We’ve been saying it all week: Betting the Daytona 500 is not an easy task given the NASCAR season opener’s insane unpredictability.
But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to have success. You just have to know that any betting ticket could go up in smoke if one of your drivers gets collected in one of the big wrecks that have come to define the race.
That aside, there certainly are drivers who thrive at Daytona and other superspeedway tracks. There are certain teams and manufacturers who have keyed in on things that help them find success. When you’re getting ready to go to the betting window, you want to make sure your driver and team can at least put you in a position to win. Everything else is out of your hands, which does make for an exciting sweat to open the season.
We’ve hit just about everything this week except for prop bets, and here are a few we’ve highlighted for Sunday’s race.
(Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook)
Michael McDowell top 10 (+105): The defending Daytona 500 champion isn’t about to sneak up on anyone. However, there might be some value to getting him at basically even money to sneak his way into the top 10. He’ll start sixth, on the heels of a second-place finish in the second of Thursday night’s duel, and he spun the fastest lap in practice earlier this week. He has five top-20 finishes in his last six Daytona races and has finished in the top 10 twice. Even if he’s running in that teens group Sunday, he’s just one pile-up in front from being inside the top 10.
Ryan Blaney top 3 (+260): Like McDowell, Blaney impressed in practice this week. He’ll start the race in the seventh spot. Clearly, he feels comfortable here, winning the pole in August and finishing third back in 2018 when he led 118 laps. He gets better every year, and he has as much of a chance as anyone to be up front when the checkers drop Sunday.
William Byron to win “Group 2” over Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Bubba Wallace (+250): Byron has a ridiculous record at Daytona, finishing second, second, sixth, fourth, 12th and first in his last six starts. That he’s been able to do that while “only” leading 80 combined laps in that run tells you he finds his way to the front of the pack. It broke right for him in 2019, but even if he can’t come away with the win, he looks like a worthy gamble despite that impressive grouping.
