Embrace the gimmicks. Once again, NASCAR promises a circus by loading the All-Star Race with silly rules. However, just like always, the race will be just another race but harder to follow. Someday NASCAR will go full Mario Kart, but until that day, the Texas All Star Race is just a short intermediate track race. As always, trust the spreadsheet but also trust your eyes. Here are the best bets for the NASCAR Cup Series All-Star Race at Texas, which gets underway Sunday, May 22 at 6 p.m. ET.
Place your NASCAR bets on DraftKings Sportsbook and bet online by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
NASCAR All-Star Race
The rules of qualifying need to be discussed since that is the bet that is being offered. The top eight cars in a regular single-lap qualifying session are placed into an eight-driver bracket. Drivers line up head-to-head on pit road. Imagine a drag strip. The pit crews do a four tire stop. When the jack drops, the drivers speed away. The first driver around the track and back to the start-finish line advances to the next round. Basically, it’s a long drag race.
In terms of speed, the eight cars in the bracket will be equal and unable to overcome the dirty air of the leading car. The fastest pit crew will determine the winner. Find the pit data, and bet based on it.
NASCAR All-Star Race Pole Winner
Kyle Busch +600
His pit crew is the fastest in the Cup Series. Busch should be the favorite. His crew averages a 12.9 second stop. That’s the best in NASCAR. Over the last three races, his average pit stop times were 10.7, 10.6 and 11.7 seconds. In the last four races, his crew recorded the single fastest stop in each race.
NASCAR All-Star Race Pole Winner
Kyle Larson +450
There are too many gimmicks in NASCAR and as always, the All-Star Race is gimmick overload. No one wants it and yet every year NASCAR doubles down. Larson doesn’t mind gimmicks. He races every car under the sun on every sort of track and typically with different rules in each series. It should not come as a surprise that he has won the All-Star Race $1 million prize twice. He has a fast pit crew and if anyone can get through the gears the quickest, it’s The Racer.
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
NASCAR All-Star Race Pole Winner
Christopher Bell +750
Aside from pit crew speed — Bell has a fast JGR crew — the other data point to lean on is 2022 poles. Bell leads the series with three poles this season. He won the pole last week at the intermediate track in Kansas. His other poles were at pure speed tracks in Las Vegas and Talladega. He should once again have a very fast car for the intermediate track in Texas.
NASCAR All-Star Open
The rules for the All-Star Open qualifying session are straight forward. The fastest car wins the pole — no gimmicks.
NASCAR All-Star Open Pole Winner
Tyler Reddick +100
The payout isn’t great, but it shouldn’t be. Reddick’s car is relegated to the All-Star Open based on his performance in the 2021 car. He’s taken his game to the next level in the Next Gen car. Last week at Kansas — an intermediate track — Reddick qualified second in a competition against the entire field. For the Open, he’s competing against inferior cars.
Place your NASCAR bets on DraftKings Sportsbook and bet online by downloading the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Put your knowledge to the test. Sign up for DraftKings and experience the game inside the game.
All betting odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is greenflagradio2) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER (1-800-426-2537) (IL/IN/MI/NJ/PA/WV/WY), 1-800-NEXT STEP (AZ), 1-800-522-4700 (CO/NH), 888-789-7777/visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-BETS OFF (IA), 1-877-770-STOP (7867) (LA), 877-8-HOPENY/text HOPENY (467369) (NY), visit OPGR.org (OR), call/text TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN), or 1-888-532-3500 (VA).
21+ (18+ NH/WY). Physically present in AZ/CO/CT/IL/IN/IA/LA/MI/NH/NJ/NY/OR/PA/TN/VA/WV/WY only. Eligibility restrictions apply. See draftkings.com/sportsbook for full terms and conditions.