Kyle Busch will begin defense of his 2015 Sprint Cup title, while past winners such as Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski will look to get a fast start out of the gate as some of the featured drivers in this season’s Daytona 500. The one thing we know for sure is that it will be a wild, wide-open race all day long for NASCAR’s biggest prize.
The following is a look at a few of the top favorites to win this Sunday’s Daytona 500 along with my top value pick based on betting odds provided by Bovada.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will have a sentimental place in his heart marking the 15th year since his dad lost his life in this very race and he comes in as a +600 favorite to make this a very special memory with a win. Behind the wheel of the No. 88 car, he was able to make his way to victory lane three times last season including a victory at Daytona in the second race of the season at this fabled track. Dale Jr. first won this race in 2004 and he claimed his second Daytona 500 title in 2014. With a third-place finish or better in four of his last six Sprint Cup point races at this track, the value in his odds remains pretty high.
The second-favorite to win on Sunday at +900 betting odds is six-time Sprint Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson. You know that the No. 48 team will be hungry for an early win after falling to 10th in last season’s Chase and Daytona could be a could place to get it done. Johnson made his way to victory lane five times in 2015 while adding another nine Top-5 finishes. While none of those victories came at Daytona, he did finish fifth in this race and second in the second race here last year. Back in 2013, he swept the series at Daytona with victories in both events.
Kevin Harvick leads a trio of drivers at +1000 betting odds to win this year’s Great American Race in a group that also includes Joey Logano and Matt Kenseth. Harvick won the 2014 Sprint Cup title and he started the 2015 season on a strong note with a second-place finish in the Daytona 500. He went on to win three point-races while adding an incredible 12 more second-place runs to his 2015 Sprint Cup resume. He closed things out with a second-place finish behind Kyle Busch at Homestead-Miami to barely miss out on posting back-to-back titles. Harvick’s only win in the Daytona 500 came in 2007.
Daytona 500 Betting Odds
- Dale Earnhardt, Jr. +600
- Jimmie Johnson +900
- Kevin Harvick +1000
- Joey Logano +1000
- Matt Kenseth +1000
- Brad Keselowski +1200
- Denny Hamlin +1200
- Kyle Busch +1200
- Carl Edwards +1600
- Kurt Busch +1800
- Chase Elliott +1800
- Martin Truex, Jr. +1800
- Kasey Kahne +2200
- Kyle Larson +2200
- Jamie McMurray +2800
- Austin Dillon +3300
- Ryan Newman +4000
- Brian Vickers +5000
- Clint Bowyer +5000
- Greg Biffle +5000
- Ryan Blaney +5000
- Aric Almirola +5000
- Danica Patrick +5000
- David Ragan +5000
- Paul Menard +5000
- Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. +5000
- Trevor Bayne +5000
- Chris Buescher +6600
- Michael Waltrip +6600
- Regan Smith +6600
- A. J. Allmendinger +7500
- Casey Mears +7500
- David Gilliland +7500
- Ty Dillon +7500
- Bobby Labonte +10000
- Brian Scott +10000
- Reed Sorenson +10000
- Landon Cassill +12500
- Cole Whitt +15000
- Josh Wise +15000
- Matt DiBenedetto +15000
- Michael Annett +15000
- Michael McDowell +15000
- Robert Richardson Jr. +15000
