DraftKings will have two branded cars in this weekend’s Crayon 301, a sign that North Carolina bettors could expect a larger DraftKings presence at Charlotte Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway when sports betting launches in 2024.
Running Sunday, July 16, at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway, the Crayon 301 will feature the debut of DraftKings’ newest branded Toyota.
“In addition to the anticipated thrilling race on Sunday,” DraftKings Communications Manager Alyson Andrules said in a press release, “DraftKings is excited to hit the track with 23XI Racing’s Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick, showcasing the DraftKings No. 23 Toyota Camry TRD and debuting the brand-new No. 45 DraftKings Network Toyota Camry TRD.”
When North Carolina sports betting launches sometime between Jan. 8, 2024, and June 14, 2024, NCSharp expects the state to quickly become a leader in auto-racing betting. With an increased presence from top-industry sportsbooks – like DraftKings – leading up to that launch, North Carolina could become the king of NASCAR sports betting.
DraftKings’ first foray out of home
DraftKings Network (DKN), the sportsbook’s media network, presents podcasts, webshows and extensive betting advice for fans interested in the DraftKings perspective on sports.
The DKN car, driven by Tyler Reddick, “is the networks’ [sic] first-out-of-home branding since launching its 24/7 Fast Channel on Samsung TV in May.”
While it may be the first time you see DKN outside a TV or phone screen, it won’t be the last. The network hosts a range of podcasts and webshows with experienced sports personalities who’ve worked at major television networks, and that stable of top personalities is growing.
A DraftKings sportsbook at Charlotte Motor Speedway?
Brands such as DraftKings will have more than just a sportsbook app to provide to bettors in North Carolina. North Carolina’s sports betting law allows for retail sportsbooks at eight sports venues in the state, including Charlotte Motor Speedway and North Wilkesboro Speedway.
Kansas Motor Speedway is the only track with a sportsbook on or near the property, and Joe Solosky, managing editor of sports betting at NASCAR, told NCSharp that the Barstool sportsbook “has dominated the state from a retail standpoint.”
Neither of the two North Carolina racetracks have announced sports betting partnerships or sportsbook plans, but it wouldn’t be surprising with DraftKings’ increased presence in NASCAR that the sportsbook looks into a retail location at one of the state’s two racetracks.
DraftKings already capitalizing on in-venue sportsbooks
If the DraftKings sportsbook at TPC Scottsdale is any indication, the Boston company knows how to pick in-venue sportsbooks.
As host to the largest (and wildest) golf event in the world, the Waste Management Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale brings nearly three-quarters of a million fans to the course every year. That plus the nearly 100,000 fans that play the public course bring tremendous foot traffic to the DraftKings sportsbook on site.
Would a DraftKings retail sportsbook on or near Charlotte Motor Speedway, one of the most popular tracks in the country in the city that many consider the heart of NASCAR, be a good way to expand NASCAR betting in North Carolina?
It is up to the individual venues to decide if they want a retail sportsbook on site. If Charlotte Motor Speedway is interested in having one up and running by the 2024 Coca-Cola 600 on May 26, 2024 – and sports betting launches in the state by then – news could come soon.
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