It’s the final stop before the playoffs.

One-hundred and ninety-four days after beginning the year with the Daytona 500, the NASCAR Cup Series will wrap up its regular season on Saturday night with the Coke Zero 400 from Daytona International Speedway.

Three postseason spots remain up for grabs in this weekend’s race.

Clint Bowyer, Matt DiBenedetto and William Byron currently occupy the final three positions above the cutoff line.

Jimmie Johnson, Erik Jones, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell will each get one final opportunity to prove they deserve one of those spots.

While that playoff battle ensues, Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin will continue to jockey for position at the top of the standings.

Hamlin temporarily matched Harvick with his sixth win of the year at Dover last Saturday.

One day later in the second of the weekend doubleheader, Harvick picked up his seventh victory to move back into the outright lead.

This year marks only the third time in the playoff era that two drivers have won at least six regular-season races.

Now they get one more opportunity to add to their totals before the postseason begins. 

Here is a closer look at the betting odds for the Coke Zero Sugar 400.

 

The Favourite

Denny Hamlin +550

For the first time in two months, Harvick will not be the betting favourite for a Cup Series oval race.

Instead, Hamlin gets that nod based in large part due to his impressive overall resume on superspeedways.

That includes winning the Daytona 500 for the second year in a row and the third time in his career back in February.

However, he’s placed outside of the top-20 in each of his last three starts in this particular race.

Can Hamlin finally figure out how to win a 400-mile race at this track?

Maybe, but considering those struggles at this distance it might be difficult to back him at such a short price this weekend.

 

Next In Line

Joey Logano +850

As is the case with Hamlin, Logano has struggled in each of the past three 400-mile races at Daytona.

However, Logano has placed in the top-six in five of his last six Daytona 500 starts, including winning that race back in 2015.

The driver of the No. 22 Ford for Penske Racing has heated up of late, with top-10 finishes in six straight and eight of his last nine starts overall.

Still, it’s somewhat surprising to see him listed at shorter odds to win than Harvick.

 

Kevin Harvick +900

Saturday will be Harvick’s 23rd straight race as the Cup Series points leader – tied for the longest streak in the playoff era.

Harvick continued his dominance at Dover last weekend, where he recorded his 17th top-five of the year on Saturday before capturing his seventh win of the season in Sunday’s race.

However, Daytona has presented its share of challenges for Harvick over the years.

His fifth-place finish at this year’s Daytona 500 marked just the second time since 2016 that he didn’t finish outside of the top-20 in a start at this course.

While it might be tempting to take a chance on him at much better odds than you are accustomed to getting with Harvick, this might be the rare exception in which there are better options on the board.

 

Don’t Sleep On

Jimmie Johnson +1600

How fantastic would it be if the seven-time Cup champion shocked the world with a win at Daytona on Saturday night?

The driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports has gone 119 straight starts since his last Cup Series victory.

However, he’s pushed the envelope down the final stretch with three consecutive top-seven finishes, including a third-place result in Sunday’s race at Dover.

Johnson is currently four points out of a playoff spot heading into the final race of the regular season.

If he wins, he’s in.

While he hasn’t won at Daytona since 2013, he has placed in the top-10 in two of his last three starts at this track.

With his season on the line, Johnson will do everything he can to force his way into the postseason this weekend.

At +1600 odds, J.J. is certainly worth a look as a value option.

 

Michael McDowell +4400

McDowell has just one top-15 finish in his last seven starts.

On the flip side, he’s finished outside of the top-15 just once in his last nine Cup Series starts at Daytona.

McDowell has produced a 12.0 Average Finish Position in his last eight races at this track – the third-best AFP among the drivers that will compete on Saturday.

While he’s an obvious long shot to contend for an outright win at 44-to-1 odds, McDowell is worth consideration in alternate markets as another potential value play.

*All Betting Information appears as listed by Bodog on Friday, Aug. 28, 2020.