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2024 Daytona 500 Betting Preview

NASCAR Previews

17 February 2024 By Dunkel Index

The NASCAR Cup Series formally opens its season at its traditional home with Speedweek from the Daytona International Speedway, culminating with the Daytona 500.

Dubbed “the Great American Race,” The Daytona 500 is one of the most significant motorsports races of any category. Daytona provides exciting action on track and for bettors with many options, from a variety of prop bets and special betting lines to simply who will win the Daytona 500, the focus of our preview.

While NASCAR has run its annual preseason Clash event, the NASCAR Cup Series doesn’t truly begin until the cars run at Daytona. With single-lap qualifying on Wednesday night and the Duels at Daytona setting the rest of the grid for Sunday’s main event, we’ll preview who we think has the potential to win the Daytona 500 and the Dunkel Index’s pick for the winning driver.

DAYTONA 500 Start Time & Race Info

Event: DAYTONA 500 at Daytona International Speedway
Where: Daytona Beach, Florida
When: Sunday, February 18 at 2:30 PM ET
TV: FOX

DAYTONA 500 Starting Lineup & Odds

Starting Pos.	Driver	Team	Odds to Win	Odds Rank
1	Joey Logano	Team Penske	+900	2
2	Michael McDowell	Front Row Motorsports	+1800	8
3	Tyler Reddick	23XI Racing	+2200	14
4	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing	+1800	8
5	Chase Elliott	Hendrick Motorsports	+1200	5
6	Austin Cindric	Team Penske	+2800	17
7	Alex Bowman	Hendrick Motorsports	+3500	19
8	Denny Hamlin	Joe Gibbs Racing	+800	1
9	Carson Hocevar	Spire Motorsports	+7000	31
10	John H. Nemechek	LEGACY Motor Club	+7000	31
11	Erik Jones	LEGACY Motor Club	+3000	18
12	Harrison Burton	Wood Brothers	+5500	23
13	Daniel Suárez	Trackhouse Racing	+6500	28
14	Zane Smith	Spire Motorsports	+8000	33
15	Ty Gibbs	Joe Gibbs Racing	+1800	8
16	Brad Keselowski	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing	+1000	3
17	Kyle Larson	Hendrick Motorsports	+1400	7
18	William Byron	Hendrick Motorsports	+2200	14
19	Chris Buescher	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing	+2000	11
20	Chase Briscoe	Stewart Haas Racing	+6000	27
21	Ross Chastain	Trackhouse Racing	+2200	14
22	Justin Haley	Rick Ware Racing	+8000	33
23	Jimmie Johnson	LEGACY Motor Club	+5500	23
24	Bubba Wallace	23XI Racing	+2000	11
25	Ryan Preece	Stewart Haas Racing	+6500	28
26	Kaz Grala	Front Row Motorsports	–	–
27	Martin Truex Jr	Joe Gibbs Racing	+2000	11
28	AJ Allmendinger	Kaulig Racing	+5500	23
29	Corey LaJoie	Spire Motorsports	+3500	19
30	Josh Berry	Stewart Haas Racing	+5500	23
31	Todd Gilliland	Front Row Motorsports	+9000	36
32	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske	+1100	4
33	Austin Dillon	Richard Childress Racing	+4000	22
34	Kyle Busch	Richard Childress Racing	+1200	5
35	Ricky Stenhouse Jr	JTG Daugherty Racing	+3500	19
36	Riley Herbst	Rick Ware Racing	+9000	36
37	Daniel Hemric	Kaulig Racing	+10000	38
38	Noah Gragson	Stewart Haas Racing	+6500	28
39	Anthony Alfredo	Beard Motorsports	+10000	38
40	BJ McLeod	Live Fast Motorsports	+13000	40
40	David Ragan	Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing	+8000	33
41	JJ Yeley	NY Racing Team	–	–

DAYTONA 500 Favorites

Denny Hamlin (Odds to Win: +800)

Joey Logano (Odds to Win: +900)

Brad Keselowski (Odds to Win: +1000)

Ryan Blaney (Odds to Win: +1100)

Chase Elliott (Odds to Win: +1200)

DUNKEL INDEX TOP 10

Here are the Top 10 drivers for this event, according to the Dunkel Index:

M. Truex Jr	287.764
Kyle Busch	288.672
D. Hamlin	288.708
R. Chastain	289.219
R. Blaney	289.290
T. Reddick	289.572
C. Bell	289.657
K. Larson	290.159
B. Wallace	290.386
W. Byron	290.847

WINNER: MARTIN TRUEX JR (+2000)

Still looking for his first win at Daytona, Truex Jr's best finish was second place in 2016, narrowly missing out on victory to Denny Hamlin in a thrilling finish. Truex Jr has consistenly been a strong competitor at Daytona and will be making his 20th start. Truex Jr made three trips to Victory Lane in 2023, a substantial improvement upon his winless campaign the year prior. Rated No. 1 in this week's Dunkel Index, Truex Jr at +2000 is our pick to win.