Although there are obvious similarities between automobile racing and horseracing, developing a wagering strategy for a motor sporting event in the same way that you might for a horse race would be as monumental a mistake as filling a car's tank with hay, oats and water or feeding gasoline to a horse. But fuel isn't the only thing that separates auto racing from horseracing.
The most glittering difference between the two sports is that prices for auto racing, whether they are for NASCAR, Formula One, CART or Indy racing, primarily are based on the driver, not the vehicle of transportation. The horseracing equivalent of that would be putting out prices on the jockeys, rather than on the horses in a race.
So while the automobiles and the vast amounts of money the owners and sponsors are willing to invest in those vehicles - including the best parts and crew - are important, in auto racing it is the drivers, not the cars, who are the key performers. For that reason, popularity and public perception also play a large roles in motor sport price making.
Some drivers, such as Jeff Gordon on the NASCAR circuit and Michael Schumacher on the F-1 trail, are always heavily bet. Others, such as NASCAR wheelmen Ryan Newman or Bobby LaBonte, or Formula One's David Coulthard, rarely attract the wagering attention they might deserve.
Of course cars, especially on the F-1 circuit, can make a difference. Damon Hill and Jacques Villeneuve are recent examples of drivers who went from world champions to also-rans in the space of a single campaign after switching auto manufacturers.
Another factor to consider is luck. Cars sometimes break down despite the best efforts of experienced and knowledgeable crews. Or a driver can be victimized by an accident or wreck that was not his fault, or even by the weather.
Sometimes, drivers (and even bettors) get lucky too. That's just what happened when Jeff Burton, the leader, crashed on the 164th lap of NASCAR's scheduled 293-lap TranSouth Financial 400 at the Darlington Speedway in March of 1999. Burton's car was totaled. However, seconds later rain brought out the yellow caution flag. With darkness rapidly descending upon a race that had already been stopped for a three-hour rain delay, officials called the race official. Burton, a 6/1 shot, brought his wreck to victory lane.
Later in the year, at the Indy 500, Robby Gordon, who had been knocked down from 45/1 to 20/1 in the wagering, ran out of gas while on the lead with only two laps remaining in the race.
Given that these events and circumstances can happen to anyone, it's probably never wise to take a short price on a driver, especially in a crowded NASCAR field. In fact, 18 different drivers found the winners circle on the 2002 Winston Cup circuit.
Avoiding short odds was good wagering advice for Formula One racing as well until last year when Michael Schumacher dominated the F-1 circuit. Schumacher won a record 11 of 17 races, meaning that even at average odds of 4/5, you could earn a profit betting on the old soft "Schu" each race.
F-1 racing aside, it is betting on NASCAR that has become particularly popular in the last decade, especially in the United States. The sport, which is shown on American television screens nearly every weekend from February through November, appeals to "average guys," (demographically referred to as "Joe Sixpack" by the folks in advertising). Joe is a consumer who much more easily can relate to Chevys and Fords than to Ferraris streaking through the streets of Monte Carlo with endorsements from Gucci instead of Wrangler.
But auto racing's appeal, thanks in part to its exposure on TV, its inoculation from the debilitating labor disputes and work stoppages that have eroded fan support among other sports, and its purity and simplicity, is beginning to extend beyond "Bubba" to a larger, more diverse and wagering savvy audience.
The evolution that has resulted in NASCAR races becoming major betting events has placed even greater demands on bookmakers to issue accurate prices. Most try to do that by gathering all the pertinent information on the sport through an extensive network of print and electronic media outlets, as well as by matching certain drivers to certain courses, an important factor in a sport where the "field" bet may be as small as the half-mile oval at Martinsville or as large as the 2.66-mile loop at Talladega.
It's never easy to tap just one longshot winner out of a bulky field of 43 cars. But some bettors have had their successes and others are bound to try.
GASOLINE ALLEY: The Greek Sportsbook already has future book odds up for which drivers will win the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Championship and 2003 Formula One Drivers Championship. The Winston Cup season begins with the Daytona 500, Feb. 16. Formula One racers get moving with the Australian Grand Prix, Mar. 9.
