The Best Prop Bets for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 From Daytona

On Sunday, February 21^st, NASCAR will return to the Daytona International Speedway, but this time it’s to race on the famous track’s road course. That’s right, we will have left and right turns in what should be a very compelling road race.

In addition to our O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 betting preview, we’ll now take a look at the best prop bets available courtesy of NASCAR betting sites like Bovada and DraftKings.

Daytona Road Course Driver Matchups

In order to win these prop bets, you must pick which driver that you think will finish higher:

AJ Allmendinger vs William Byron

Byron isn’t known for being a road course driver, but he has had some success in his last few road events. In his last three road races, Byron has finished 8^th or better. That 8^th place result came in this very race last year.

AJ Allmendinger is making his return to the Cup Series for the first time since 2018 and is being brought in because he’s a solid road racer. For his Cup career, he has one road course win, three Top 5s, and nine Top 9s. He also has four road wins in Xfinity.

Allmendinger is the better road racer of the two even if he hasn’t been in the Cup Series for three seasons. Take AJ to win this matchup.

Chase Elliott vs Martin Truex Jr.

This should be the main event battle of the race as Elliott and Truex are the top two road race drivers in the Cup Series today.

Elliott is the race favorite as he has won four straight road races over the last two years. Chase swept both road races last year including this event which he led 34 of 65 laps and won a stage as well.

Truex was 3^rd in this race last year, but won at Sonoma in 2019 where Elliott blew an engine and loss. These two drivers have won eight of the last nine road races and will contend for this weekend’s checkered flag.

As for this head to head matchup, you have to go with Elliott despite the value being with Truex. Elliott is on another level right now when it comes to the road courses races.

Best Finish of the Group

• Chase Elliott (+110)
• Martin Truex Jr. (+200)
• Ryan Blaney (+500)
• Denny Hamlin (+500)

I’ve laid out the argument for Elliott and Truex above, but let’s take a look at Blaney and Hamlin to see if either driver can upset Chase this weekend.

Both Hamlin and Blaney have road course wins in their career. As mentioned above, Truex and Elliott have combined to win eight of nine road races, but it was Blaney who won the other one.

Last year, Blaney finished 31^st in this race, but does have four Top 5s and seven Top 10s in his last 12 road course events.

Hamlin finished runner up in this Daytona road race last year, which was a surprise as he edged out his teammate Truex for second.

Now, he’s looking to duplicate that success as he tries to edge out Elliott this Sunday. He has three Top 5 results in his last five road course races.

Just like with the prop bet above, you have to go with Chase Elliot here at NASCAR betting sites. To get him at positive odds makes it even more appealing.

O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Car Prop Bets

Car Number of Race Winner

• Even (+115)
• Odd (-150)

For this prop bet, the Odd numbered cars are the favorite and rightfully so. Elliott (9), Hamlin (11) and Truex (19) all drive odd numbered cars. Additionally, those are three of the Top 4 betting favorites for this weekend’s race.

At -150 odds, I believe that you are still getting good value. If you look at the head to head matchup between Elliott and Truex, Chase was -152. Now, you get both drivers and Hamlin for odds lower than Chase’s from above.

Car Number of Race Winner

• Over 12.5 (-105)
• Under 12.5 (-125)

This is another good one when it comes to value. I really like the Under 12.5 here. Although I can’t get Truex with that option, I still get Elliott (9), Hamlin (11) and Blaney (12). You can even throw in drivers like Kurt Busch (1), Brad Keselowski (2) and Kevin Harvick (4) as well.

There’s really no debate here!

Manufacturer of Race Winner

• Chevrolet (+110)
• Toyota (+205)
• Ford (+240)

Chevy is the favorite for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 and that’s because of Chase Elliott. The quest now becomes whether or not we should hedge out bets with any props from above or with the fact that I went with Elliott to win the race.

The only other option to look at here is Toyota at +205 odds. I like that value as it also gives us Truex, Hamlin and Kyle Busch. Let’s get a little risky here and hedge our bets by taking Toyota as it gives us three of the Top 5 betting favorites for Sunday’s race.

Team of Race Winner

• Hendrick Motor Sports (+150)
• Joe Gibbs Racing (+215)
• Team Penske (+450)
• Any Other Team (+650)
• Stewart-Haas Racing (+850)
• Chip Ganassi Racing (+2200)
• Richard Childress racing (+5000)
• Roush Fenway Racing (+6000)
• JTG Daughtery Racing (+10000)

We could have a similar opportunity to hedge our bets again. If you didn’t take the hedge opportunity above then go with it here. Joe Gibbs Racing gives us Truex, Hamlin and Busch. It also gives us a little better value than above.

If you don’t want to go with the hedge then take Hendrick Motor Sports with Elliott, Larson, Byron and Bowman. For me, I rather play it safe and go with Hendrick. In the prop above, taking Toyota gave us more options than JGR does.

Other O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Prop Bets

Will Any Driver Win Both Stages and the Race?

• Yes (+450)
• No (-770)

Last year, Chase Elliott dominated the race, but only ended up winning one stage.

This weekend, he will start on the pole, but do we think he can sweep both stages and win the race?

The “Yes” option is worth a small flier because Elliott is on the pole. However, for those that don’t like taking risks, go with the “No” option for this prop bet.