Daytona Betting Odds show a small group of drivers that are popular choices to win the 2008 Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has become the Daytona wagering odds favorite, surpassing pole-sitter Jimmy Johnson. Let’s take a look at some of the Daytona wagering odds for this year’s race.
Daytona betting odds have Earnhardt Jr. as the 3-1 top choice to win the race. He is followed closely by Johnson at Daytona odds of about 4-1, Jeff Gordon at 5-1 and Tony Stewart at 5-1. The other driver that has Daytona wagering odds of less than double-digits is Denny Hamlin at 9-1. There is good reason that these drivers have low Daytona odds. Jr. won the Bud Shootout and the first Gatorade Duel. Hamlin won the second Gatorade Duel.
Gordon and Johnson are former winners and Tony Stewart is always a popular choice in Daytona odds and he starts from the sixth position. Earnhardt has gotten a lot of action on the Daytona wagering odds board and looks very strong. “I feel like we’ve got a shot, you know what I mean,” Earnhardt said. “But I thought we’ve got a great shot. We’ve won some races down here, so we’ve got to be in the group, if there’s a group of them.”
As you look at Daytona odds for this year’s race there are some things to consider. This is the 50th running of the great race and in the previous 49 races, more than half of the winners have come from the first five starting positions. That should give you an idea that Johnson, Jr. Hamlin, Michael Waltrip and Reed Sorenson have a chance in Daytona wagering odds. Waltrip and Sorensen are part of the field on many Daytona betting odds board which means they would have odds of 15-1 or more. Last year’s defending champ Kevin Harvick has Daytona betting odds of about 17-1. He also has history against him as only three times in the 49 year history of the Daytona 500 has a driver won back-to-back.
The Daytona 500 is probably the one race during the year where people like to bet on the race winner more than they do on the matchups. The Daytona is a restrictor plate race which means anything can happen in Daytona betting odds. That gives gamblers some value when they take drivers to win the race on the Daytona betting odds board.