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NASCAR: 2015 Daytona 500 betting lines

by —February 20, 2015 in All Sports, Nascar

2015-Daytona-500-NASCARWhen: Sunday, February 22nd 2015 at 1:00pm ET
Where: Daytona International Speedway
Watch: FOX

THE field for the Daytona 500 was finalized last night (Thursday) after the two Budweiser Duel races. Jeff Gordon will start on the pole after winning the qualifying session on Sunday. This will be the last time Gordon races in the Daytona 500 in his career.

Hendrick Motorsports has been dominant all week at the Daytona International Speedway. The top three drivers on the starting grid for the race are all on the Hendrick Motorsports team (Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Dale Earnhardt Jr).

Bet on the 2015 Daytona 500 outright winner market and hundreds of props at Bovada (USA).

Top contenders to win the Daytona 500

Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 last year for the second time in his career – the first time he won was in 2004. His Chevrolet SS is tuned in, as he won the Budweiser Duel #1 after starting in 25th place. He’ll start the race in row #2, behind Gordon on the inside.

Since 2012, Earnhardt Jr. has finished inside of the top 10 in 11 of 14 races. He has a career average finish position (AFP) of 9.93 at Daytona, which includes nine wins. Earnhardt Jr. will look to win back-to-back Daytona 500 races for the first time since Sterling Martin in 1995.

Gordon has announced that he’ll retire from driving full-time after this year and he won’t race in the Daytona 500 again. Gordon will look to win the Daytona 500 for the fourth time in his career – joining two other drivers, Richard Petty and Cale Yarborough.

This is just the second time that Gordon has won the pole position. The first time he won the pole was in 1999 and he went on to win that race. Gordon has an AFP of 11.48 on this track. He’ll finish in the top 10, but outside of the top 3 on Sunday.

No driver has come close to the consistency in the last two years at the Daytona International Speedway than Johnson. He has the best driver rating (104.0) and he’s the only driver to win multiple Sprint Cup races at Daytona in the last two years.

Johnson won the 2013 Daytona 500 and the 2013 Coke Zero 400. Last year he started this race in 32nd place and moved all the way up to 5th place. His car looks much better this year. He won the Budweiser Duel #2 and will look to win his third Daytona 500 next.

On name recognition alone, Keselowski is going to be bet like a top contender, but he’s on my avoid list. He’ll start the race in 39th place. Keselowski finished in 25th place in the Sprint Unlimited and 19th place in the Budweiser Duel #1 this past week. His car hasn’t performed well.

Keselowski finished last year’s Daytona 500 in 3rd place after starting in 33rd place. However, throughout his career he has struggled here. His career AFP is 16.43 and he has never won on this track. He’s priced as a top contender, but he won’t finish in the top 10.

I don’t know what it is with Busch and the Daytona 500, but he always struggles in the big race. Busch has raced in the Dayton 500 ten times and he only has two finishes in the top 10. His best finish is 4th place in 2008, but there is still reason for some optimism.

Joe Gibbs Racing has brought a great car to Daytona this year it appears, as Busch has finished in 8th place in Sprint Unlimited and 2nd place in Budweiser Duel #2. Busch led for 22 of 64 laps last night. At 12/1 I don’t like Busch, but he’ll contend for the win.

Daytona 500 long shots

I love restrictor plate races because anyone can win, as evidenced by Jamie McMurray’s win in 2010 and Trevor Bayne’s win in 2011.

Dillon is a little more experienced and at 40/1 odds he’ll receive plenty of action. He hasn’t raced well at Daytona this week, as he has finished in 17th place in Sprint Unlimited and 15th place in Budweiser Duel #2, despite starting in 6th and 4th in the two races.

Like Busch, there is cause for optimism with Dillon. He finished 9th place in the Daytona 500 last year after starting on the pole, but it’ll be tough this year, as he’s starting in 30th place. Dillon isn’t likely to win, but a great target in Daytona 500 match-up markets.

The downside about Mears is that he’s starting 41st place out of 43 drivers. The good news is that anything can happen at Daytona and Mears has shown he can come from behind here. He has never won here, but he finished 2nd in the 2006 Daytona 500.

Danica Patrick (60/1) is another long shot I’m looking at, especially in match-up markets. Ryan Newman (

2015 Daytona 500 predictions

Johnson had a terrible 2014 campaign, but as competitive as he is, you know he’s going to come back strong in 2015. His car looks great in practice and it appears Hendrick Motorsports is the best-prepared team for the new rules package.

My best match-up bet is on Newman to finish higher than Blaney. Newman has plenty of top 10 finishes on this track including a 5th place finish in the 2013 Daytona 500. Blaney is starting a few rows ahead of Newman, but don’t let that sway your decision.

This is another bet that looks too easy and I’m willing to pay the juice. Kurt has finished in 39th, 28th and 21st place in the last three Daytona 500 races. Kyle has been driving well this week and he’ll finish higher than his brother as long as he avoids an accident.

Starting line-up and odds for the Daytona 500

The odds to win the race for every driver are listed in brackets.

ScottThis article was written by Scott

Scott is one of the original degenerates working for MobileSportsBetting.com. Although he's most successful betting on NFL football and international soccer, he's also active in UFC and NHL hockey betting.


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