What better way to celebrate Valentine’s Day than with NASCAR’s Super Bowl sized opener! The Daytona 500 is set for Sunday, February 14, 2021, following Pole qualifying and the two qualifying Duel races. Alex Bowman captured the pole with William Byron in the second starting position. However, it’s two-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin who’s the favorite to win the race outright.

Hamlin comes in at +700 as the favorite for good reason. He’s won the last two Daytona 500s and if he makes it a three-peat he’ll make NASCAR history. No driver has won the Great American Race three times in a row.

One name not making the top-five favorites list is Kevin Harvick who lands just outside of the +1000 mark at +1200. Harvick won the 500 back in 2007. Since then, Hamlin has won the race three times; 2016, 2019, and 2020.

Of the favorites listed below, only Joey Logano (+900) has won the Daytona 500 before. His win came in 2015. Here are the top-five favorites at +1000 and under from Intertops.

Denny Hamlin +700

Chase Elliott +900

Brad Keselowski +900

Joey Logano +900

Ryan Blaney +1000

It’s interesting to note that all three NASCAR manufactures are represented with the drivers listed above. Hamlin drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Elliott pilots a Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, while Keselowski, Logano, and Blaney all drive Fords for Team Penske.

2021 Daytona 500 Race Preview

Track: Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Florida

Type: 2.5-mile paved high-banked superspeedway

Race Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles

Defending Winner: Denny Hamlin

TV/Radio: Fox / MRN

2021 Daytona 500 Predictions

Kyle Busch +1200

I faded on Kyle Busch most of last season after a rough start that he never seemed to overcome following his 2019 Cup Series Championship. However, his driving at the BUSCH Clash earlier this week showed that he and his new crew chief seem to be on the same page. I know it’s early in the season… but Busch looked strong in the car and confident but not cocky during the Clash post-race interviews. He’s never won the 500 but he has won at Daytona in the fall.

Ryan Blaney +1000

Ryan Blaney comes into the Daytona 500 with a strong Penske car and some good runs at Daytona under his belt. He was second at the 500 last year and in 2017. He finished 7th in 2018. He has four top- ten runs at the track in his Cup Series career and ten on Superspeedways. Three of his four Cup Series wins have come on Superspeedways.

Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. +2200

Bubba Wallace Jr. comes in at +2200 which is a great number for the new NASCAR team fronted by Micheal Jordan and Denny Hamlin. Wallace looked good in his qualifying run and the Dual races which combined set him at number six on the starting grid. Wallace is driving for 23X1 Racing (twenty-three / eleven represent Jordan and Hamlin’s numbers) which has an alliance with JGR. Meaning, Bubba is in good equipment!

Others to Consider: It’s hard to look past Denny Hamlin as a favorite due to his past three Daytona 500 wins but doing it three times in a row will be a tough order. But if any current driver can put together a run like that it would be Hamlin and Joe Gibbs Racing. Alex Bowman took off like a rocket during qualifying to capture the pole. Speed counts at Daytona so he’ll be worth keeping an eye on.

NASCAR Fantasy Basics, Tips and Strategies

2021 Daytona 500 Odds

BetOnline will have lots of Daytona 500 props to bet on this weekend.

Denny Hamlin +700

Chase Elliott +900

Brad Keselowski +900

Joey Logano +900

Ryan Blaney +1000

Kevin Harvick +1200

Kyle Busch +1200

William Byron +1500

Kyle Larson +1600

Alex Bowman +1700

Martin Truex Jr. +1700

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. +1700

Aric Almirola +1800

Kurt Busch +1800

Austin Dillon +2200

Darrell Wallace Jr. +2200

Ross Chastain +2200

Christopher Bell +2800

Matt DiBenedetto +2900

Cole Custer +3500

Tyler Reddick +3500

Chase Briscoe +4000

Ryan Newman +4400

Erik Jones +5000

Jamie McMurray +5000

Chris Buescher +5500

Noah Gragson +5500

Michael McDowell +6600

Austin Cindric +7700

Kaz Grala +7700

Ryan Preece +8000

Ty Dillon +8000

Daniel Suarez +8800

Corey LaJoie +9000

Timmy Hill +10000

David Ragan +12500

Anthony Alfredo +15000

BJ McLeod +15000

Garrett Smithley +15000

Joey Gase +15000

Quin Houff +15000

Cody Ware +20000

Derrike Cope +20000

Josh Bilicki +20000