Daytona 500 Predictions: Surprising Time Trials Mystify Oddsmakers

• Chase Briscoe had consistent speed in qualifying; the race is another matter.

• Does Kyle Busch deserve to be co-favorite in the Great American Race?

• Late surge in 2024 plus win in Clash equals winning combination for Chase Elliott.

Daytona 500 Betting Odds

Odds courtesy of bet365 Sportsbook. Head over to bet365 and place your bets: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets Win or Lose

Our Picks for the Daytona 500

• Chase Elliott to win the race at +1400 via bet365

• Austin Cindric to finish in the top three at +700 via bet365

Daytona 500 Predictions

Chase Briscoe Gets No Respect Despite Pole-Winning Effort at Daytona

For nine straight years, Chevrolets with Hendrick Motorsports power under their hoods dominated qualifying for the Daytona 500.

Last year, Ford drivers dominated the time trials, but a Hendrick driver—William Byron—won the race.

Last Wednesday, a Toyota driver won the pole position for the first time in the history of the Great American Race, when Chase Briscoe set the fastest time in both rounds of qualifying.

The mixed results in time trials confounded the oddsmakers, who installed Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano as co-favorites at +1200 (bet 365 Sportsbook).

Briscoe, though, got no love and opened at +3000. Austin Cindric, who qualified on the outside of the front row likewise gets no respect at +2200 via bet365 —and Cindric is the 2022 Daytona 500 winner.

Certainly, the handicappers know that no pole winner has won the Daytona 500 since 2000, when Dale Jarrett accomplished the task, and that’s certainly a mitigating factor against Briscoe, who moved to Joe Gibbs Racing between seasons.

Though we’re soft on Briscoe, we do like Cindric to finish in the top three at +700 via bet365. He’s often in the mix at the end of superspeedway races.

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Does Kyle Busch Deserve Co-Favorite Designation after Winless 2024

If there’s a sentimental favorite in the Daytona 500, the distinction certainly belongs to Kyle Busch.

Driving for Richard Childress Racing, Busch is making his 20th start in the Great American Race, hoping for his first victory. Another Childress driver, the late Dale Earnhardt, finally won the Daytona 500 in his 20th try, in 1998.

RCR’s superspeedway cars are typically strong, but Busch hasn’t won a NASCAR Cup Series event since 2023, and his winless streak has reached 57 races.

Though we’d love to see Busch win, we can’t put our money behind him at his opening price of +1200 at bet365.

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As 2025 Season Begins, Chase Elliott Has His Act—and Team—Together

To hear Chase Elliott tell it, the return of his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports team to excellence started late last year.

“The end of last year I think was really encouraging for us,” Elliott said. “I thought we ended on a really good note—we were just a little late to the party, I think, really and truly.

“We were starting to run better, lead some laps there at the end of the year, had a great shot to win a couple races during the last month. I thought all that was really encouraging.”

On Feb. 2, Elliott won the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium, the series’ season-opening exhibition event. The No. 9 team executed a near-flawless weekend.

As solid as Elliott’s efforts have been we like him to win the Daytona 500 on Sunday at +1400 via bet365.

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How to Watch the Daytona 500

• What: Daytona 500

• Where: Daytona International Speedway

• When: Sunday, February 16, 2:30 p.m. ET

• How to Watch: FOX