Daytona 500 2023: Odds, Preview and Top Storylines
To open NASCAR's 75th anniversary season, the Cup Series drivers will take the track at Daytona International Speedway for the sport's marquee event: the Daytona 500.
The Great American Race is celebrating its 65th running, and it has produced some surprise winners in recent years. In fact, the drivers to win the event the past two seasons had never even won a Cup Series race before. Michael McDowell raced to victory in 2021, and then Austin Cindric won in 2022.
Will that trend continue, or will one of the Cup Series' top stars emerge victorious? We'll find out soon enough, as the 2023 Daytona 500 is scheduled for Sunday at 2:30 p.m. ET on Fox.
Here are the latest odds, followed by some of the top storylines.
Kyle Larson: +1000 (bet $100 to win $1,000)
Ryan Blaney: +1200
Joey Logano: +1200
Chase Elliott: +1200
Denny Hamlin: +1300
William Byron: +1400
Kyle Busch: +1400
Ross Chastain: +1600
Bubba Wallace: +1800
Brad Keselowski: +1800
Tyler Reddick: +2000
Austin Cindric: +2000
Alex Bowman: +2000
Kevin Harvick: +2500
Christopher Bell: +2500
Aric Almirola: +2500
Hendrick Motorsports has dominated Daytona 500 qualifying in recent years, and that continued in 2023. Alex Bowman and Kyle Larson will be starting on the front row on Sunday, marking the second straight year those two have led the field to the green flag. A Hendrick driver has won the pole in eight of the past nine years.
However, that hasn't translated to trips to Victory Lane. The last time Hendrick Motorsports notched a Daytona 500 win was in 2014, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced to victory. None of the team's four current drivers (Bowman, Larson, William Byron and Chase Elliott) have won the event.
That could change Sunday. While Bowman and Larson are starting first and second, respectively, Elliott will line up eighth and Byron will begin in 21st. Any of the four could become a first-time Daytona 500 champion.
This quartet of Hendrick Motorsports drivers has fared too well in recent years for none of them to have a victory in the Great American Race. So don't be surprised if one of them finally ends the team's drought at the event.
Denny Hamlin may still be seeking his first Cup Series championship, but he's never had any trouble getting to Victory Lane at Daytona. The 42-year-old is already a three-time Daytona 500 champion, and he'll be looking to drive his No. 11 Toyota to another win on Sunday.
If Hamlin can do that, he'll continue to ascend the all-time Daytona 500 leaderboard. He won the event in both 2019 and 2020, pulling him even with Bobby Allison, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett. With a fourth victory, he'd tie Cale Yarborough for second. Richard Petty ranks first with seven Daytona 500 wins.
Even when Hamlin hasn't made it to Victory Lane at the Great American Race, he's still fared well. Over the past nine years, he has seven top-five finishes at the event, including all three of his wins.
On Sunday, Hamlin will be starting 18th. But it may not take him long to work his way to the front of the field and potentially be a factor in the race's finish.
The four Hendrick Motorsports drivers aren't the only ones in the field who could end up as a first-time Daytona 500 champion on Sunday. There are quite a few other notable names who have never made it to Victory Lane at the Great American Race.
Former Cup Series champions Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. have each never won the Daytona 500. Ryan Blaney and Bubba Wallace have both had success at the track, but they're each seeking their first win at the event, too.
It will be interesting to see how Busch fares, as Sunday's race will be his first for Richard Childress Racing. The 37-year-old will drive the No. 8 Chevrolet after being in Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 18 Toyota from 2008-22.
There'd be no better way for Busch to begin a new era than by winning the Daytona 500 in his 18th attempt. But any of these other top drivers who have never done so could be in the mix as well.
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