2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds, NASCAR picks: Best bets for the Daytona race from proven racing expert

The final race of the regular season will take place at Daytona International Speedway during the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway on Saturday night. Denny Hamlin leads the driver standings. He is looking for his best season-long finish since placing second overall in 2010. Austin Dillon won last week's race, and will be seeking back-to-back wins. 

Brad Keselowski is the +900 favorite (risk $100 to win $900) in the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 odds, while Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney are +1100. Other NASCAR at Daytona contenders include Chris Buescher (+1200) and William Byron (+1200). Sunday's race is scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. ET. 

Before making any Coke Zero Sugar 400 picks, you NEED to see what CBS Sports NASCAR writer Steven Taranto has to say.

Taranto, who moonlights as a sim racer and has 20 career wins in iRacing, is the lead NASCAR writer for CBSSports.com. Taranto was red-hot for SportsLine in 2024 as he nailed 17 winners, including 16-1 longshot William Byron at the Daytona 500 and 14-1 longshot Chase Elliott at Texas. Anybody following his NASCAR picks could have seen HUGE returns!

For the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400, Taranto is high on Austin Cindric (+1400). He also has a head-to-head prop bet, with Ryan Preece (+100) to finish ahead of Kyle Busch (-140). "This is Ground Control to Major Preece, he's racing in Daytona again: Ryan Preece has ended up sailing through the air at the end of the backstretch in two of his last four Daytona starts, though his wheelie onto his roof in this year's Daytona 500 proved a much gentler flight than his high speed tumble that was so wicked and violent that they paved the infield grass over afterwards," Taranto said. "As one of the first drivers in Must Win territory, there will be a heavy spotlight on Preece's race come Saturday night, and he should be considered a contender given the strong year he's had and the fact he battled for the win at Talladega before crossing the finish line second (only to be disqualified later for failing post-race tech inspection).

"Kyle Busch was leading on the final lap of this race a year ago, and Austin Dillon's win at Richmond is no doubt a huge shot in the arm for Richard Childress Racing, but there hasn't been much reason to believe that a turnaround is impending for Busch as he continues to plod through a winless season and stands on the verge of missing the playoffs for the second year in a row. Though one big wreck can change everything, I would go with Preece in this matchup considering the upside of his +100 odds compared to some other head-to-head matchups available."

Taranto has also identified four other drivers in his 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 best bets. He's also high on a huge NASCAR longshot who's around 70-1, potentially netting any backer a HUGE payday! You ABSOLUTELY NEED to see his picks before locking in any NASCAR picks of your own.

So who wins the 2025 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway, and which MASSIVE longshot do you need to target NOW? ...  Join SportsLine right now to see the 2025 NASCAR at Daytona best bets, all from the expert who nailed a colossal 17 race winners last year!