Best Bets For The Daytona 500 ?

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Best bets for the Daytona 500


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The Daytona 500 will kick off NASCAR's Cup Series season Sunday (2:30 p.m. ET). Coming off two straight victories at "The Great American Race," three-time winner Denny Hamlin is unsurprisingly the favorite at Daytona International Speedway.


Who will take the checkered flag? Senior writer Ryan McGee, fantasy analyst Mike Clay and editor Scott Symmes offer their best bets.


Note: Odds from Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill unless otherwise noted.

Best bets

Denny Hamlin 8-1


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McGee: I want so badly to go rogue and be courageous and find some dude way down the board to make everyone lots of money, but all I know is that I am fortunate enough to be the ESPN reporter who gets to interview the Daytona 500 winner every year, and three out of the past five years it has been Hamlin. No one has ever won three straight 500s, but I don't care. Whenever I'm totally running out of questions to ask a guy because he's the only one I ever interview at the same event every year, he must be pretty damn good.


Clay: Hamlin will seek a historic feat this Sunday as he attempts to become the first driver to visit Victory Lane in three straight Daytona 500s. He has been an absolute force on superspeedways during the past three seasons, securing top-five finishes in seven of his past nine starts on drafting ovals. The nature of Daytona is bound to yield a dose of unpredictability, so you wouldn't be wrong to lean toward the longer odds, but you shouldn't pass on this favorite.


Ryan Blaney 11-1



Symmes: For Blaney, the Daytona 500 is the one that keeps barely eluding his grasp. Blaney has finished second in this race twice, including last year, when he lost by inches to Hamlin. His most impressive Daytona 500 performance came in 2018, when he led the most laps and looked poised to win before being involved in a late-race incident. (He still managed to pull off a seventh-place finish.) The Team Penske driver has two wins at Talladega, so he has shown he can close the deal on superspeedways. Blaney has clearly shown enough strength at Daytona. He just needs to find that finishing touch. Don't be surprised if Sunday is the day it finally falls into place for him.




Clay: Blaney settled for runner-up in last year's drama-filled Daytona 500, with Hamlin inching him out at the line. He followed that result with a sixth-place showing this past summer under the Daytona lights. Blaney had a slow start to his career when it came to drafting ovals, but he found his stride in 2019 with a win at Talladega and became a repeat winner at that track in 2020. If he avoids trouble, then he'll be a near lock to maintain his superspeedway prowess.


Brad Keselowski 11-1


Symmes: Blaney isn't the only Team Penske driver who's overdue to break through in the Daytona 500. Keselowski leads all active Cup Series drivers with superspeedway wins (six at Daytona and Talladega combined), but he's 0-for-11 in the Great American Race. He's often been a front-runner (he led 30 laps last year), but crashes have taken him out of contention three times in the past four years. It's about time for the former series champion's luck to turn.

Long shot

Chris Buescher 60-1


Symmes: Buescher has recorded top-5 finishes in two of the past three Daytona 500s. Only two other drivers have done that: Hamlin and Joey Logano, another former winner. That's pretty good company for Buescher, who seems to have a knack for patiently working his way to the front. He finished third in last year's Daytona 500 and followed that up with a ninth-place finish in the August Daytona race.
 

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Who's got a Longshot?

I'll do Hamlin and someone else

My first bet on stock cars, I think
 

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Who's got a Longshot?

I'll do Hamlin and someone else

My first bet on stock cars, I think

Matt DiBenedetto +2900 and up. Maybe play Top 3 or 5. The Wood Bros. Always have a fast car at the super speedways, and this will be no different.
 

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OK, I'll look for him.

He even has the last name of my best childhood friend, an omen?
 

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Well, the “Big One” came early, really early!! There goes most of my picks...
 

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Well, the “Big One” came early, really early!! There goes most of my picks...

Think 21 gets back in the race?

At least for me, Hamlin survived, but I wanted the Longshot :)

Go figure, first race I'm really watching in a long time. Maybe 30 years
 

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Any live betting? Haven't seen any, but maybe they're waiting to see who's officially out
 

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Think 21 gets back in the race?

At least for me, Hamlin survived, but I wanted the Longshot :)

Go figure, first race I'm really watching in a long time. Maybe 30 years

Several of them may get out there and run alone for points, however, once that front splitter gets even the least bit damage to it, your chances of winning or even keeping up with the pack are zero, and unfortunately, barely touching the grass these days tears the damn splitter all to hell and back...
 

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Sucks, I had Matt D. And Jones as long shots, and they were drafting well together to the front. No doubt the 21 car had a car that could win, and I was hoping Matt D could be the next Trevor Bayne for the Wood Bros...
 

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Do race bets carryover? Or does the race have to be run on the day it's scheduled?
 

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Sure, Nascar treats me just like NCAAB, my team (Hamlin) collapses down the stretch

He was winning pretty late when I crashed for the night

Maybe I'll try wagering on transgender synchronized swimming in Ethiopia next
 

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