- Race time: The Daytona 500 will be held at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida at 2:30 p.m. ET on Sunday, February 17th, 2019 and televised on FOX.
- Austin Dillon is the defending champion of the Daytona 500 but Brad Keselowski is this year’s favorite with odds listed at +702 at Bookmaker.eu.
Austin Dillon is the defending champion of the Daytona 500 and he will aim to double up at this year’s race. The oddsmakers must have considered last year’s victory a fluke because Dillon is a longshot to repeat as champion. He is currently in 13th place in the NASCAR standings and would love to move up with a good finish here.
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Brad Keselowski has been pegged as the driver to beat, although his odds of winning still aren’t that great as this looks like a wide open contest. Keselowski has never won this race but is driving well of late and is currently in eighth place in the standings.
The Daytona 500 is one of the most prestigious races on the NASCAR circuit and rest assured all of the drivers would love to come away with the victory. This should be a fun one to watch as a combination of strategy and performance should help a driver to the winner’s circle.
Daytona 500 OddsÂ
Keselowski may be the favorite, but there are plenty of different drivers that the oddsmakers have put among the list of top contenders. Keselowski’s odds are listed at +702, and he is followed closely by Joey Logano at +750. Logano is currently atop the NASCAR standings and a win would widen his lead. He has raced really well of late and is an intriguing choice. Logano won this race back in 2015 so he has an idea of how to get it done.
Kevin Harvick’s odds are listed at +950. He won here back in 2007 and is currently in third place in the standings, only six points behind Logano. A win would give him a big boost.
Ryan Blaney is a newcomer on the scene. He is only 25 years old but the betting public likes his chances as he has been lifted to +1005, which isn’t too far behind the favorites. Denny Hamlin is listed at +1150, Clint Bowyer at +1379 and Chase Elliott at +1510, as those are the main top choices in the field.
Jimmie Johnson is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, capturing it in 2006 and again in 2013. However, he is a bit past his racing prime and is currently sitting in 14th place in the standings. He is not expected to compete for the win and has odds of +2181 to pull it off.
Dillon’s odds are even worse than that. He has among the longest within the drivers that have been tabbed with a chance at +3409. It will be interesting to see if the defending champion can make the oddsmakers look foolish by coming away with another victory at the Daytona 500.
NASCAR Daytona 500 Picks
Our pick:Â Aric Almirola at +1700
Reason: This is not an easy call. The Daytona 500 has had a bunch of parity lately with different winners seemingly every year. In addition to Dillon in 2018, some of the other recent champions include Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, Logano, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Trevor Bayne.
There is not a lot of clarity, so it makes sense to take a relative longshot who still has a legitimate chance. Aric Almirola has never won this race but sits in fifth place in the current NASCAR standings. At +1700 odds, he is worthy pick to win the Daytona 500 in 2019, which would pay out extremely handsomely.
Check out the latest NASCAR betting odds for today.
