Daytona 500 odds, picks, predictions: Bet on Denny Hamlin and 23XI Racing

The Great American Race is upon us after months of anticipation. No event in NASCAR gets fans more excited than the Daytona 500, which is able to be wagered on across all the best sports betting sites in the U.S.

I went on BetMGM and found some Daytona 500 best bets to consider betting on. Making predictions for this race is more difficult than any other due to the nature of Daytona racing, but that makes the work of trying to put a prediction together that much more fun!

(Sunday, 2:30 p.m. ET, Fox)

No NASCAR driver has been in the spotlight more over the past year than Denny Hamlin, but this prediction is based on history. Hamlin has three Daytona 500′s to his name, which is tied for the third most by any driver in history.

Hamlin has a good sense of when to fall back in the draft and avoid big wrecks, which is something that can’t be valued enough in the war of attrition this race is. As long as Hamlin survives, he’ll be a contender in the end.

1. Hamlin odds to win: +1100

One of Hamlin’s drivers that shined last year was Tyler Reddick. His reusmé included two wins and 12 top fives. Reddick was one of the best drivers on the track every week, but execution lapses from a still growing race team cost him at times.

Another offseason of cohesion should help in that department, giving Reddick an even better shot to win every week. Ross Chastain also got two wins and ten top fives, but he struggled mightily in the summer through fall compared to the spring.

Chastain is notoriously an aggressor on the track who will do anything he can to get an edge. Ultimately, I see Chastain being likelier to make a mistake and wreck himself out of the race than the calmer demeanored Reddick.

1. Reddick odds to win: +3000

2. Chastain odds to win: +2500

Bubba Wallace has seen his career ascend since Michael Jordan and Hamlin gave him their vote of confidence by bringing him into 23XI racing in 2021. Even before Wallace joined them however, he’s always been elite at superspeedway tracks.

Daytona is Wallace’s second best track in average finish (12.5). He’s finished in the top 20 all but one race at Daytona. He’s finished second in the Daytona 500 twice. If Hamlin an Reddick are up front with him at the end as well, Wallace is a legit threat to win.

1. Wallace odds to win: +1800

What makes the Daytona 500 so fun is dark horses regularly win. In fact, the last three winners were all massive underdogs in Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, and Michael McDowell.

The dark horse bet I like most is Ty Gibbs winning the race at +2500. Gibbs’ rookie season last year was at its best in the first half of the year. While his finishes at Daytona were poor, he impressed by running neat the front as much as he did as a rookie.

If I’m looking strictly at odds to win the race, Kyle Larson at +1600 and Martin Truex Jr. at +2500 are two options I like. For as illustrious as their careers have been, neither have won a Daytona 500.

In Truex’s case, this may be his last opportunity with him having flirted with retirement the last couple of seasons.

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