Daytona 500 Drivers Odds
NASCAR Daytona 500 2021: Predictions, Odds and Top Drivers for NASCAR Season Opener Maurice Bobb @.
- There has been some movement in the odds for the 2020 Daytona 500, according to DraftKings. See where 2019 winner Denny Hamlin and other top drivers - plus some new ones who are moving up the.
- His low odds, combined with his lack of success at Daytona, make him one of the drivers to fade at the Daytona 500 2021. How to make 2021 NASCAR at Daytona picks The model is also targeting three other drivers with NASCAR at Daytona odds of 13-1 or longer to make a serious run at winning it all.
May 20, 2020, Darlington, SC, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) during the Toyota 500. Mandatory Credit: Brynn Anderson/Pool Photo via USA TODAY Network
The 2021 Daytona 500 will kick off a new NASCAR season on Sunday, when 40 drivers will try to make history with a win at the 63rd running of The Great American Race. Chase Elliott is only 25 years old, but he's made the NASCAR playoffs in each of his first five seasons, won 11 times in the last three years, and is coming off his first Cup championship. Now, he'll try to add a Daytona 500 crown to an already impressive resume when the green flag drops on NASCAR at Daytona 2021 at 2:30 p.m. ET.
Elliott is 12th in the 2021 Daytona 500 starting lineup and listed at 10-1 in the 2021 Daytona 500 odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Two-time defending Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin will have a little more work to do since he's starting in 25th, but his superspeedway prowess means he's the 17-2 favorite in the 2021 NASCAR at Daytona odds. Before you scour the 2021 Daytona 500 starting lineup and make your NASCAR at Daytona predictions for the Great American Race, be sure to see the latest 2021 Daytona 500 picks from SportsLine's proven projection model.
Developed by daily Fantasy pro and SportsLine predictive data engineer Mike McClure, this proprietary NASCAR prediction computer model simulates every race 10,000 times, taking into account factors such as track history and recent results.
The model began the 2020 season paying out big by picking Denny Hamlin to win his second consecutive Daytona 500 at 10-1. The model also called Kevin Harvick's win at Atlanta and nailed a whopping nine top-10 finishers in that race. McClure then used the model to lock in a 10-1 bet on Hamlin for his win at Miami.
At The Brickyard, the model called Harvick's fourth victory of the season. Then during the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs, the model nailed its picks in back-to-back races, calling Denny Hamlin to win at 17-2 at Talladega and Chase Elliott to win at 7-2 at the Charlotte Roval. Anybody who has followed it has seen huge returns.
Now, his model simulated the 2021 NASCAR at Daytona race 10,000 times. Head to SportsLine to see the complete projected leaderboard for the 2021 Daytona 500.
Top 2021 Daytona 500 predictions
One surprise: the model is high on Aric Almirola, even though he's a 16-1 long shot in the latest NASCAR at Daytona odds 2021 from William Hill. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. Almirola's confidence should be soaring after a win in the first 2021 Bluegreen Vacations Duel at Daytona, which resulted in a second-row starting spot with inside position.
The 36-year-old has made the playoffs the last three seasons, while superspeedways have been the site of both of his NASCAR Cup Series victories. Almirola won the 2018 1000bulbs.com 500 at Talladega and the 2014 Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. Stewart-Haas Racing also has Kevin Harvick starting inside the top 10 (eighth), so look for Almirola and Harvick to link up early and climb the 2021 Daytona 500 leaderboard.
And a massive shocker: Chase Elliott, one of the top Vegas favorites at 10-1, stumbles big-time and doesn't even crack the top five. There are far better values in this loaded 2021 Daytona 500 lineup. The 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion is 12th in the 2021 Daytona 500 starting grid.
Elliott finished second at Daytona last August, but that was his first career top-10 finish in 10 starts at the track. In fact, he'd never finished higher than 14th at this iconic venue, and he's finished 17th or worse in his last three Daytona 500s. His low odds, combined with his lack of success at Daytona, make him one of the drivers to fade at the Daytona 500 2021.
How to make 2021 NASCAR at Daytona picks
The model is also targeting three other drivers with NASCAR at Daytona odds of 13-1 or longer to make a serious run at winning it all. Anyone who backs these drivers could hit it big. You can see all the NASCAR picks over at SportsLine.
So who wins the 2021 Daytona 500? And which long shots stun NASCAR? Check out the latest 2021 Daytona 500 odds below and then visit SportsLine now to see the full projected 2021 Daytona 500 leaderboard, all from the model that nailed Hamlin's win last season.
