Sports betting has made its way to dirt racing.
The United States Auto Club (USAC) has become the first dirt racing series to be featured on Sports Betting Apps, which has already brought a bit of extra flair to the storylines over Indiana Midget Week.
From the press release from USAC on the news, it looks as though at least some USAC Non-Wing Sprint Car Series races will also be available on the books, but it’s an imperfect process so far, and that can be a good thing for bettors.
On Thursday, Emerson Axsom took home the victory at Lawrenceburg. However, the young up-and-comer’s odds were placed at +7000, meaning a big pay day if players had noticed the pick.
Axsom’s racing resume speaks for itself, and his win was nothing of an upset, but eyes are on the oddsmakers now.
Logan Seavey opened at +900 to win Friday night’s IMW race at Bloomington, but those odds are now at +350 as of 3:00 p.m. ET.
Below are the entirety of the odds for Friday’s race.
USAC Indiana Midget Week @ Bloomington Odds
Friday, June 7 at 3:00 p.m. ET
Odds via DraftKings.com.
Logan Seavey +350
Kale Drake +400
Cannon McIntosh +450
Emerson Axsom +500
Daison Pursley +500
Justin Grant +550
Hayden Reinbold +650
Taylor Reimer +800
Zach Daum +1100
Chase McDermand +1400
Kyle Jones +1500
Ethan Mitchell +1800
Kevin Thomas Jr. +2000
Ashton Torgerson +2000
Jacob Denny +2500
Michael Pickens +3500
Steve Buckwalter +6000
Ricky Lewis +6500
Lance Bennett +7000
Kaiden Manders +7000
Jake Andreotti +7000
Now, that’s not to say the setup is perfect.
Ryan Timms is entered and prepared to race Friday, and is currently the Indiana Midget Week points leader. However, fans are not able to bet on Timms to win the race. He’s simply not listed as a pickable driver on the site.
This isn’t anything new with DraftKings. Back when ARD was doing betting previews for every NASCAR race through the weekend, DK would leave drivers entered in the race off of the betting sheet. Ahead of a NASCAR Truck Series season opener, less than 15 drivers were set with odds, and four of them were not even entered to run the race. That’s when we stopped doing those.
In the event that Timms wins tonight’s race and say Logan Seavey finishes second, fans that picked Seavey would get paid as if he won the race.
Along with the new wrinkle into the sport, USAC already has a rule prohibiting its personnel from placing bets on the action in the interest of integrity.
It reads:
As reflected in its gambling policy, part XIV of the USAC rulebook, United States Auto Club (USAC) personnel, which includes, but is not limited to, drivers, crew, team members, officials and staff, are strictly prohibited from placing, soliciting or facilitating any wager, whether directly or through a third-party proxy or surrogate on any USAC sanctioned event.
This prohibition applies to all USAC and/or leagues sanctioned by USAC personnel, and includes, but is not limited to wagering on season or event outcomes, statistics, scores, individual performances and any other kinds of legally offered “propositional” wagers.
USAC will adhere to a zero-tolerance gambling policy. USAC and all personnel are obligated to report any violations to the governing body of USAC. In the event this gambling policy is suspected or violated, disciplinary action will occur, including fines, suspension and/or banishment from USAC and any of the leagues it sanctions.
Visit the DraftKings app and find USAC under the ‘all sports’ tab under motorsports or go to www.nxtbets.com/playusac to start betting. The release states that betting on the action is available currently in 30 states, however we can confirm that it is not available in Iowa, despite sports gambling being legalized.
All of the USAC Midget action, including Friday’s race at Bloomington, can be seen live on FloRacing.
