Betting Markets
NASCAR races feel as much like festivals as they feel like sporting events. But it doesn’t matter if you can’t be there to soak up the electric atmosphere in-person – online betting can throw you right into the thick of the action. Here are some of the most popular ways to wager on this American institution.
Race/championship Winner
Every NASCAR fan will have an opinion on who’ll speed their way to supremacy in a given race. As well as putting your money on who the winner of an individual race will be, you can also go bigger and predict who’ll win an overall championship, such as the NASCAR Cup Series.
Winning Car Number
The NASCAR car numbers can take on a totemic significance (just consider how prestigious the number 88 has become to NASCAR fans). With this betting market, you can try predicting whether the winner will be driving an even or odd-numbered car.
Winning Team
Which team will see one of their drivers win the race? Chip Ganassi Racing, perhaps? Maybe Joe Gibbs? There are plenty of possibilities to choose from.
Winning Manufacturer
Ford? Toyota? Chevrolet? Petrolheads love to guess which manufacturer’s set of wheels will thunder across the finish line first.
Top Place Finishes
It’s not just about who’ll win a race. You can also bet on where drivers will finish – whether that’s the Top 3, Top 5, or Top 10. The odds will be less lucrative than picking the outright winner, but you’ll have a bigger chance of winning the bet.
Head-to-head Matchups
This is a fascinating market for serious NASCAR fans, as it picks out two drivers and lets you wager on which will do better than the other. It’s ideal for those who follow NASCAR closely and know a thing or two about how the drivers have been performing lately.
In-play Betting
For many punters today, in-play betting –also called live betting– is the most exciting way to have a flutter. Instead of having to place all your bets before the NASCAR race, you can carry on wagering even as the cars zoom around the track. It means every crash, bang and skin takes on added, exhilarating significance, triggering fluctuations in the odds on offer.
If, say, a particular driver is hotly tipped to win the race, then seems to be faltering and lagging, the odds on them may lengthen. If you bet on them to succeed at these, new odds, and they do actually win, you’ll get a better return than if you’d bet on the shorter odds they would have had as the pre-race favourite.
Cash Out
Many of the UK’s betting sites let you cash out on a bet even before the outcome has occurred. Say you’ve bet on a certain driver to win the Brickyard 400, and they start to seriously lag behind for whatever reason. Instead of resigning yourself to an outright loss, you can opt to cash out. This lets you collect an amount of money calculated according to the live odds and your original stake. While it won’t be as much as a win, it’s nice to know you’re able to cut your losses whenever you want.
Accumulators
A lot of punters these days love accumulator, or acca, bets, and we can see why. With accas, you bundle together a bunch of individual wagers on the same bet slip. If they all come good, the odds will be multiplied to work out your return. That equates to a far bigger profit than if you’d simply taken out separate bets in the traditional way.
There’s a catch, though. If one selection loses, the whole acca loses. But don’t worry, the best UK bookies have acca insurance on offer. With this, if your acca misses out by one selection, you’ll get your original wager back in free bet credits.
Boost Your Bankroll With a Bonus
Who doesn’t love a good betting offer? If you claim a welcome bonus, for example, you can get to grips with NASCAR betting without necessarily risking your own money to start off with. Here are some popular types of welcome bonuses to look out for.
Matched deposit bonuses
Offering a matched percentage of your first deposit up to a maximum limit, these are a familiar site when you browse lists of UK bookmakers. For example, if there’s a “100% up to £150” offer, and you open your account with a deposit of £150, you’ll be given an extra £150 to bet with. Do check what the wagering and minimum odds requirements are, though.
Free bets
Few punters would say no to a free bet, and many UK bookies will offer them up as a welcome bonus, provided you make a qualifying first bet. For example, it might be the case that placing a £10 wager on an outcome with qualifying odds will earn you a tenner in free bet credits.
Grab Some Great Value on NASCAR Events
The best betting sites in the UK continue to offer rewards to customers in the form of on-going promotions. Here are a few popular types.
Money-back Offers
Losing a bet doesn’t always mean losing your wager. With a money-back promotion, the money you put down is returned to your account in the form of free bet credits. There will be a maximum limit, so if it was a particularly big wager you’ll only get a proportion returned.