2021 Daytona 500 odds
Denny Hamlin 17-2
Chase Elliott 10-1
Joey Logano 11-1
Kyle Larson 11-1
Ryan Blaney 11-1
Brad Keselowski 12-1
William Byron 13-1
Video: NASCAR drivers return for 63rd Daytona 500 (NBC Sports)
Kevin Harvick 13-1
Alex Bowman 13-1
Kyle Busch 14-1
Martin Truex Jr. 15-1
Aric Almirola 16-1
Kurt Busch 22-1
Bubba Wallace 22-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 25-1
Christopher Bell 28-1
Austin Dillon 30-1
Ross Chastain 35-1
Matt DiBenedetto 35-1
Ryan Newman 40-1
Tyler Reddick 55-1
Cole Custer 60-1
Austin Cindric 60-1
Jamie McMurray 60-1
Erik Jones 60-1
Chris Buescher 65-1
Chase Briscoe 70-1
Daniel Suarez 100-1
Michael McDowell 100-1
David Ragan 125-1
Corey Lajoie 125-1
Ryan Preece 200-1
Anthony Alfredo 250-1
Kaz Grala 250-1
BJ McLeod 1000-1
Cody Ware 1000-1
Quin Houff 1000-1
Joey Gase 1000-1
Josh Bilicki 1000-1
Derrike Cope 2000-1
NASCAR Cup Betting Resources
Daytona 500 Picks
- Date: Sunday, February 14, 2021
- TV-Time: FOX, 2:30 p.m. ET
- Venue: Daytona International Speedway
- Location: Daytona Beach, Florida
Handicapping NASCAR at Daytona
In the previous 62 Daytona 500s, no driver has won three straight of NASCAR’s most prestigious race and we haven’t seen anyone get the opportunity since Sterling Marlin tried in the 1996 event. But 2021 gives us a chance to watch history as Denny Hamlin will try to win his third straight Daytona 500 on Sunday and he’s fully aware of what is at stake.
'I hope that I'm around (don't wreck early), that I give myself a chance to make history because ultimately, that's what I'm here for,' Hamlin said. 'Making history, doing something that no one else has ever done, that's what motivates me to want to get this one.'
He also will be shooting for his fourth Daytona 500 which would tie him with Cale Yarborough for second-most behind Richard Petty’s seven wins. He has a chance to make history and that’s the main theme coming into the 63rd running of the race.
There are only five active drivers other than Hamlin to win a Daytona 500 and all of them have one win each. Some of the best superspeedway drivers, or those from the restrictor-plate era, have retired and taken their secrets of manipulating the air in the draft. But the 40-year-old Hamlin learned in his younger years by watching the greats and finally won a superspeedway race in his ninth season racing on them at Talladega in 2014.
Now he’s got five superspeedway wins, winning two of four last season -- top-four in all four -- closing out with a Talladega win. He led laps in all four superspeedway races last season and used different strategies in all. He’d either get upfront and lead to keep the ‘Big One’ behind him or fall behind to keep an eye in front of him with enough room to avoid the inevitable pile up that always happens on superspeedways. He’s been successful at both.
Denny Hamlin seeks a third consecutive Daytona 500 title on Sunday afternoon. (AP)
He’s also got Joe Gibbs Racing equipment which has worked hard to be competitive in the opener at Daytona. Matt Kenseth led a bunch of laps on superspeedways for JGR, Erik Jones got a summer Daytona win in 2018, and Kyle Busch has the top Daytona rating (91.1) among all drivers since NASCAR's Loop Data started keeping track in 2005. Hamlin is rated No. 2 (88.7) over that span.
In Wednesday morning’s first practice before qualifying, JGR equipment posted the top-five speeds with the new 2021 entry, Bubba Wallace, fastest with his Michael Jordan-Hamlin-owned No. 23.
The point is that it hasn’t all been Hamlin, but he’s been the one to use his skills the best and get out front lately. He uses the side-draft better than anyone and he blocks while leading better than anyone which is why we’re talking about him possibly winning for the third straight season. The car rules and race packages are the same as 2020, although Hamlin’s winning Daytona 500 car from last season is on display at Daytona USA.
NASCAR Cup Odds - Daytona
- Denny Hamlin +800
- Chase Elliott +1000
- Joey Logano +1000
- Ryan Blaney +1000
- Brad Keselowski +1400
- William Byron +1400
- (Odds Subject to Change)
William Hill sportsbooks have him listed as the 8-to-1 favorite while Circa Sports updated numbers Wednesday have him favored at 11-to-1 odds, the best number in the world.
I’ve been saying for years to be careful and be smart wagering every time there’s a superspeedway race. It’s repetitive but I feel it’s important to remind you all that the volatility of these two tracks changes the true driver rating for each driver because they’re more susceptible to being caught up in a wreck at no fault of their than other tracks.
