Way-too-early Daytona 500 odds: 2024 favorite revealed
By Asher Fair
The odds have already been released for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500, and it’s no surprise who the favorite is.
Roughly one month after the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season came to an end at Phoenix Raceway, the focus is slowly but surely beginning to turn to the start of the 2024 season.
Action is scheduled to get underway on Sunday, February 4 with the Busch Light Clash preseason exhibition race at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, but the official start of the 36-race campaign is set for Sunday, February 18 with the 66th annual Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
DraftKings Sportsbook, which is offering fans an instant $150 just for placing a single $5 bet, lists Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney as the favorite to win the Daytona 500.
Here are the top 10 favorites to win the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season-opening Daytona 500.
- Ryan Blaney, Team Penske: +900
- Chris Buescher, RFK Racing: +1100
- Chase Elliott, Hendrick Motorsports: +1100
- Brad Keselowski, RFK Racing: +1100
- William Byron, Hendrick Motorsports: +1200
- Denny Hamlin, Joe Gibbs Racing: +1200
- Joey Logano, Team Penske: +1400
- Kyle Larson, Hendrick Motorsports: +1600
- Kyle Busch, Richard Childress Racing: +1600
- Christopher Bell, Joe Gibbs Racing: +1600
Blaney has established himself as one of the sport’s top superspeedway drivers, with four wins to his name. His most recent superspeedway victory came at Talladega Superspeedway in October, a win which helped spearhead his upset championship run amid what had otherwise been a pretty average season.
He is a former winner at Daytona, but his victory came in the August race back in 2021. A Daytona 500 win continues to elude him, with runner-up finishes in 2017 and 2020 highlighting the ongoing theme of “oh-so-close” for him in the “Great American Race”.
It is no surprise to see so many drivers listed so close together at the top. Superspeedway races are always unpredictable “wild card” type events that anybody can seem to win.
By usual Cup Series standards, +900 odds for a favorite are quite long, but not so much for superspeedway racing. That’s just the nature of the beast.
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Fox’s live coverage of the 66th annual Daytona 500 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 18. Begin a free trial of FuboTV and don’t miss any of the action!