019 NASCAR campaign returned a head-turning $3,400 to those who put down $50 on each. Anyone who has followed his picks is up huge year after year.  

Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's NASCAR at Daytona 2021 race. He's sharing his winner and leaderboard right here.

2021 NASCAR at Daytona expert predictions

One shocker: Roberts is fading Larson, even though he is on the verge of becoming just the fourth different driver in series history to win the regular season championship. In fact, Larson does not even crack Roberts' top 15 on his projected leaderboard.

"He has an Xfinity Series win (2018) at Daytona, but he hasn't come close to sniffing a Cup win there. No top-fives or top-10s in 14 starts with a 21st-place average finish," Roberts told SportsLine. "No pressure with a 28-point lead over Hamlin for the regular-season title." 

Another curveball: Roberts is very high on Ricky Stenhouse Jr., even though he is a 22-1 long shot in the latest Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds 2021. Stenhouse, who can make the playoffs with a win at Daytona, scored an overtime victory at the site in the summer of 2017.

"His only two Cup wins came on the two superspeedways in 2017 and he won both because of aggressive maneuvers, which is also what gets him in trouble a bunch," Roberts told SportsLine. "But he finds his way to the front and he knows he has to win to advance to the playoffs."

How to make 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks

Roberts is also strongly considering a significant long shot who is gunning for the final playoff berth. This driver is being underestimated by oddsmakers, and anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can only see who it is here.

So who wins the Coke Zero Sugar 400 2021? And which long shot stuns NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the 2021 NASCAR at Daytona leaderboard from the nation's premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.

2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds

Denny Hamlin 15-2
Brad Keselowski 17-2
Joey Logano 9-1
Chase Elliott 11-1
Ryan Blaney 11-1
Kyle Larson 12-1
William Byron 12-1
Kyle Busch 15-1
Kevin Harvick 15-1
Alex Bowman 18-1
Martin Truex Jr. 20-1
Aric Almirola 20-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 22-1
Kurt Busch 25-1
Christopher Bell 25-1
Austin Dillon 25-1
Matt DiBenedetto 25-1
Bubba Wallace 30-1
Tyler Reddick 35-1
Michael McDowell 40-1
Ryan Newman 40-1
Chase Briscoe 50-1
Chris Buescher 50-1
Daniel Suarez 60-1
Cole Custer 60-1
Ross Chastain 60-1
Ryan Preece 75-1
Erik Jones 75-1
Justin Haley 100-1
Kaz Grala 100-1
Corey Lajoie 125-1
Anthony Alfredo 200-1
Landon Cassill 300-1
Cody Ware 1000-1
Garrett Smithley 1000-1
Quin Houff 1000-1
BJ McLeod 1000-1
David Starr 1000-1
Josh Bilicki 1000-1
Joey Gase 1000-1