In general, there are three different types of bets you can make on any NASCAR race. You can bet on the outright winner of the race or bet your chosen driver to come placed in the top three or finally bet that one driver finishes above another driver in the same race.
When betting on NASCAR races, betting lines will usually look something like this:
Jeff Gordon + 200
Mark Martin + 250
Jeff Burton + 300
Bill Elliott + 700
Field + 500
These odds are what you call money line odds, meaning for every £10 you bet on Jeff Gordon you would win £20 if he wins the race. If you chose to bet £10 on Bill Elliott you would win £70. As your original bet is returned to you on a winning bet, those betting £10 on Elliott would receive £80 back from a sportsbook. This is your £10 bet plus your £70 winnings.
All other drivers listed by a sportsbook are known as the ‘field’.
Betting on a driver to come in the top three will usually have lower odds. Based on the betting lines above, odds for the drivers to finish in the top three would resemble:
Jeff Gordon – 140
Mark Martin + 100
Jeff Burton + 125
Bill Elliott + 200
Field + 175
In this instance, if you bet £14 on Jeff Gordon, you would only have a return of £10 if he finished in the top three, while the wagering the same bet on Bill Elliott would win £20.
