The end of football season is always a hard pill to swallow, but at least it also means that the start of the new NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season is upon us. And as with every year, there’s no better way to start our betting engines than with the most prestigious of all races: the Daytona 500.
Although one of NASCAR’s legends in Jeff Gordon is no longer part of the racing circuit, there’s never any shortage of stars and past victors from Daytona Beach. Let’s run down the top frontrunners and dark horses for this Sunday afternoon’s race below.
If you’re seeking more insights about this event from other motorsport junkies, then head on over to our experts picks feature to find out who the analysts have predicted to win NASCAR’s inaugural race of the season.
NASCAR’s most popular driver of the past decade, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is quite fittingly the leading favorite at +500 to win this year’s Daytona 500.
The 17-year stalwart has won this event twice in his career, with those two victories a decade apart from one another (2004 and 2014). He has four total wins at Daytona International Speedway, including having taken home the checkered flag last July at the Coke Zero 400.
And considering that the Daytona 500 is a restrictor plate race, Hendrick Motorports’ decorated driver looks even more poised to prevail with the win on Sunday. Earnhardt won two of the four restrictor plate races from last season.
Jimmie Johnson
Much like Earnhardt, Jimmie Johnson is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2006 and 2013). The six-time Sprint Cup Series champion is even in better form than his Hendrick Motorsports teammate, having finished in the top five of his past three outings at this event.
Apart from that, Johnson (+800) is also known to have strong starts to his seasons. He had three wins and seven top five finishes in the first 15 races of last year’s campaign, including his solid fifth place finish at DIS.
Sleepers
Denny Hamlin
Speaking of strong starts, Denny Hamlin (+1,200) also began this NASCAR season with a bang, particularly at the tune-up race prior to the Daytona 500. This past week, the 35-year-old won the Sprint Unlimited exhibition race for the third time in his career and his second in three years.
Yes, the Sprint Unlimited is hardly a true indicator of success for the real showdown on the same track a week after, but we shouldn’t forget that Hamlin is no slouch at Daytona at all. He was the runner up of the 2014 edition of this event, and has no finish worse than sixth place in his last four races on this track with a superb average finish of 3.75 during that span.
Joey Logano
At just the tender age of 25, Joey Logano has swiftly become a serious contender for the Sprint Cup every single year.
First of all, he’s the reigning Daytona 500 champion and also the second-youngest winner of this event. Also, Team Penske’s top dog won the other two restrictor plate races from last season that Earnhardt missed out on, proving that he has just as great control in such handling-driven races as one of the sport’s living legends.
Logano’s off to a swift start as well, having finished second behind Hamlin at the Sprint Unlimited this past week. As such, expect the former Rookie of the Year awardee to excel once again on Sunday and make those guys who took him at +900 to win in Daytona Beach very happy customers.
Long Shot
Chase Elliott
With a price of +1,400 and all the hype surrounding him, rookie Chase Elliott is actually closer to sleeper status than a long shot. However, we’ll make our case as for why the prospects of the 20-year-old winning Sunday’s race is really slim indeed.
Let’s brush aside the fact that he’s the heir to Jeff Gordon’s number 24 car, as this is not a sound measure of success at all. And ok, he just became the youngest driver to win pole position at Daytona 500 earlier this week. But did you know that he’s also the third rookie to win pole at the event in the past four years?
What’s worse is that the past two rookies, Danica Patrick and Austin Dillon, are hardly formidable challengers on the circuit to date. So again, take the young Elliott at your own peril.
Writer’s Prediction
Logano (+900) becomes the first back-to-back Daytona 500 winner since 1995.