That’s why I say ditch the props and driver match-ups, but spend some more than usual on odds to win mixing in weighted amounts on a couple of favorites like Hamlin or Ryan Blaney (14/1), middle of the board drivers like Kyle Busch (19/1), Wallace (28/1), Chris Buescher (51/1), and a long shot like Jones (60/1) or Ryan Newman (60/1).
The sportsbooks know this as well which is why they don’t offer any huge odds on the long shots but offer big odds on the favorites. It’s the randomness, the crapshoot of it all where any driver can win. As the wrecks start happening, you start throwing bet tickets away, but for the final five laps, you may have three of the 10 drivers in the lead pack and have just as good of a shot as any.
Last season I had tickets on Hamlin and Newman in that situation and I got lucky, but I believed in Newman and the Roush equipment for superspeedways. I still do to an extent with Newman and Buescher, who finished third in the Daytona 500.
Let’s talk about some contenders to derail Hamlin’s quest for history beginning with his new employee Wallace who William Hill is offering at 28-to-1 odds.
Daytona 500 Contenders
Odds To Win 2021 Daytona 500
The Toyota’s have the least amount of friends and the drivers always choose manufacturers of their own to draft with which is all the more reason to be astounded by Hamlin’s success. The Fords and Chevrolets all have more cars on the track than Toyota. But Hamlin just got a new wingman with Wallace in case Martin Truex, Jr., Busch, or Christopher Bell aren’t around to push him.
Wallace had three top-fives in his three seasons with Richard Petty Motorsports and two of them came at Daytona, including a runner-up as a rookie in 2018. It’s the only type of racing he had success with continuously where he could find his way to the front. But now he has basically a JGR car with Michael Jordan money attached and crew chief Mike Wheeler who was chief for Hamlin in the 2016 Daytona 500 win. This car is going to be fast and contending for the win while also pushing or being pushed by Hamlin.
I instantly thought of the 2001 Daytona 500 when Dale Earnhardt, just before he passed, was blocking for his two DEI cars driven by Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and gave up his chance to win -- he had a fast RCR No. 3 that day -- to let his two cars battle it out. He had never given anybody anything like that in his career.
That scenario won’t play out here because Hamlin is going for three straight, but I’m sure at some point we’ll see Hamlin have a hand at helping Wallace gets his first career Cup win, and if I could bet where it’ll happen I would say on one of the four superspeedway races.
Team Penske has a great superspeedway package but only Joey Logano has a Daytona 500 win (2015). Brad Keselowski has a 2016 win at Daytona in the summer race and five other wins at Talladega.
Ryan Blaney has won at Talladega in each of the last two seasons and was runner-up in the Daytona 500 last season. They all have fast cars and all are also very good at understanding how the draft works. They also have friends from Roush, Front Row Motorsports, Wood Brothers, and Stewart-Haas Racing that drives Fords and can help in the draft.
Daytona 500 Odds And Predictions
The Chevy camp comes loaded with speed and young talent. Chevrolet has won the Daytona 500 pole the last eight seasons, and a Hendrick engine has won the last six, five of which were by a Hendrick driver.
William Byron (16/1) won last summer at Daytona for his first career Cup win. He’s a nice pick to take his next logical step into NASCAR stardom in a year that just saw Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson,, and Clint Bowyer retire.
Driver Odds For Daytona
Chase Elliott (14/1) comes off his first championship season and NASCAR is hoping for more to come -- see seven road courses on the 2021 schedule. But he’s never won at Daytona in a points-paying race. This would be a great place for the champ to bust out and gain an even bigger audience of young fans. Chase just has a quiet coolness about him and is hard not to like.
Back to only five active drivers that have Daytona 500 wins other than Hamlin. Earnhardt went almost an entire career racing and dominating all races at Daytona until finally winning the Daytona 500 in 1998. Tony Stewart never won one. Kyle Busch starts his 17th Daytona 500 searching for his first win. Keselowski is also still searching for his trophy, so is Truex, and so is Elliott -- all Cup champions.
Vegas Odds For Daytona 500
As always, I’ll go for the historical moment to happen and I supported Hamlin through the betting window, along with a few other guys I mentioned in this piece. Here are my top-5 selections using odds from Circa Sports Las Vegas:
Daytona 500
Top-5 Finish Prediction
- 1) #11 Denny Hamlin (11/1)
- 2) #12 Ryan Blaney (14/1)
- 3) #10 Aric Almirola (24/1)
- 4) #47 Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (26/1)
- 5) #24 William Byron (16/1)