It didn't take long for the 2026 Daytona 500 odds to be posted after the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season concluded just over a week ago at Phoenix Raceway, with Hendrick Motorsports' Kyle Larson being crowned champion after a late caution and restart saw Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin brutally denied his first title.
The 2025 season ended a week earlier than the 2024 season, as there was no three-week summer break due to NBC's Summer Olympics coverage like there was a year ago, so the offseason is also one week longer.
But the favorite to win the 2026 season opener has already been established by BetMGM. In fact, there are two co-favorites to win it, and both drive for Team Penske.
Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano favored to win Daytona 500
Blaney and Logano are both listed at +800, which is no surprise considering their past success not only at Daytona International Speedway but at superspeedways in general. However, Blaney still hasn't actually won the Daytona 500, and Logano hasn't won it since 2015.
Their teammate, Austin Cindric, is listed third at +1100. He won the 2022 race. Listed fourth at +1200 is Hendrick Motorsports' William Byron, who won in both 2024 and 2025 and is set to attempt to become the first ever driver to win the Daytona 500 three years in a row.
RFK Racing's Brad Keselowski, one of NASCAR's superspeedway aces who is also still missing that elusive Daytona 500 victory, is listed at +1300, placing him just ahead of Larson, who has yet to win on a superspeedway, at +1500. Hendrick Motorsports' Chase Elliott is listed behind him at +1600.
Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner whose own quest for a three-peat back in 2021 fell just short, is only listed at +1800, tying him for eighth with Richard Childress Racing's Kyle Busch, another all-time great who still hasn't won it in 20 attempts.
Full Daytona 500 odds can be found here and are always subject to change.
The 68th annual running of the "Great American Race" is set to be shown live on Fox from Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 15.