2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash Betting Preview

2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash Betting Preview

NASCAR’s 2018 season gets off to its debut action with the Advance Auto Parts Clash, an exhibition race at Dayton Motor Speedway on Sunday, February 11, starting at 3:00pm Eastern time. You can watch the action on FS1 and MRN, and you can listen to SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Live streaming is available at FoxSportsGo.com or on the FoxSportsGo app. If stock car racing is part of your betting scene, you’ll want to take a look at this auto racing odds preview.

2018 Advance Auto Parts Clash Betting Preview

Contender Odds to Win:

  • Brad Keselowski (6/1)
  • Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch (7/1)
  • Kevin Harvick, Chase Elliott (8/1)
  • Martin Truex, Jr (10/1)
  • Kyle Larson, Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Jimmie Johnson (12/1)
  • Erik Jones, Kurt Busch, Ryan Blaney (15/1)
  • Jamie McMurray (20/1)
  • Austin Dillon, Ryan Newman (25/1)
  • Kasey Kahne (30/1)
The most recent NASCAR rule changes will be in effect for the first time at Daytona. There is a common flat splitter and radiator and oil cooler (which the superspeedways had already featured). The elimination of the ride height rule should bring some significant changes. Specifically, liftoff speed should increase, by as much as 30 miles per hour. The distance of the race will be 75 laps, or 187.5 miles. The surface is an asphalt tri-oval, 2 ½ miles long. There will be a 20-driver field. In order to qualify for this race, drivers either had to win a pole in 2017, have won a Daytona 500 pole in the past and who competed full-time in 2017, or have driven in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs in 2017. Past Clash winners who did not qualify through one of those other methods are also eligible. It’s important to remember that this race does not contribute toward playoff standings or the Cup Series table. The fact that the race is so short helps it live up to the “Fastest Race” billing, but it doesn’t require the sheer endurance that the longer races of the regular racing season will provide. The winner does go home with a sack of cash (always nice), but it’s not much of a bellwether for the remainder of the racing season. So just bear in mind that your drivers haven’t done much in a few months, and while this is the 20th edition of this race, the field is smaller, and many of the drivers are still shaking off the cobwebs of the winter.

Who Are the Competitors You Should and Shouldn’t Consider?

Martin Truex Jr enters as the reigning Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series champion — so you have to take him seriously in your betting. The fact that his odds come somewhat as a value (10/1) makes him a smart bet. Joey Logano won the Clash a year ago, but he missed the entire playoffs last year. Does that make this year a possible source of redemption for him? Or will he have a large monkey to get off his back? Danica Patrick is competing but is way down the odds list. She did win the pole at the Daytona 500 in 2013, but her racing performances have shown a steady deterioration since that time. Kasey Kahne sits at 30/1 here, but we don’t like him as a dark horse, because he just eked into the playoffs in 2017 and now has left Hendrick Motorsports. This could be the beginning of the end for him as far as contender status goes.