Summertime betting is a strange animal. The familiar pointspreads of the NFL and the NBA are put aside; in their place, we have sports like tennis, golf and racing (both horse and auto), where the odds list looks more like a futures market.

NASCAR is the sport of choice for many bettors in this environment. The largest sanctioning body in the world for stock car racing has done a remarkable job of promoting its product. By television ratings alone, NASCAR claims to be second only to the NFL in the United States.

The sport is divided at the national level into three separate competitions: the Sprint Cup Series, the Nationwide Series, and the Craftsman Truck Series. The Cup Series is the highest level, featuring top drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Their season lasts from February through November; most races are held in the southern U.S. where stock car racing has its roots.

Betting on NASCAR is a simple process. Odds are posted before each race; pick a driver, and if he or she wins, you get paid. Here’s a partial odds list from Bodog for this Saturday’s Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway:

Kyle Busch        5-1
Dale Earnhardt, Jr.    6-1
Tony Stewart        6-1
Jeff Gordon        7-1

There are 43 cars on the starting grid for each race, so the chances of any single driver winning the event are fairly small. However, the Cup circuit is dominated by a small number of elite drivers. Their teams (Hendrick Motorsports, Joe Gibbs Racing and Roush Fenway Racing, to name a few) have the most money to spend on the best mechanics, giving them the kind of advantage that makes betting on a long shot a losing proposition.

To pick a winner, it’s important to look at the track itself. Some are longer than others; a small handful comes in different shapes than the familiar oval. Each has its quirks that some drivers will find more suitable.

For example, the famed Daytona course is a 2.5-mile track with high banks of up to 31 degrees above level ground. That requires the use of restrictor plates to slow down the cars for safety purposes. Gordon has a proven record in these situations, winning six of his 31 career Cup races at Daytona. Jimmie Johnson (8-1) has just one win at Daytona in 13 attempts; he’s better at the 1.5-mile tracks like the one in Charlotte.

These career records are available for free on the Web, along with sharp commentary by the sport’s highly knowledgeable “gearhead” fans. It makes betting on NASCAR a breeze.