The 2022 NASCAR season is finally here! What better way to kick things off than the huge race hat is the Daytona 500. It’s every driver’s dream to win at the Daytona International Speedway, and one of them is going to make that come true this coming Sunday. Who’s going to come away with the checkered flag in this massive event?
Hamlin is always going to be in the conversation to win the Daytona 500. After all, he’s won this massive event a total of three times already, more recently in 2020. There’s just no way that Hamlin’s name will not be mentioned when it comes to the top drivers to watch out for in the Daytona 500. In six starts at the Daytona International Speedway since 2019, Hamlin has also amassed five top 20s and 228 laps led. His career average finish at the track is 15.88 overall, but that’s down to 8.17 if we only count his appearances there from 2019 onwards.
Elliott has never won a race at the Daytona International Speedway, but he’s gotten stronger there over his last few appearances at the said track. Elliott had not cracked the top 20 in six of his first eight starts there, but he has a couple of runner-up finishes and an eighth-place campaign in his past three appearances. Last season, Elliott had two wins and 21 top 10s in 36 starts.
Larson completed a successful comeback story in 2021, as he was crowned the NASCAR Cup Series Champion that season. He will look to take off to a great start at the Daytona International Speedway. While Larson has zero wins to show for his 15 total career appearances at that track, he’s been pretty solid there over the past few years. In fact, Larson has three top 10s in his five most recent starts at the Daytona International Speedway.
Jones had a down year in 2021, but that’s not going to stop people hunting for nice sleepers to bet on from taking a chance on him. For one, he’s conquered the Daytona International Speedway before, having won the Coke Zero Sugar 400 there in 2017.
Briscoe doesn’t have an extensive experience racing at the top level at the Daytona International Speedway, but since the Daytona 500 is well-known for its unpredictability, it would still make sense to at least make value bets on him. Last season, Briscoe had three top 10s in 36 starts.
Before you completely disregard Bilicki, just know that he’s gradually gotten better in his three career starts at the Daytona International Speedway. He was 38th in his debut there in the 2020 Coke Zero Sugar 400, then finished 24th in the 2021 Daytona 500, then placed 10th in his most recent appearance at the track during the 2021 Coke Zero 400.
