2019 Daytona 500 Betting Preview

NASCAR returns this weekend as the new Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season begins with the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.

Coming off his first Cup championship last season, Joey Logano is the co-favorite in this year’s opening race. At Bovada Sportsbook, Logano shares +800 odds with Brad Keselowski.

Logano won the Daytona 500 back in 2015, his lone win in the Cup series at Daytona. He has finished in the top 10 in every Daytona 500 since that win, including finishing fourth last year.

Keselowski’s best career finish in the 500 came back in 2014 when he finished third. He’s had bad luck in the 500 in recent years with his best finish since 2014 coming in 2016 when he finished well back in 20th. Last year he had to settle for 32nd place. Keselowski has won at Daytona before, as he took the checkered flag in the Coke Zero 400 in 2016.

In case you forget, the winner of last year’s Daytona 500 was Austin Dillon. That was his second career win in the Cup series, but he’s a heavy underdog at Bovada Sportsbook to return to victory lane this weekend. Dillon is a +3000 underdog to become the first back-to-back winner of the Daytona 500 since Sterling Marlin in 1994-95.

Former winner Hamlin in mix of drivers at +1100

Heading back to the top of the odds, following favorites Logano and Keselowski are Kevin Harvick at +850, and a logjam of drivers at +1100: Aric Almirola, Chase Elliott, Clint Bowyer and Denny Hamlin.

Harvick won the 500 for the first and only time back in 2007. Since then he’s come close to winning again a few times with second-place finishes in 2009 and 2015 and a fourth-place finish in 2016.

From the foursome of drivers listed at +1100, only Hamlin has won the 500 before. He took the checkers in 2016 and has been close on numerous occasions with four other top-four finishes. Almirola has only cracked the top 10 in the 500 once in eight starts. Elliott has started on the pole in the 500 twice but his best finish was 14th in 2017. Bowyer has 13 career starts in the 500 with two fourth-place finishes to his name.

Other former Daytona 500 winners in this weekend’s field include Kurt Busch at +1500, two-time winner Jimmie Johnson at +1800, Jamie McMurray at +3300 and Ryan Newman at +3400.