NASCAR is back with a bang with the Daytona 500, as the season opener takes place on February 18th 2024, with everyone looking to make the best possible start to the campaign.
This will be the first race of the 2024 Cup Series season, and last year's championship winner Ryan Blaney will look to kick off his title defense with a victory at the track where he has won once before.
We'll take a look at the race and provide you with our best free NASCAR picks while seeing if we can earn you some extra cash for the weekend.
| NASCAR: Daytona 500 |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brad Keselowski | +1200 | +1200 | +1125 |
| Denny Hamlin | +1200 | +1100 | +1050 |
| Joey Logano | +1200 | +1000 | +1175 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 | +900 | +910 |
| Chase Elliott | +1400 | +1200 | +1125 |
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NASCAR Daytona 500 information
- Sunday, February 18th 2024
- Daytona International Speedway, Daytona Beach, Florida
- 200 laps, 500 miles
NASCAR Daytona 500 favorites
Below you'll find a list of the favorites to win the 2024 NASCAR Daytona 500.
Ryan Blaney - (+1200)
Though Blaney is coming off the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series title, he hasn't had great success at this track throughout his career with his only win on this track coming in the 2021 Coke Zero Sugar 400 in late August of that year, but he has an average finish of just 12.8 in eight races at this venue.
Blaney started seventh and finished eighth in last year's Daytona 500, and his best finish in this race was second in both 2017 and 2020.
But the reigning champion saved his best racing for late last season, finishing second-first-second in the final three events, and winning at Talladega Superspeedway before that run to end that playoffs to eventually claim the championship.
He finished 2023 absolutely on fire with four top two finishes in the final six races and will be super confident coming into this one, so +1200 is a fantastic price.
Check out our review for BetOnline sports betting here.
Joey Logano - (+1200)
The 2022 series champion has one Daytona 500 victory to his name in his career, and will be hoping to do it again this year.
These odds should be in no danger of shifting as the public is likely to stay away from the No. 22 car for this race. Logano has an average finish of 15th in his last four Daytona 500 outings, including when he finished 21st in the 2022 edition of the race and 2nd in 2023.
As a former champion and former winner you'd be crazy to look past him at this price, but it would be somewhat of a surprise if he started off the season with a victory - something he hasn't done since 2015.
Brad Keselowski - (+1200)
Keselowski put together a great run of Top-10 finishes towards the end of the 2023 season, but is a strong driver on these tracks, who won at Daytona back in 2016 and posted Top-5 finishes in all but one SSW race last season.
Brad bounced back after a fairly dismal 2022, posting almost three times as many Top-10 finishes in 2023. While he hasn't won a race since 2021, he's definitely getting better results from his RFK ride, and he'll always be a threat on a superspeedway.
At +1200 his odds seem short considering his lack of success in recent years, and this seems like a bet to avoid.
Check out our review for BetUS sports betting here.
Denny Hamlin - (+1200)
A three-time Daytona 500 champ, Hamlin's a prolific superspeedway driver who went on a tear over last season's second half, only to fall just short of the Championship 4.
After getting off to slow starts each of the past two seasons, the experienced driver will be hungry to put points on the board early and there's no better way to do that than by claiming victory in the opening race of the season for the first time since 2020.
At +1200 there's solid value in this pick and he's arguably the best choice.
Chase Elliott - (+1400)
Elliott was held winless in a 2023 season derailed by an early leg injury but you're crazy if you don't think he'll be coming back hungry for 2024, looking to cement himself among the best drivers.
While he crashed out of last year's Daytona 500, he took fourth in the fall Daytona race, has a runner-up in this race (2021), and wins at both Talladega and Atlanta on his 2022 resume.
Elliott's definitely at his best on road courses, but he's no slouch when it comes to the Superspeedway either and you can never rule him out for a win.
NASCAR Daytona 500 Sleeper Picks
Bubba Wallace - (+2000)
There is good value in taking Wallace at +2000 here, because he's lower at a lot of other bookmakers.
Wallace is very experienced at Daytona International Speedway, and though he has never won on this track he finished outside the top 20 just once in 13 career races here.
Wallace has a best finish of second and an average finish position of 12.9 at this track, so it wouldn't be the craziest thing in the world if he went one better this year and got the win.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr - (+2500)
There hasn't been a repeat winner of the Daytona 500 since Denny Hamlin in 2019 and 2020.
But Stenhouse got the win in 2023 and he can't be ignored simply because of that, and at +2500 there is solid value in getting rewarded for backing it. This race has been kind to long shots over the last three years, he was one last year himself, so it wouldn't be crazy to see him come out on top once more.
