How to bet on Motorsports

You’ve seen it everywhere and even at race tracks, sportsbetting is alive and well in the United States. Whether you’re betting NASCAR, Formula One, or IndyCar, sportsbooks offer plenty of bets for the racing world. 18 states in the U.S. currently offer legal sports betting. Of those 18 states, 11 will host a NASCAR or IndyCar race in 2022. So here is how and where you should place your bets on motorsports, let’s dive into it.

If you are a new user to any website that offers sports gambling, be sure to check out the promo tab as these sportsbooks will offer a match bonus on your first deposit. I would suggest playing around on a few different sites and then choose the one you like the most and stick to it. As is the case in all sports, do your research on which drivers you feel could score a solid finish at the upcoming race. Most books offer full season championship bets, however, I have not seen that yet for IndyCar.

Odds will change throughout a race weekend after practice and qualifying sessions. Sportsbooks will offer numerous bets for any given week. Let’s take a look at some of the bets you can expect when betting racing in 2022. 

Like all individual sports, you can bet the straight up winner of the race. You win if that driver wins the race, but any other result ends in a loss. Each race will have an odds on favorite, which has the lowest odds of winning. If Josef Newgarden is the favorite to win, he will have the least amount of money returned on a win. Usually, favorites start out anywhere from +250 or higher, or a winning of $25 dollars on a $10 bet. For some series, specifically Formula One and NASCAR, you can bet the race winner up to the final 25 laps of the race. 

In most racing events, you can bet on a driver to finish on the podium, or to finish in the Top 3. Similar to a win, place or show bet in horse racing, this bet wins if your selected driver finishes inside the top 3. The odds on this are lower than a straight up win, but you have three chances to hit this bet if the driver finishes 1st, 2nd or 3rd. These bets are usually only offered pre-race. 

Although these gambling sites don’t spend a lot of time on IndyCar, that can be a good and a bad thing. Sites offer a wide variety of bets for every F1 and NASCAR race, but sometimes only offer a “straight winner” bet for IndyCar. The advantage the gambler has after the first practice is knowing which drivers have the pace to qualify up front, therefore beating the oddsmakers . Colton Herta was a driver that ended last season with three wins, all paying +300 or more. There is certainly a strategy when placing bets on IndyCar and we will have you covered throughout race weekends here on Burnoutsports.com. Betting racing is similar to golf, but watching practice speeds and qualifying times should give you a clear vision of the drivers that have the best chance of scoring a win or a podium finish that weekend. With the competition as fierce as it will be in 2022, we are sure to see double digit odds on a few race winners this year, just like we did in 2021 with the likes of Marcus Ericcson, Helio Castroneves and Rinus VeeKay. 

As always, please gamble responsibly.