By Donny Black
If there is going to be one race you watch all season, it needs to be the Daytona 500. The Great American Race is NASCAR’s Super Bowl. It is one of the most unpredictable races of the year. Almost anyone can win this race. During the NASCAR season, typically only a handful of drivers have the skill and the right teams to win. At the Superspeedways, it’s a whole other ball game.
The main goal in the Daytona 500, don’t get caught in the chaos. The race is filled with cautions and plenty of wrecks. The trick to betting at the Superspeedways is backing drivers that are good in the draft and have proven success at those tracks.
Racing at Daytona has changed since 2019, as this was the last year for restrictor plates. Going back to 2019, there have been two drivers that have had tremendous success at these tracks and that’s where we are going to put our money.
Ryan Blaney (+1200) / Top 5 (+200) / Top 10 (-105)
Ryan Blaney is knocking on the door for his first Daytona 500 victory. Blaney knows what it takes to have success at Daytona. He’s won at this track before with a Coke Zero 400 title and Blaney has two runner-up finishes in the Daytona 500. Out of all qualified drivers, Blaney ranks first in average finish at Superspeedways. 2022 Daytona 500 champion, Austin Cindric, put up a monster block in front of Blaney (his teammate) on the final turn in last year’s race. If it wasn’t for that gutsy move, Blaney would have been in the winner’s circle. Needless to say, Team Penske needs to return the favor.
Blaney averages a top 10 finish at Superspeedways, however, when you take out the DNFs, he averages a top 6 finish. As long as Blaney stays out of the wreckage, he is as close to a lock as you can get for a top 10 finish and is a must-bet at this price.
Darrell (Bubba) Wallace Jr. (+1800) / Top 5 (+280 / Top 10 (+140)
Guess who is the second-best driver at these Superspeedways since 2019, it’s Bubba Wallace. The move to join Team 23XI has paid off as Wallace has a monster car. He has shown he can dominate at the Superspeedways with a win at Talladega —Wallace is a three-time Daytona runner-up, twice in the Daytona 500, and has an average finish of 12 place. Daytona is Wallace’s favorite and best track. Team 23XI will do whatever it takes to make Wallace champion of the Great American Race. Imagine the headlines if Wallace goes down victory lane at Daytona. It’s the best-case scenario for NASCAR and you always want your money on the best narrative.
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