2011 NASCAR Odds: Gatorade Duel No. 2: Kyle Busch Favored
By Drew Sharper
DAYTONA, FL (TheSpread) – The right side of the starting grid to the Daytona 500 will be determined on Thursday with the running of the second Gatorade Duel. Here is a look at the odds to the second duel.
The Gatorade Duels feature half of the potential drivers for Sunday’s Daytona 500 in a 125-mile race. Jeff Gordon is on the pole for the race since he finished second in last Sunday’s qualifying. He will start up front on the right side no matter where he finishes on Thursday, but the rest of the field will lineup behind Gordon based on their order of finish in this race.
According to oddsmakers at online sportsbook Sportsbook.com Kyle Busch is favored to win with 3/1 odds while other short odds are Gordon (4/1), Denny Hamlin (6/1), and Jamie McMurray (7/1).
Busch has one victory at Daytona in his career with an average finish of 19.5 and a driver rating of 99.0. His driver rating is second-best of any driver in the series.
Gordon has six wins at Daytona in his career. His average finish at the track is 15.4 and his driver rating of 92.8, which ranks fourth.
Hamlin has struggled at Daytona. He is winless with an average finish of 23.1. His driver rating is just 80.3 at the track.
McMurray is the defending Daytona 500 champion. He has two wins in his career at the track.
The Gatorade Duels will air live on the Speed Network starting at 2PM ET. For complete odds to win the second Gatorade Duel, see below.
Odds to win Gatorade Duel No. 2
Kyle Busch 3/1
Jeff Gordon 4/1
Denny Hamlin 6/1
Jamie McMurray 7/1
Joey Logano 8/1
Clint Bowyer 8/1
Jeff Burton 10/1
Carl Edwards 12/1
Greg Biffle 15/1
David Ragan 15/1
Martin Truex Jr 20/1
David Reutimann 20/1
Brad Keselowski 30/1
Michael Waltrip 40/1
Casey Mears 75/1
Trevor Bayne 75/1
Steve Wallace 100/1
Field (Any Other Driver) 50/1
I took Jeff Gordon 5/1 & Carl Edwards 12/1 to watch the race and make it a little more exciting.