The Top 5 Bet Types for Beginner Motorsport Bettors

With the NFL and NBA seasons on hiatus, the betting markets are drying up. But bettors can still find value elsewhere, and motorsports markets are a key source of it.

Books typically offer lines on the NASCAR Cup Series and Formula 1. But they have recently started covering the NASCAR Xfinity Series, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series, and IndyCar series with more regularity.

With the interest in motorsports—and gambling on them—growing in the United States, here are the top wagers for beginning motorsport bettors to know.

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1. Outrights

Outrights, or bets on the race winner, are the most traditional wagers to make on motorsports. If you think a driver has a particular edge on a given weekend or at the track in question, it makes sense to bet on them to win. You’ll typically secure a significant return should your driver finish first, too.

However, outright markets are risky. Only one driver will win the race. In NASCAR, that usually means out of a field of 36; in Formula 1, 20. So if a NASCAR driver’s odds are shorter than 36/1 (+3600), you’re necessarily betting that they have some edge over their competition. And even if you’re right about that edge, a minor late-race slip-up, a late caution, or inclement weather can cost them the win—and cost you your money.

Sharps tend to approach outright markets differently. Instead of backing one driver, sharps often split their units between a handful. Narrowing down the field to four or five expected winners and wagering on all of them can still produce lucrative returns. That said, sharps usually balance their outright wagers with some of the other options below to lower their risk.

2. Top X & Podiums

Different sportsbooks will offer different options for these markets. For NASCAR, you can usually find Top 2, Top 3, Top 5, and Top 10 markets. For Formula 1, Top 3 (Podium), Top 6, and Top 10 are more common because of the smaller field.

Top X markets allow you to secure some return if your driver has a good day but doesn’t win the race. Further, they allow you to target drivers who you think will do well, but who don’t quite have what it takes to win. However, sometimes books reduce the returns on these markets to the point where risk outweighs the reward. For Top 10 markets in NASCAR, you’re necessarily betting on a driver to have an edge if their odds are shorter than 18/5 (+360).

One common sharp practice is to target a contrarian underdog and split units along multiple Top X markets and the outright. It’s effectively the same thing as a ladder bet in other sports. The strategy makes it considerably more profitable to target underdogs on a regular basis because of the inherent unlikelihood of their victory.

3. Matchups

Matchup wagers are some of my favorites in motorsports. Unlike outrights or Top X markets, you’re actually betting on a 50/50 outcome—one driver to finish ahead of the other. While the books know that, and they will usually stack the juice on one side, these markets still offer a ton of value for sharp bettors.

These bets are fantastic for contrarian bettors. Taking one driver to beat another at odds of between +110 and +100 actually gets you a positive expected return based on math alone. And if you can find something in the stats that supports taking one of those underdogs, you’ve found the closest thing to a golden ticket in motorsports betting.

Sharps will sometimes fold matchup wagers into the aforementioned ladder-bet type plays. However, matchup markets are inherently relative, so a driver who is a good value on Top X markets may not also be one here.

4. Groups

Group markets are similar to matchup markets in that they pit drivers against one another. However, group markets usually feature four drivers instead of two. That makes +300 the magic number to look for here, as anything greater offers a positive expected return based on math alone.

Unfortunately, books are reticent to give out free money, and groups often feature three drivers with odds below +300. The fourth-ranked driver, who the math says is a value, will rarely have stats that inspire confidence.

These markets are worth researching each week because sometimes the books slip up. However, bettors can usually find more value on matchup markets because of how much closer the implied probability of those lines is to raw mathematical probability.

5. Qualifying & Poles

Some books have started putting out odds for a given driver to earn the pole. Much like outright markets, only wagers placed on one driver will cash out.

These markets rarely have value in the NASCAR Cup Series. The new practice and qualifying format mean books can easily justify the disabling of wagers before practice begins, which leaves bettors with no data on how a given driver’s car is performing once rolled off the hauler.

That said, some drivers qualify better than others. In 2022, Ryan Blaney snagged three consecutive poles early in the year. He, Christopher Bell, and Denny Hamlin all had three total poles after July’s Pocono race. It might be easier for bettors to find an edge on NASCAR qualifying markets as drivers get used to the new format and the NextGen car, but for now, I recommend that bettors steer clear.

Dishonorable Mention: Specials

If you see a book promoting a unique, funky market—something like “X and Y driver to both finish in the Top X,” or, “X or Y driver to win the race”—alarm bells should start going off. If you do some independent calculations, you’ll usually find that these odds offer less value than traditional ones.

Sportsbooks promote lines like these because they know they’ll draw interest. That’s the same reason why they promote same-game parlays. But while sharp bettors can identify correlative same-game parlays to manufacture value, wagering on two drivers to get a Top X finish necessarily hurts your value.

For instance, betting on two drivers to get a Top 10 means you’re betting on an outcome with odds of 36/5 (+720). For Top 5 markets, the more common form of this bet, the math says your odds are 72/5 (+1440), but you’ll rarely find these lines with odds longer than +1000. Sharp bettors know to avoid specials like the plague (unless the books make a mistake in their odds calculations), and beginners should follow their example.

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Whether you’re new to sports betting or a betting pro, our Sports Betting Strategy and Advice page is for you. You can get started with our 101 section — including 10 Sports Betting Tips for Beginners â€” or head to more advanced strategy — like Key Numbers When Betting Against the Spread â€” to learn more.

Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.