Everyone who enjoys some online NASCAR betting better saddle up, because the 2022 season is officially underway. Joey Logano took home first place earlier this month at the Busch Light Clash in the schedule's inaugural race, and that can mean only one thing: The Daytona 500 is next.
On Sunday, February 20, dozens of NASCAR drivers will flood the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida, and try to bag a victory in one of the sport's hallmark races of the year. This, of course, means we have 2022 Daytona 500 predictions. And we've also got our pulse on the biggest storylines—like whether Denny Hamlin, the odds-on favorite, can win his fourth-ever Daytona 500.
First, however, let's go over the best betting odds on the Daytona 500:
| Driver to Win |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denny Hamlin | +900 | +1000 | +1000 |
| Chase Elliott | +1200 | +1200 | +1200 |
| Ryan Blaney | +1200 | +1200 | +1300 |
| Kyle Larson | +1300 | +1300 | +1500 |
| Joe Logano | +1300 | +1500 | +1500 |
| Kevin Harvick | +1700 | +1500 | +1500 |
| William Byron | +1700 | +1700 | +1500 |
| Brad Keselowski | +1700 | +1800 | +1700 |
| Kyle Busch | +1900 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Kurt Busch | +1900 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Bubba Wallace | +1900 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Austin Dillon | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Alex Bowman | +2100 | +2000 | +2200 |
| Aric Almirola | +2400 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Tyler Reddick | +2500 | +2500 | +2500 |
| Christopher Bell | +2900 | +3000 | +3000 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | +3100 | +3000 | +3000 |
| Austin Cindric | +3100 | +3100 | +3100 |
| Chris Buescher | +3600 | +3600 | +3500 |
All of these betting odds on the 2022 Daytona 500 are accurate entering Wednesday, February 16. If you're making your NASCAR picks anytime thereafter, you will want to double-check our Daytona 500 betting lines to make sure they haven't changed. They are, remember, liable to shift right up until the opening lap.
Finally, we also suggest taking the time to read our reviews on the top online sportsbooks. They contain all the information you need to identify the best Daytona 500 betting sites in 2022. They should also help you spot the best NASCAR betting sites in 2022 overall.
Should Denny Hamlin be 2022 Daytona 500 Favorite?
Denny Hamlin (+900) is no stranger to picking up victories at the Daytona 500. He already has three first-place finishes to his name, including wins in two of the past three, in 2019 and 2020.
Last year, Michael McDowell stole the show, but everyone's expecting Hamlin to flirt with a fourth victory. His driving style has always panned out well across longer races like this one, and he's exceedingly comfortable meandering in and out of crowded turns whenever he's driving on the Daytona track.
Is Michael McDowell a Threat to Repeat at Daytona 500?
Previous Daytona 500 winners tend to curry some level of favor with oddsmakers. Not Michael McDowell (+7000). He came out of nowhere to win last year's competition when he was an even longer shot.
Though he looked comfortable driving aggressively from the first checkered flag, it makes sense that he wouldn't be higher than a 70-to-1 option. After all, McDowell went on to have just two top-five appearances the rest of last season after nabbing the top spot in Daytona. View him as a dark-horse option only.
Can Joey Logano Win Second Straight Race?
Joey Logano (+1300) probably deserves a little more love after handily registering a first-place finish in the opening race of the season. It is not like he came out of nowhere, either. Logano finished eighth in the NASCAR Cup Series standings for 2021, a spot he earned by securing 10 top-five finishes over the course of the year.
With this in mind, Logano has never been a racer who typically notches multiple victories in the same season. Take the 2021 campaign, for example. Logano has one first-place finish all year. That suggests investing in him now is a risk—albeit not an unworthy one gave how well he drove at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on February 6.
Better Daytona 500 Bet: Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, or Bubba Wallace?
Kyle Busch (+1900), Kurt Busch (+1900), and Bubba Wallace (+1900) are laying identical Daytona 500 betting odds at this writing. Many gamblers will gravitate towards Kyle or Kurt, if only because they hovered around the top 10 of the standings last year. Kyle, for his part, also finished second in the first race of the 2022 season.
However, Wallace has more of an affinity for showing up in the biggest of races. His capacity to gradually improve his positioning relative to his starting spot throughout the race takes great patience. It is almost surgical. We prefer him to the other two options at +1900.
2022 Daytona 500 Prediction
Everybody remember Kyle Larson (+1300)? You know, the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion?
We're going with him.
Larson seems to have flown under the radar to start the year. We're not sure why. He didn't have the cleanest race in his first go-round of the schedule, but he still managed to finish fifth at the Busch Light Clash. And while he has faded in races that span more than 300 laps in the past, including the Daytona 500, we can't ignore the fact that he's been at the top of his game for the past 18 months.
Frankly, any time we can get Larson laying more lucrative odds than 10-to-1, we're ecstatic.
Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all your 2022 NASCAR betting:
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