2025 Daytona 500 Odds | Hunter’s Picks
The drop of the checkered flag on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season at Phoenix Raceway left fans in a mixed bag of emotions. Many were displeased with the way the championship was decided, others were looking into the lawsuit between 23XI, Front Row, and NASCAR over the charter agreement, and then there were fans like myself who really needed a break from the sport they love so much…Thank goodness NASCAR has a short offseason because IT’S DAYTONA 500 WEEKEND!!!!!
This is a rejuvenated look at how I’ll be giving my analysis on who to focus on for the weekend of NASCAR from the odds on favorites to the longshots with a chance.
Craftsman Truck Series
Fresh from Florida 250 | Feb 14 7:30 pm ET | FS1
+800 | Justin Haley | Michael McDowell
Top 5 | Justin Haley +110 | Michael McDowell +115
The first race of the season for the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series kicks off with co-favorites from Spire Motorsports. Both Justin Haley and Michael McDowell enter with Cup wins under their belts at Daytona. McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500 after the Big One struck on the final lap and Haley won back in 2019 when rain plagued the Coke Zero 400 after the Huge One struck. Haley has finished inside the Top 5 in both superspeedway starts back in 2018, 2nd at Daytona and 4th at Talladega. McDowell begins his chapter with Spire Motorsports this weekend after being with Front Row Motorsports for the last seven seasons, with last season being his best for superspeedways, winning pole in three of the four races. Racing in Trucks should get him more suited for the greater task at hand on Sunday.
+1100 | Ty Majeski | Top 5 +150
+1200 | Grant Enfinger | Top 5 +160
Grant Enfinger and Ty Majeski come in at good value as both have seen success at the superspeedways. Enfinger won Talladega last year and has won at Daytona in 2020, so he’s looking to start his second season with CR7 Motorsports with a stronger run than 17th from a year ago. Majeski on the other hand has seen his success in qualifying, winning the pole twice in ‘22 and ‘24, along with starting in the front row in the last three Daytona races. His best Daytona finish came at 6th in 2023, but the 2024 Truck champion will look to kickoff his title defense with a stronger run at the World Center of Racing.
+1800 | Johnny Sauter | Top 5 +235
Johnny Sauter is back with Thorsport Motorsports this weekend, where he’s won twice back in 2016 and 2018. Many wondered if he still had enough gas in the tank after stepping away from full time racing in 2021, but after qualifying 2nd in last year’s race he even made MY head turn and start to take notice of what he was doing. Now he finished 29th after crashing out, BUT he’s in a better situation this season with Majeski and Rhodes leading the way at Thorsport.
+2800 | Tanner Gray | Top 5 +360
Tanner Gray is my longshot pick for the Trucks this weekend. He’s finished 4th in 2022 and 2nd in 2023 and was setting up for another strong finish in 2024 until getting caught up in the Big One on the final lap, where his younger brother, Taylor, barrel rolled over his truck, ultimately finished 15th. This will be his third season for TRICON Garage in Toyota equipment, where he qualified 8th last year, his best starting position in his five starts at Daytona. Don’t be surprised if he sneaks his way into a winning opportunity late in the going.
Xfinity Series
United Rentals 300 | Feb 15 5:00 pm ET | The CW
+300 | Austin Hill | Top 5 -225
The first race of the season opens with Austin Hill as the favorite to win. Hill has won the season opener at Daytona for the last three years, tying Randy Lajoie and Darrell Waltrip for third on the all time Xfinity win list for the 2.5 mile superspeedway. Not much else needs to be said about Hill.
+1000 | Justin Allgaier | Top 5 +130
For the first time in his 16 year career, Justin Allgaier will be referred to as ‘Champion.’ He’ll begin his title defense looking to keep his consistency intact at Daytona, where he’s finished inside the Top 10 in six of his last seven Daytona starts, including a win in the Summer of 2023.
+2000 | Nick Sanchez | Top 5 +260
Nick Sanchez makes the switch from running in the Craftsman Truck Series to the Xfinity Series with Big Machine Racing. He replaces Parker Kligerman, who announced retirement from full-time racing towards the end of the season last year. Sanchez won last year’s season opener for the Trucks at Daytona, looking to start this season off on the same foot as 2024.
