posted February 14, 2008 at 15:56 EST in NASCAR Betting Trends

This weekend is the Daytona 500, kids! Are you ready to drive fast? Well, are you at least ready to watch other dudes drive fast?

The Daytona 500 typically kicks off the new NASCAR betting season. Guess what? Junior, that’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. to those newbies on the NASCAR circuit, is in a green car this weekend. Yep. It’s green. No more Big Red for folks to get crazy about.

No worries! BetUS has their usual future book NASCAR odds on the Daytona 500. Here is who I think has the best shot at winning this thing on Sunday.

Dale Jr./Jeff Gordon/Jimmie Johnson - - I’m lumping these guys together because Jimmie and Jeff are at + 450 in the BetUS future book while Dale Jr. is at + 400. That makes the three fellas from Hendrick Racing the official favorites for the Daytona 500. Do I like their chances? Yes. Do I like their odds? Nope. I would recommend either Jimmie or Jeff as a saver bet only. The D-500 is going to be a very competitive race. No need to chase a winner in this one!

Tony Stewart – BetUS odds of + 600 = I’m liking Tony the Tiger’s chances on Sunday for the simple fact that he’s pretty pissed about the freaking probation that he and Busch are on. Hey, boys will be boys my mama always said! Stewart showed last week that a Toyota need not lag behind the Chevys and Fords in NASCAR. I like him to keep it going this weekend.

Matt Kenseth – BetUS odds of + 2000. So, you’d be getting juicy BetUS odds of + 2000 on Kenseth. No reason to think he won’t make a nice run this year. Why not? At those BetUS odds he’s worth a shot.

Kyle Busch – BetUS odds of + 1800 = I like his chances more than his brother’s. If Kyle doesn’t crash his car, and just takes it easy, he could win a lot of races this year. I expect to Kyle to make a nice run at the win on Sunday. He’s got the car, he’s got the team, and he’s got Denny Hamlin and Tony the Tiger to help him along. Watch out for Kyle!

Mark Martin – BetUS odds of + 2500 = Martin is a good driver. After Sunday he might be a great driver. Eventually, somebody is going to break the stranglehold that Jimmy J. and Jeff G. have on NASCAR. Now that Dale Jr. is driving for Hendrick, I suspect that somebody like Martin could sneak a big win on a huge stage. At odds of + 2500 there’s no reason not to take a chance on this guy.

Long-Shot Special:

Juan Pablo Montoya – BetUS odds of + 6000 = Sure, he might be the most hated man in NASCAR right now, but he’s aggressive and aggressiveness pays off - - eventually. At BetUS odds of 60 to 1, I’d take this hot-headed crazy man over anybody else in the race. Why? Because he has no fear and I guarantee you that pride kept him up late a few nights last week dreaming of ways to bring home a Daytona 500 win.

Until next week, good luck!

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