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Valentine’s Day and the NFL’s Superbowl are in the books which means that the start of a new NASCAR Cup Series season is near! The Daytona 500 is set for Sunday, February 20, 2022, following Pole qualifying and the two qualifying Duel races. Last year it was Michael McDowell of Front Row Motorsports who took home the checkered flag and he’s returning to defend the title but oddsmakers are not looking at him to repeat.
McDowell comes into the race at +6000 which is a far cry from the numbers oddsmakers have placed on the favorites starting with Denny Hamlin at +850. Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 three times making him the only active full-time driver with multiple 500 wins. That stat also makes him the top favorite heading into the race.
Two interesting names pop out at me when looking at the odds list. Both Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick are further down the list. Busch comes in at +1600 while Harvick is +1800. We could be seeing oddsmakers fade on two veteran drivers. Both Busch and Harvick struggles last season with Busch winning one race and making it to the Playoffs.
Harvick failed to win a single race in 2021 and missed the playoffs completely only one season after he had dominated the series before losing the Championship to Elliott in 2020.
Here are the top-five favorites to win the 2022 Daytona 500
Denny Hamlin +850
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Larson +1100
Joey Logano +1200
Ryan Blaney +1200
It’s interesting to note that all three NASCAR manufacturers are represented with the drivers listed above. Hamlin drives a Toyota for Joe Gibbs Racing, Elliott and Larson pilot Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports, Logano, and Blaney drive Fords for Team Penske.
The race week includes events in the ARCA Racing Series, the Camping World Truck Series, and the NASCAR Cup Series which is on Sunday. ARCA and the Trucks run on Saturday.
2022 Daytona 500 Preview
Track: Daytona International Speedway Daytona, Florida
Type: 2.5-mile paved high-banked superspeedway
Race Distance: 200 laps / 500 miles
Defending Winner: Michael McDowell
TV/Radio: Fox / MRN
2022 Daytona 500 Picks
Denny Hamlin +850
Denny Hamlin has won the Daytona 500 three times in his Cup Series career. He’s the only active and full-time driver with multiple Daytona 500 wins. That ties him with Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon. It pushes him past six former drivers with two 500 wins including Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. That’s some strong company. There’s no reason to think Hamlin won’t be in the mix towards the end of the 2022 Daytona 500 unless he gets caught up in something before the checkered flag flies.
Ryan Blaney +1200
Ryan Blaney comes into the Daytona 500 with a strong Penske car and some good runs at Daytona under his belt including a win at the track during the fall race. He was second at the 500 in 2020 and 2017. He finished 7th in 2018. He has four top-ten runs at the track in his Cup Series career and ten on Superspeedways. NASCAR Fantasy stats have him listed 2nd behind Hamlin when it comes to Daytona. Three of his four Cup Series wins have come on Superspeedways.
Michael McDowell +6000
Michael McDowell proved that unexpected things can happen when it comes to racing on a superspeedway. But McDowell may not have pulled off a fluke win with his Daytona 500 victory last year. He’s had strong runs at Daytona over his last ten visits to the track including his win. But he also has three top-five runs and four top-ten efforts. Over those same ten Daytona races, he’s finished 15th or better eight of ten times.
Others: Darrell “Bubba” Wallace Jr. (+1800) has always run well on Superspeedways and now he’s in a quality ride. Don’t be surprised if he’s in the mix. The same goes for Alex Bowman (+1600) who continues to impress over the last few seasons. Last year he won twice – Pocono and Martinsville.
2022 Daytona 500 Betting Lines
Denny Hamlin +850
Chase Elliott +1000
Kyle Larson +1100
Joey Logano +1200
Ryan Blaney +1200
William Byron +1400
Brad Keselowski +1400
Alex Bowman +1600
Kyle Busch +1600
Darrell Wallace Jr. +1800
Kurt Busch +1800
Kevin Harvick +1800
Martin Truex Jr +2000
Austin Dillon +2200
Aric Almirola +2200
Tyler Reddick +2500
Ricky Stenhouse Jr +2500
Austin Cindric +2500
Christopher Bell +2500
Chris Buescher +3500
Justin Haley +3500
AJ Allmendinger +3500
Ross Chastain +4500
Chase Briscoe +5000
Cole Custer +5500
Erik Jones +5500
Harrison Burton +6000
Daniel Suarez +6000
Michael McDowell +6000
Matt Dibenedetto +8000
Kaz Grala +10000
Noah Gragson +10000
Ty Dillon +10000
Landon Cassill +12500
Corey Lajoie +12500
Todd Gilliland +15000
J.J. Yeley +15000
BJ McLeod +25000
Garrett Smithley +25000
Cody Ware +25000
Josh Bilicki +25000
Quinn Houff +25000
Take a look at the new next-gen NASCAR race car.
