Chase Elliott will try to register the first victory of his NASCAR Cup Series career at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday when he participates in the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400. With a win in the regular-season finale, the 2020 series champion would capture the last remaining postseason berth and eliminate Bubba Wallace, who currently occupies the spot by virtue of points. Elliott has not recorded a victory this season but has been runner-up twice. He also has posted a pair of second-place finishes at Daytona but has yet to reach Victory Lane at the track.
Elliott is +1100, while Denny Hamlin is the +1000 favorite in the latest 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds. Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and reigning Cup Series champion Joey Logano round out the top five 2023 NASCAR at Daytona contenders at +1200. The NASCAR at Daytona night race is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. ET. You'll want to check out the NASCAR at Datyona predictions from Micah Roberts, the legendary Vegas bookmaker who pioneered wagering on racing, before locking in any 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks of your own.
Roberts was the first to offer expanded NASCAR betting and now hands out NASCAR winners to his followers on SportsLine. Roberts is the nation's premier NASCAR betting expert, and his top pick, Hamlin, won the HighPoint.com 400 on July 23 at +500. He also predicted Truex's victory at +650 in the Crayon 301 the previous week and Ross Chastain's triumph at +1000 in the Ally 400 in June. In addition, Roberts correctly called Kyle Larson's win at +650 in the NASCAR All-Star Race in May and nailed the EchoPark Automotive Grand Prix winner in March by hitting Tyler Reddick's victory at +1000.
The expert also correctly predicted Elliott to win the YellaWood 500 at +1200 last October and the Jockey Made in America 250 in 2021, nailed the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 winner by hitting Larson's victory at +550 and was on point by targeting Elliott as the winner of the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix at +160 the previous week. Anyone who has followed his picks has cashed ticket after ticket.
Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's NASCAR at Daytona 2023 race. He's only sharing his winner and leaderboard right here.
2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 expert predictions
One shocker: Roberts is fading Denny Hamlin, even though he is the favorite at +1000. In fact, Roberts says Hamlin, who has finished third or better in four of his last five starts and has won the Daytona 500 three times, barely even cracks the top 10.
"(Hamlin) has the most laps led at Daytona among active drivers (654). He also has 11 top-five finishes in 35 starts there," Roberts told SportsLine. "But he hasn't performed well on the track lately, finishing 13th or worse in each of his last four starts." See who else to fade here.
Another curveball: Roberts is high on Ricky Stenhouse Jr., even though he's a longshot at +2500 in the latest 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds. The 35-year-old from Mississippi has recorded three wins in 389 career starts in the NASCAR Cup Series, two coming at Daytona. Stenhouse captured the checkered flag in this race in 2017 for his first triumph at the track before opening this season with a victory in the Daytona 500, which ended his 199-race dry spell.
"He's been remarkably consistent this season," Roberts told SportsLine. "All three of his career victories have come on superspeedways. I'll have a bet on him, for sure." See who else to back here.
How to make 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks
Roberts is high on a longshot who has all the metrics to dominate at Daytona. This driver is being underestimated by oddsmakers, but anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can only see who it is here.
So who wins the 2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400, and which longshot stuns NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected 2023 NASCAR at Daytona leaderboard from the nation's premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.
2023 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds, field, starting grid
See full NASCAR at Daytona picks, best bets at SportsLine
Denny Hamlin +1000
Chase Elliott +1100
Ryan Blaney +1200
Brad Keselowski +1200
Joey Logano +1200
Kyle Busch +1400
Chris Buescher +1500
Bubba Wallace +1500
William Byron +1600
Kyle Larson +1800
Martin Truex Jr. +1800
Aric Almirola +2000
Austin Dillon +2000
Daniel Suarez +2000
Alex Bowman +2200
Austin Cindric +2200
Christopher Bell +2500
Ross Chastain +2500
Ty Gibbs +2500
Tyler Reddick +2500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +2500
Kevin Harvick +3000
Erik Jones +3000
Chase Briscoe +3500
Michael McDowell +3500
A.J. Allmendinger +4000
Ryan Preece +4000
Justin Haley +4500
Corey LaJoie +4500
Josh Berry +6000
Harrison Burton +6000
Todd Gilliland +6000
Austin Hill +6000
Riley Herbst +10000
Chandler Smith +10000
Ty Dillon +50000
BJ McLeod +50000
Brennan Poole +50000
J.J. Yeley +50000
