2011 NASCAR Odds: Gatorade Duel No. 1: Earnhardt Jr. & Harvick Favored
By Drew Sharper
DAYTONA, FL (TheSpread) – The field for the 2011 Daytona 500 will be set on Thursday as drivers compete in the Gatorade Duels. Here is a look at the odds for the first 125-mile race.
The Gatorade Duels feature half of the potential drivers for Sunday’s Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one the pole for the race since he won last Sunday’s qualifying. He will start first no matter where he finishes on Thursday, but the rest of the field will lineup behind Earnhardt Jr. based on their order of finish in this race.
Despite not having much to race for, Earnhardt Jr. is one of the favorites to win the race according to oddsmakers at online sportsbook Sportsbook.com. He and Kevin Harvick each have 3/1 odds to win this duel while other short odds are Tony Stewart (5/1) and Kurt Busch (7/1).
Earnhardt has two wins in Sprint Cup races at Daytona and his average finish is 14.4. His driver rating at the track is 86.7, which ranks ninth among series drivers.
Harvick also has two wins at this track in his career with an average finish of 14.5. His driver rating at Daytona is 88.5, which is seventh in the series.
Stewart has three wins at Daytona with an average finish of 17.1 and a driver rating of 100.7, which is best of any driver. Busch is coming off a win in the Budweiser Shootout, but he has never won an official race at Daytona. His average finish is 17th and his driver rating is 94.8, which is third best amongst series drivers.
The Gatorade Duels will air live on the Speed Network starting at 2PM ET. For complete odds to win the first Gatorade Duel, see below.
Odds to win Gatorade Duel No. 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 3/1
Kevin Harvick 3/1
Tony Stewart 5/1
Kurt Busch 7/1
Jimmie Johnson 8/1
Juan Montoya 10/1
Ryan Newman 15/1
Matt Kenseth 15/1
Kasey Kahne 18/1
Brian Vickers 18/1
Mark Martin 20/1
Paul Menard 30/1
AJ Allmendinger 30/1
Marcos Ambrose 40/1
Bobby Labonte 40/1
Regan Smith 40/1
Bill Elliott 50/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 50/1
I took Tony Stewart 5/1 & Juan Montoya 12/1 to watch the race and make it a little more exciting.
Thought Montoya was going to win. 🙁