Enhanced Odds
Betting on the most likely outcome doesn’t usually reward you with a lucrative payout – unless enhanced odds are in place. In which case, the bookmaker has artificially skewed the odds so that betting on favourites suddenly becomes a more tantalising prospect.
Payment Methods
The best UK bookies will make life easy for you by supporting all the main banking methods. These can include:
- Visa and Mastercard debit cards
- PayPal
- Neteller
- Skrill
- Paysafecard
- Bank transfer
PayPal is the most popular e-wallet amongst UK bettors. Using PayPal means you can deposit and withdraw without disclosing any sensitive data or personal details with third parties such as the casino.
Choose between an e-wallet and a prepaid card option when funding your account at the bookies. Both give you the benefit of not having to share your bank details with the casino, however if you want to use Neteller to withdraw, you'll have to use the e-wallet.
Paysafecard's prepaid card and PIN system mean you can make deposits without sharing any personal details with your casino. Plus, with these prepaid cards only available high street paysafecard stockists, it makes budgeting a little easier.
Formerly known as Moneybookers, Skrill is renowned for its speed and simplicity. You can even join it's loyalty programme, Knect, which allows you to earn points and exchange them for cash rewards, bonuses and more.
Place Your Bets on the Go
Web Apps
This is the most widespread option, as virtually every single betting site is fully optimised for use on your mobile device’s web browser. You just log on as normal and place your bets, in much the same way as you would on a computer. The main plus point here is you don’t need to download any software – ideal if storage space on your device is tight.
Native Apps
If your preferred betting site has a native app, it’s well worth downloading it. This kind of app sits on your phone and can be accessed with a tap, removing the need to use the browser. Mobile apps tend to be faster and easier to use than web apps, and also flag up the latest betting promotions using push notifications.
Betting Tips for NASCAR
NASCAR is huge in the United States, but pretty obscure on these shores. So, if you’re not already familiar with how it all works, it’s important to watch some races beforehand –perhaps on YouTube– to get a feel for how it all works. Then you can start to research drivers and their recent form. You should also look at how the team dynamics have been lately – even a star driver can be hampered if he’s fallen out with teammates, or if the team just hasn’t been gelling for whatever reason.
Check out their form on certain track types as well. Sure, a driver may be on a winning streak, but their next race might be at a track which doesn’t bring out their particular strengths. Some drivers perform better on short tracks, for example, while others excel on superspeedways. Feasting on all the available stats to see who has an affinity with which track can really help you make wiser bets on all kinds of markets.
Major NASCAR events
The NASCAR Cup Series is the highest and most famous level in the sport, with the season kicking off in February and running throughout much of the year. Its major races include:
- Daytona 500 (February, Daytona International Speedway)
- GEICO 500 (April or May, Talladega Superspeedway)
- Coca-Cola 600 (May, Charlotte Motor Speedway)
- Southern 500 (September, Darlington Raceway)
NASCAR’s “minor league” is the Xfinity Series, which includes races such as:
- Cheddar’s 300 (April, Bristol Motor Speedway)
- Drydene 200 (May, Dover International Speedway)
Ready to bet on NASCAR?
Has reading about NASCAR made you eager to put pedal to the metal and place bets on this iconic American sport? Check out our list of the top betting sites in the UK, sign up to whatever catches your eye, and you’ll be ready to bet today!
Frequently Asked Questions
Almost every online betting site allows bettors to place multiples, including doubles, trebles and accumulators. You’ll usually be able to bet on over 10 outcomes at once, and you’ll be able to get a higher price with more outcomes. Proceed with caution of course – adding more outcomes theoretically makes it harder to win.
Yes, if you stick with betting sites regulated by the UK Gambling Commission. These sites are held to high standards when it comes to fair gambling and player safety. These sites employer industry-standard encryption technology to ensure secure payments, provide measures like betting and deposit limits to promote responsible gambling and have customer support in case you need a helping hand. You can be safe in the knowledge these are the only sites we will ever recommend.
Betting tips can be useful, but there are no sure things with sports betting. Doing your own research is recommended, and remember that luck will play the deciding part in any bet.
