How is NASCAR Different To F1?

How is NASCAR Different To F1
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A521. French Grand Prix, Sunday 20th June 2021. Paul Ricard, France.
How is NASCAR Different To F1
Esteban Ocon (FRA) Alpine F1 Team A521. French Grand Prix, Sunday 20th June 2021. Paul Ricard, France.

How is NASCAR different to F1? Simply put, NASCAR differs from Formula One (F1) racing when it comes to time and distance. An F1 race maxes out at two hours, while a NASCAR race’s broadcast time includes five hours of coverage.

How is NASCAR Different To F1?

NASCAR racing lasts over 200 hundred laps around an oval-shaped track, while an F1 race lasts less than half that distance. So, the Daytona 500 translates to a five-hundred-mile race, while F1 racing hovers around 190 miles.

The cars differ as well, easily noticeable from the open wheels and cockpit of an F1 race car instead of the “stock” car look in a NASCAR competition. Tracks alternate with an F1 race, but NASCAR races only turn left.

NASCAR rules ban changing how the vehicle operates during the race, while F1 teams can fine-tune their driver’s car at any given moment. F1 cars can’t touch during the race, but NASCAR teams plan for bumping and grinding as a winning strategy.

F1 races bar refuelling during the race, although at least one pit stop must occur. NASCAR racing requires many pit stops to re-tire and refuel.

NASCAR works off a points system that determines 16-person playoffs at the end of the season. The winner of an F1 season ends up being the driver with the most points.

How Does Nascar Qualifying Work?

Before learning how to bet on NASCAR races, it might help answer the question: How does NASCAR work? For starters, NASCAR operates on a qualifying system for their races.

A single-car qualifying system was standard practice for the entirety of the sport’s history except for 2014 – 2019. For tracks longer than 1.25 miles, the starting lineup gets determined by a single time lap. Any track shorter than 1.25 miles uses the best two timed laps for the race’s starting lineup.

Road courses like Road America (Fourth of July weekend) use group qualifying the day before the race. After practice and qualifying, the lines change for the competition.

Other NASCAR events use unique qualifying features, while dirt tracks have their procedures as well. Some qualifying “metrics” were also changed post-pandemic.

But this season stands as a turning point for the sport, especially for new and experienced gamblers.

How to Bet on NASCAR Races in 2022

NASCAR betting changed with the legalization of sports wagering in the U.S. that began in 2018. The average TV viewership of NASCAR events in 2019 hovered around a few million.

That year’s Daytona 500 garnered 9.17 million viewers. Around seven million people tuned in to watch the event in 2020. A year later, in February 2021, as the country began turning the tide on the Covid-19 pandemic, the Daytona 500 attracted its lowest viewership ever at just under five million, primarily due to a six-hour rain delay.

The topsy-turvy popularity of America’s favourite sport to watch transitioned unsteadily over the last few years with a new outlook. Now, as the stock car racing season reaches July amidst a brand new schedule, it’s a perfect time to learn how to bet on NASCAR.

How NASCAR Betting Lines Work

NASCAR betting lines derive from practices and qualifying before the race. Three kinds of wagers exist futures, outright winners, and head-to-head bets.

For a futures wager, you can bet on who you think will win the NASCAR Cup. BetMGM odds as of June 2 stood at:

NASCAR Cup Series Championship Odds 2021

Kyle Larson (+500)

Chase Elliott (+550)

Denny Hamlin (+650)

Martin Truex Jr. (+650)

Joey Logano (+750)

Kyle Bush (+750)

Brad Keselowski (+850)

Ryan Blaney (+1000)

William Byron (+1000)

Kevin Harvick (+1200)

You’d be hard-pressed to find any other sport where the favored contender offers +500 odds. These odds represent something like a wager on who you think will win the World Series in baseball.

Even a bet on a +750 option becomes worthwhile with a NASCAR Cup Series futures wager. Lines change with the popularity of a driver through wager volume. So, be wary of that and don’t always follow the crowd.

