Following a postponement on Sunday, the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season will officially kick off with the 66th Daytona 500 on Monday afternoon. It will be the first of 36 points-paying races on the Cup Series Schedule. Which drivers make sense to back in today’s race?
Daytona 500 Race Details
What: Daytona 500
When: Monday, February 19, 4:00 p.m. ET
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Watch: FOX
Daytona 500 Betting Odds
Denny Hamlin is the current favorite to win the Daytona 500 at +850. Joey Logano has the next best odds at +900, followed by Brad Keselowski and Ryan Blaney at +1100, respectively. Chase Elliott and Kyle Busch are both +1200, respectively, followed by Christopher Bell at +1300 and Chris Buescher at +1600. Kyle Larson, meanwhile, is +1800, as are William Byron, Michael McDowell and Bubba Wallace, respectively.
Continuing with the odds, Martin Truex Jr. and Ty Gibbs are +2000, respectively, while Erik Jones and Tyler Reddick are +2200, respectively. Ross Chastain is +2500, followed by Rickey Stenhouse Jr., Alex Bowman and Austin Cindric at +2800, respectively. Austin Dillon is one of the long shots at +4000.
Daytona 500 Predictions
OPTION 1: Bubba Wallace (+1800)
Wallace has raced six times at Daytona International Speedway since February of 2021, which is the max number of outings a driver could have raced during that span. Out of the drivers with at least six starts at Daytona since February of 2021, Wallace has the best average finish at 10.7. He finished twice inside the top-5 and led for 28 laps. His best finish was second and his lowest was 20th, although he also didn’t finish in two of those six races. Wallace will start 24th today, which isn’t ideal, but at +1800, his odds are enticing.
OPTION 2: Joey Logano (+900)
Logano has the pole for Monday’s race and has the next-best average finish behind Wallace of drivers with at least six starts at Daytona since February of 2021. His best finish was also second, with his lowest coming at No. 23. He finished twice inside the top-5 in those six races and led for 99 laps. His average driver rating of 96.6 at Daytona since February of ’21 is the best in the field.
OPTION 3: Chase Elliott (+1200)
Logano has the best average driver rating of anyone in today’s field at 96.6 but Elliott owns the next-highest at 89.4. Since February of 2021, Elliott has four top-10 finishes at Daytona International Speedway and two top-5 finishes. His best finish was second and he led for 72 laps combined in those six outings. Unlike Wallace, he’ll also start in the top-10, as he owns the fifth spot in today’s grid.
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