Last week Michael McDowell kicked off the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series by winning the Daytona 500. It was McDowell’s first win of his career which includes over 300 Cup Series starts. This week we head back to Daytona and you might think McDowell would have gained some ground with oddsmakers since race two of the season is once again at Daytona.
There’s the rub for McDowell, this Sunday’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 is on the Daytona road course and not the 2.5-mile superspeedway. That puts Chase Elliott as the solid favorite at +175 with Martin Truex Jr trailing at +450.
Elliott, driver of the No. 9 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports, has won five road course races in a Cup Series car and Truex has won four.
As for McDowell, +8000, he’s not a bad road course racer. Last year he placed 10th on the course. And, in the Xfinity series, McDowell has a road course win. But that’s not good enough to become the favorite this weekend even if you are the 2021 Daytona 500 winner! Here are the top-five favorites at +800 and under according to Intertops.
Chase Elliott +175
Martin Truex Jr +450
Ryan Blaney +600
Kyle Busch +750
AJ Allmendinger +800
Like last week, all three NASCAR manufactures are represented with the top-five favorite drivers listed above. Elliott and AJ Allmendinger are in Chevrolet. Truex and Kyle Busch both drive a Toyota and Ryan Blaney drives a Ford.
2021 O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Preview
Track: Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Florida
Type: 3.61-mile road course
Race Distance: 70 laps / 252.7 miles
TV/Radio: Fox / MRN
2021 O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Predictions
Chase Elliott +175
I’ve tried to talk myself out of this pic but can’t. Elliott has proven to be the best road course racer among active Cup Series drivers with five wins under his belt. His well-placed road course checkered flags last season helped propel him to the Cup Series Championship. Elliott, along with Ryan Blaney, was one turn away from winning the 2021 Busch Clash on the same track two weeks ago.
Ryan Blaney +600
Ryan Blaney was leading the Clash two weeks ago coming into the final turn before Chase Elliott bumped him causing both drivers to lose the race. Blaney showed his road-course skills during that race and has not been shabby on them in the past. Other than Elliott and Truex, he’s the only other driver to win on a road course race in the last nine road course races.
Kevin Harvick +1000
Harvick has not been at his best on road courses the last few times he’s raced on that style of course. That was until the Busch Clash two weeks ago where he finished in the fourth spot. It would have been a worse run if Elliott and Blaney had not shuffled things up right at the end but Harvick was in a position to take advantage of their mistake. In the Cup Series, Harvick has two road course wins and 22 top-ten finishes.
Others to Consider: One driver that could be the dark horse is Erik Jones at +5000. Jones has finished 8 th or better in eight of his last ten road course starts. AJ Allmendinger is always towards the top of the favorites list when it comes to road courses. He has one Cup Series and two Xfinity Series road course wins.
Expert Sports Handicapper Reviews
2021 O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 Odds
Bet on NASCAR props at BetOnline this weekend.
Chase Elliott +175
Martin Truex Jr +450
Ryan Blaney +600
Kyle Busch +750
AJ Allmendinger +800
Denny Hamlin +900
Kevin Harvick +1000
William Byron +1600
Joey Logano +1800
Alex Bowman +1800
Brad Keselowski +2000
Kurt Busch +2000
Chase Briscoe +3000
Kyle Larson +4000
Matt Dibenedetto +4000
Erik Jones +5000
Christopher Bell +5000
Aric Almirola +6000
Cole Custer +6000
Tyler Reddick +8000
Michael McDowell +8000
Chris Buescher +10000
Ross Chastain +10000
Anthony Alfredo +12500
Ryan Newman +12500
Bubba Wallace +12500
Austin Dillon +12500
Justin Haley +25000
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +25000
James Davison +75000
Ryan Preece +75000
Josh Bilicki +80000
Daniel Suarez +80000
Ty Dillon +100000
Joey Gase +150000
Timmy Hill +200000
Quinn Houff +250000
Corey Lajoie +250000
BJ McLeod +250000
Cody Ware +250000