Daytona 500 2019: Odds and Predictions for 61st Great American Race
When New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, the MVP of Super Bowl LIII, waves the green flag for the Daytona 500 on Sunday afternoon, it will officially mark the beginning of the 2019 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
William Byron is starting on the pole for the 61st running of the Great American Race. Last year's pole winner, Alex Bowman, is starting on the outside of the front row, while Gander RV Duels at Daytona winners Kevin Harvick and Joey Logano will start third and fourth, respectively.
Daytona Speedweeks has already been eventful, and it will culminate with one of the most exciting races in motorsport.
Daytona 500 Information
Date: Sunday, Feb. 17
Time: 2:30 p.m. ET
TV: Fox
Daytona 500 Odds
Brad Keselowski +800 (bet $100 to win $800)
Joey Logano +800
Kevin Harvick +850
Clint Bowyer +1,100
Ryan Blaney +1,100
Denny Hamlin +1,100
Aric Almirola +1,100
Chase Elliott +1,100
Kyle Busch +1,200
Kurt Busch +1,500
Martin Truex Jr. +1,800
Jimmie Johnson +1,800
Daniel Suarez +2,200
Erik Jones +2,500
Alex Bowman +2,500
Kyle Larson +2,800
Austin Dillon +3,000
William Byron +3,000
Jamie McMurray +3,300
Ryan Newman +3,400
Darrell Wallace Jr. +6,000
Daniel Hemric +6,000
Matt DiBenedetto +7,500
Ryan Preece +9,000
Chris Buescher +9,000
David Ragan +9,000
Ty Dillon +9,000
Michael McDowell +10,000
Matt Tifft +12,500
Cody Ware +15,000
Tanner Berryhill +20,000
Odds according to OddsShark.
Preview
This will be the final race in which NASCAR will have restrictor plates on the cars' engines, which has been the case at every superspeedway race—those at Daytona and Talladega—in recent years. After the Daytona 500, there will instead be tapered spacers on the engines at those races.
However, the result shouldn't be too different‚ so this may not be the last superspeedway race in which fans see a lot of the action happen in packs.
That will be the case on Sunday, as pack racing has dominated recent Daytona 500 races.
Logano is coming off his first career Cup Series championship after he ended 2018 with a strong stretch, including winning the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway. He'll start near the front of the field, and it wouldn't be surprising to see him stick around up there for most of the day.
Also near the front of the field will be Harvick (third) and Martin Truex Jr. (11th), who finished second and third, respectively, in last year's final points standings.
There are also some top contenders starting near the back of the field who will need to work their way up, including Kyle Busch (31st) and Brad Keselowski (35th).
Like many past superspeedway races, it will be the drivers who can stay near the front and those who can avoid the inevitable wrecks that will be left to battle for the win in the closing laps.
Pick
Although Kyle Busch hasn't won a superspeedway race since 2008, he will navigate through the field and notch his first career Daytona 500 win. He has 51 career Cup Series wins, and come Sunday night, he will finally have a victory in the Great American Race.