+2500 | Ryan Sieg | Top 5 +320
Ryan Sieg has been so close to reaching victory lane not only at Daytona, but last year at Texas and at Talladega. Sieg has finished inside the Top 10 in four of his last six starts at Daytona, with his best finish coming in 5th in last Summer’s race. Could be a magical weekend for the Sieg family at Daytona.
+4000 | Parker Retzlaff | Top 5 +500
Parker Retzlaff has made the switch from Jordan Anderson Racing to Alpha Prime Racing for 2025, and he’s looking to keep the same speed at Daytona. He’s finished inside the Top 10 three times and Top 5 two times in his four career Xfinity starts at Daytona. Not to mention a 7th place finish in last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. Retzlaff just seems to understand racing at Daytona, so he’ll be a fun driver to keep an eye on.
+10000 | Brennan Poole | Top 5 +1200
Brennan Poole makes his return to Xfinity Series competition with Alpha Prime Racing for 2025, looking to build off a strong campaign from the superspeedways in 2024. He finished inside the Top 20 in all four starts, with his best results coming at Talladega. If chaos ensues at the World Center of Racing, Poole might come away with a solid result and could just sneak his way to a victory.
Cup Series
Daytona 500 | Feb 16 2:30 pm ET | FOX
+1200 | Kyle Busch | Top 5 +160 | Top 10 -190
The biggest race of the season opens with Kyle Busch as the odds on favorite to win it all. He almost won the Great American Race in 2023, had it not been for late cautions and he almost won last year’s Coke Zero Sugar 400, until a last lap pass from Harrison Burton thwarted his chances of winning. Since the NextGen debuted in 2022, Kyle Busch has finished inside the Top 10 four of the six races and inside the Top 20 in all six races. This will be his 20th year of trying to win his first Daytona 500, something that a familiar driver did at RCR back in 1998…is it fate for the #8?
+1400 | William Byron | Top 5 +185 | Top 10 -175
The 2024 Daytona 500 champion, William Byron, will look to become the first back-to-back champion since Denny Hamlin in 2019-2020. Byron finished inside the Top 10 in three of the four superspeedway races last year, flexing his muscle on the largest tracks on the circuit. He finished 2nd in his Duel on Thursday, showing there’s some serious speed underneath the AXALTA flamed #24.
+1600 | Christopher Bell | Top 5 +210 | Top 10 -150
Christopher Bell has been flying under the radar at Daytona over the last couple of years, finishing 3rd in three of his last four races at the World Center of Racing. As a whole for 2024, Bell finished inside the Top 10 in three of the four superspeedway races. Good value for Bell this weekend.
+2000 | Bubba Wallace | Top 5 +260 | Top 10 -120
+2000 | Austin Cindric | Top 5 +260 | Top 10 -120
The same odds this weekend for 2025 Daytona Duel winners Bubba Wallace and Austin Cindric. Sine the move to 23XI Racing, Bubba Wallace has finished inside the Top 10 in four of his eight starts at Daytona, where his best finish was 2nd in 2022 to Austin Cindric in the Daytona 500. Cindric has always shown speed in qualifying, but yet to finish inside the Top 10 since 2022. The speed in the Duels shown by Wallace and Cindric should give their fans enough faith in their drivers on Sunday.
+7000 | Ty Dillon | Top 5 +750 | Top 10 +260
Ty Dillon shocked many people with his impressive qualifying effort of 9th on Wednesday, and then put himself in a position to win the first Duel race on Thursday. Despite hitting the wall on the last lap, Ty Dillon was able to finish 3rd, meaning he’ll start 7th in the Daytona 500. Worth to sprinkle some money on the #10 this weekend with how much of a longshot he is.
+10000 | John Hunter Nemechek Top 5 +1200 | Top 10 + 370
Amongst the drivers with the longest shot odds in the field is John Hunter Nemechek, where he hasn’t finished outside the Top 15 in his four Cup starts. He finished 7th in last year’s Daytona 500, and is looking to kick off 2025 with a bang. If he stays out of trouble, Nemechek will have a strong shot at possibly winning the Daytona 500.