Despite never winning the Daytona 500 Brad Keselowski is the favorite to capture the featured NASCAR event on Feb. 18. The driver for Team Penske is listed at 8/1.
A pair of former Daytona winners are behind him. Denny Hamlin, who won in 2016 for Joe Gibbs Racing, is at 10/1. So is 2015 winner Joey Lagano, who is a teammate of Keselowski at Penske. Kevin Harvick, 2007 winner, and Chase Elliott are also at 10/1.
A bit surprising is where last year’s winner is located on the board. Kurt Busch claimed the 2017 race when leader Kyle Larson ran out of gas. This year, though, he is 18th on the list at 30/1. Larson is listed at 12/1.
Team Penske has won the event twice, the other was with Ryan Newman in 2008. They have a way to go to catch the all-time team leader Petty Enterprises who have nine trophies. Hendrick Motorsports is next with eight.
Match Ups Another Betting Option
Another wagering opportunity is the match ups and the Westgate LV SuperBook has several head-to-head contests. The favorite Keselowski is pitted against three other drivers.
The first is the 33 year old against Hamlin. Though the No. 11 driver is only right behind Keselowski in the odds to win he is a decided underdog. Hamlin is a +110 while the 2012 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Champion is at -130. The odds are identical for the other two contests he is involved in. One is with Harvick and the other with Logano.
Those contests have the largest disparity in regards to odds. Most of the other duos show -110 for both contestants, such as Elliott and Kyle Busch and Jimmie Johnson and Erik Jones.
Warm Up for Daytona
Two events might provide clues on who to bet on before Daytona. The first is the test sessions at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The exhibition began Wednesday and concluded Thursday. That venue will host a pair of NASCAR races. The Penzoil 400 is on March 4 and the South Point 400 on Sept. 16.
Kyle Larson of Chip Ganassi Racing led the Wednesday afternoon session clocking in with a top speed of 188.403 mph, the highest of the day. He told NASCAR.com it was nice to try out the new Chevrolet Camaro ZL1.
“It’s nice to get back in a stock car,” Larson said. “I’ve still done a fair bit of racing this offseason,” he said. “But it’s been a couple of months since I’ve been in a (stock) car. It was nice to get some laps here and feel like we’ve got some pretty good speed and good balance with our new Camaro ZL1.”
Larson is one of 20 eligible drivers to compete in the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona on Feb. 11, which signals the start of the season.
He will be joined in the 75-lap race with Elliott, Hamlin, Harvick, Matt Kenseth, Keselowski, Joey Logano and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. among others.