Picking outright winners for any race follows a similar formula on a smaller scale. You’ll want to keep in mind the track history and the hot and cold streaks of certain drivers for every individual race.

As an example, here are the favored odds for Road America:

Chase Elliott (+230)

Kyle Larson (+280)

Martin Truex Jr. (+650)

Kyle Busch (+800)

Joey Logano (+1000)

While the race offers plenty of longshot options, the top-tier drivers get those odds for a reason. Elliott and Larson reportedly do well on-road tracks. So, picking a favorite while gambling small on valuable wagers with odds that exceed +2500 makes NASCAR a highly worthwhile sport for gamblers.

How Do You Read NASCAR Odds?

Reading NASCAR odds is pretty straightforward. Things don’t get too complicated when it comes to racing events. After futures wagers and betting on outright winners, you can ultimately customize head-to-head matchups.

For more experienced gamblers, you might think of these wagers as teasers or prop bets. You can pick any two racers and decide which one you think will finish ahead of the other driver. It’s that simple.

The odds then come from your sportsbook. So, these become decent saver bets if you threw away some toast on a wild longshot.

Then you might want to consider the stages of a race. How do the NASCAR stages work? Races comprise three stages: Stage 1, Stage 2, and the Final Stage.

The top ten positions in the first two stages get points based on their respective places. (First place = 10 points, second place = 9 points, third place = 8 points, etc.) Final stage positions determine who wins the race, and points get doled out for those places, as well.

Gamblers might want to bet on the Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10 concerning their chosen driver places at the end of the Final Stage.

After these types of bets come more prop bets and live odds, according to NASCAR’s new Managing Director of Sports Betting, Joseph Solosky, who came from Sportradar — a major company that generates odds and data for leagues, broadcasters, and sportsbooks — increased fan engagement comes from live betting.

Solosky predicts 70-75 percent of NASCAR betting volume could come from live betting within five years. Gamblers may also place wagers on things like which type of car manufacturer will win a race, stage winners, speed lanes, crashes, caution flags, and the over/under for the final position of a driver.

Top Rated NASCAR Betting Sites

The best betting sites for NASCAR racing might depend on your personal preferences, such as payouts, fees, location, etc. Here you will find the top 5 sportsbooks for NASCAR betting:

*BETONLINE.ag – Reputable, early lines, fast payouts, refer-a-friend program (100% signup bonus up to $1000)

*SportsBetting.ag – Live wagering, multiple sports options (50% signup bonus up to $1000)

*MyBookie.ag – Live betting, multiple sports options, referral program (Initial deposit: 50% Sports Welcome bonus, 10% cash bonus up to $200)

*BOVADA – Some of the best lines for sports bettors, reputable customer service, multiple sports options, live betting (50% welcome bonus up to $250, 75% Bitcoin Match bonus up to $750)

*BetUS – Live betting, multiple sports options, E-sports, loyalty programs (100% sports + 25% casino signup bonus up to $2,500, 100% sports + 50% casino crypto bonus)

Credit cards, e-wallets, debit, and cryptocurrency may be used at these sportsbooks for your deposit. Pay attention to terms and conditions when considering awards and bonuses.

For more information on how to bet on NASCAR, you might want to do your research. The nine-month season offers plenty of options to get acquainted with betting on weekly events that culminate in the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Championship on Sunday, November 7 at 3 PM EST.

How is NASCAR Different To F1? The Conclusion

With the sports gambling landscape in the U.S. taking shape as a multi-billion-dollar industry, NASCAR has nowhere to go but up. Many sportsbook options exist throughout states legalizing sports betting, and they offer a trove of new customers.

This is the year NASCAR might turn the corner to become just as popular in terms of betting volume as football, baseball, basketball, and hockey among first-time gamblers.

Easy access to smartphones and mobile internet connectivity provide a Gold Rush of opportunities for the sport. Legal betting on NASCAR will be available to most of the country within the next few years.

With so many options available, it’s possible you could get started right away.

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