NASCAR is back with a bang with the Daytona 500 as the season opener takes place on February 20th with a place in the history books on the line for one driver in particular.
Last year’s championship winner Kyle Larson will look to start his first season as champion with a win, but it’s three-time winner Denny Hamlin who comes into the race as the favorite. A win for him would see him join some legendary names on a very exclusive list, but more on that later.
We’ll take a look at the race this weekend and make some predictions based on the betting odds while seeing if we can earn you some extra cash for the weekend.
The odds for the Daytona 500 have been taken from top-tier sportsbook providers offering NASCAR betting odds.
| Daytona 500 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +900 | +850 | TBA |
| Chase Elliott | +1100 | +1000 | TBA |
| Joey Logano | +1200 | +1200 | TBA |
| Kyle Larson | +1100 | +1100 | TBA |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 | +1200 | TBA |
First things first, avoid Larson at all costs in this race. NASCAR’s Reigning champion to start the new season well is usually a given but in this race, if history is anything to go by he should be left alone.
Larson had one of the best seasons in recent memory last year. becoming the first driver to have ten wins and a championship in the same season since Jimmie Johnson 15 years ago.
Despite ending the season with 2,581 laps and an average finish of 9.08 he has never finished well on this track in this race.
Having been in this race 15 times previously, Larson’s best finish is a lowly 6th place and his average finish is way down in 21st place. Even more worryingly he’s crashed out or failed to finish the race on six different occasions.
There’s always a first time for everything, so don’t rule it out completely, but I’d steer clear of the defending champ in this one.
See below the top sportsbooks, like BetNow, where you can wager online and choose the best one for you:
This is a huge opportunity for the great Denny Hamlin to further cement himself into the history books and it’s the entire reason he is the pre-race favorite at +900 favorite with BetUS Sports betting.
Hamlin has previously won the race on three occasions, and the 41-year-old NASCAR veteran is one of only six people to have the honor of being able to say that. However there is an even more exclusive list that he will be looking to join, and that’s the people who have won the race four times.
Currently only seven-time winner Richard Petty and four-time winner Cale Yarborough have that honor but if Hamlin can use his experience to cross that finish line first once again he will join them as only the third person ever to have that honor.
One thing we all love about NASCAR is just how unpredictable it is, which leaves a huge window open for an underdog to step in and claim victory despite his price suggesting he has no chance pre-race.
One of those in this race on Sunday will be Bubba Wallace, who comes into the race as a huge +2000 underdog with Bovada Sports Betting to win the Daytona 500.
As part of the 23XI team, owned by NBA superstar Michael Jordan, Wallace became only the second black driver to win in the Cup series with his win at Talladega Superspeedway back in the fall of 2021. That win was one of a career-best three top-five finishes that he secured throughout the whole season to finally get recognized as one of the best drivers in the series.
This is a driver who excels when it comes to superspeedway tracks. He came second in Daytona back in August before winning in Talladega and going one step further to claim victory would be a huge achievement for the 29-year-old.
Another one to look out for is Joe Gibbs Racing team member Christopher Bell, who comes into the race as a huge +2800 pick with BetUS Sports Betting.
His average finish of 17.8 in his first season with the team ranked at 14th in the series, but that was far less impressive than his fifth-best average running position of 10.9 and a driver rating of 93.9 that also placed him in fifth across drivers in the series.
The combination of Bell’s prowess in 2021 on superspeedway tracks and the advantage of having the very best equipment on the field makes his price far too high to ignore completely.
It’s way too early to go big on him because of the New Gen car and uncertainty surrounding its performance, but it’s certainly worth a small wager for a big return.
The biggest and best price across the entire field is undoubtedly Erik Jones, who has previously won the race, finished third on another occasion, and has finished as a runner-up at Talladega before, coming in at a HUGE +6600.
He won the 2020 Busch Clash, which is a pre-season exhibition race that took place on the same track so with that huge value he’s definitely worth some change.
Jones has a total of 11 top-10 finishes across the board at superspeedways in his career and his team are way overdue a victory in the series. +6600 is absolutely massive and shouldn’t be ignored, even if you’re just putting small money down.
About the Author
Daniel is a football writer who has a great thirst for the Premier League and other major European leagues. A lover of the beautiful game and a firm believer that the eye test is better than statistics. Also an avid MMA fan.
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