Sprint Unlimited 2016 Betting Odds

Carrie Stroup here with your Sprint Unlimited 2016 betting odds  This one takes place at Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL

Sprint Unlimited

Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, FL

Odds to Win Race

The NASCAR season begins on Saturday with the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway. This race features a very strong field, but there will be no points rewarded to any of the drivers. The Sprint Cup drivers will, however, be excited to get back out there.

The 187.5-mile course serves as a great tune-up for the actual season and these drivers are always excited to earn themselves some bragging rights amongst their peers. One thing worth noting about this race is that it is broken down into segments. There will be a 25-lap segment and then a mandatory caution. After that caution, the drivers will go for another 50 laps.

One guy that will be happy to be back at this event is Kevin Harvick. Harvick has really done well at this race in the past, winning in 2009, 2010 and 2013. He has shown very few signs of rust coming off of the short offseason and will surely be in the hunt to win again on Saturday.

Matt Kenseth, however, will be looking to win this thing as well. He won in 2015 and certainly wouldn’t mind making a statement by winning it in back-to-back years. With that out of the way, let’s now take a look at some solid picks to win this year’s installment:

Kevin Harvick (+1000) - As previously mentioned, Harvick has been a monster at this exhibition race in his career. Three championships since 2009 says a lot about his comfort level on this track and it’s not like he’s coming off of a bad season either. Harvick made it to the Championship 4 in 2015 and is looking to go a step further by being the 2016 Sprint Cup Champion. He can send a message to his opponents by winning here once again and is an excellent pick at this price.

Martin Truex Jr. (+1500) - Like Harvick, Truex Jr. was also in the Championship 4 in 2015 and he is getting some very favorable odds coming into this race. At 15-to-1, Truex Jr. is a very good pick after the way he performed a year ago. He racked up 23 top-10 finishes last season and won a race as well. He has shown a lot of signs of improvement over the past few years and this has the potential to be a career year for him. He also happened to have finished second in this race a year ago.

Kurt Busch (+1500) - Busch did not get to the Championship 4 in 2015, but he had a solid season and was in the Eliminator 8. Busch won two races a year ago and also had a total of 10 top-10 finishes. He is one of the best drivers in the world, but he also may have a competitive advantage in this one. Busch will be using a new car in this race and it is the first time anybody has used it in competition. If it ends up being a good one then placing a unit or two on Busch will be well worth it. He’s also no slouch at this race in general, as he was the winner at the Sprint Unlimited in 2011.

Danica Patrick (+5000) - Since this field is filled with a ton of talented drivers, there are not many great dark horse picks. One person that stands out is Danica Patrick. Patrick ended 2015 on a solid note, finishing in the top 20 at two of the final three races. She also has made a number of pit crew changes this offseason, so she is hoping that she can take her driving to another level this season. This exhibition is a good opportunity for her to notch a victory and putting a unit on her at +5000 just might pay off on Saturday.

- Carrie Stroup, Gambling911.com Senior Reporter