Now that we have that little football game out of the way, it’s time to focus on The Great American Race.
The Daytona 500 is scheduled for Sunday February 18, but there’s plenty of action before then.
Single-car qualifying takes place on Wednesday at 8:15 p.m. ET and the top two finishers get locked into the front row for the race. Everybody first sets a time then the top 10 duke it out in a final round. Two non-chartered cars secure a spot in the 40-car Daytona 500 field.
The results also set the starting lineup for Thursday’s two Daytona Duel races that start at 7:00 p.m. ET, with the odd-numbered finishers placed in one 60-lap race and the even-numbered finishers in the other.
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Two more non-chartered cars qualify for the Daytona 500 through the Duels and the finishing order is used to fill out the starting lineup for the race. Duel one cars — other than the top two qualifiers get the inside row and Dual two cars the outside row.
According to DraftKings, Denny Hamlin is the current favorite to win the Daytona 500 at +900 odds.
Hamlin has three Daytona 500 wins and is coming off a victory in the season-kickoff Busch Light Clash at the Coliseum.
He’s followed by Kyle Busch at +1100. The Daytona 500 is the one major race the two-time champion and 63-race winner has yet to win.
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2023 Cup Series Champion Ryan Blaney and Brad Keselowski are next at +1200. Neither has won the race before.
BetMGM has a different take, with Keselowski, Blaney, Hamlin, Chase Elliot and Chris Buescher even at +1100.
The Daytona 500 will air live on Fox at 2:30 p.m. ET.
