Best bets for the Daytona 500
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
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
<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
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.
ESPN PLUS ($ MATERIAL)
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
<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
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.
