The Daytona 500 is upon us. After a long winter, cars are on track tonight for Pole Qualifying at the time of writing this. Multiple storylines to follow this weekend. How will Ryan Blaney defend his title? Will Denny Hamlin’s momentum from the Clash at the Coliseum continue? How will the rookie class of Zane Smith, Carson Hocevar, and Josh Berry fare? Can Stewart-Haas Racing rebound from their worst year on record? I could go on and on. But I’ll get to the point, here is what you need to know going into Daytona 500 weekend.
Fresh From Florida 250
Friday, February 16, 2024 @ 7:30PM EST
The Craftsman Truck Series kicks off their season on Friday night. With two of the best drivers in the series moving to Cup in the offseason, the door is open for someone new to challenge Corey Heim, Christian Eckes, and Ben Rhodes. Several faces are in new places, with some of the notable names being: Grant Enfinger who joins CR7 Motorsports, Layne Riggs has been tapped to replace the Cup Series bound Zane Smith for Front Row Motorsports, and Rajah Caruth and Chase Purdy, who both join Spire Motorsports after both GMS Racing and Kyle Busch Motorsports shut down following last season.
Most Recent Winner At Daytona
Last time out at Daytona, Zane Smith won the season opener for the second year in a row. With Smith having moved on to the Cup Series, he is obviously not one to worry about.
Names To Watch
Corey Lajoie: Lajoie will be piloting the #7 for Spire Motorsports Friday night, and with the proficiency Lajoie has showed on drafting tracks over the last couple of seasons, including a solid run in this race a year ago, its hard to imagine he won’t be a factor in this one.
Grant Enfinger: Enfinger has a knack for this type of racing, that’s no secret. He has 2 wins on Superspeedways, with his first career win coming at Talladega in 2016, and a win in this race 4 years ago. In his first start with CR7 Motorsports, Grant Enfinger is someone to watch come Friday night.
Johnny Sauter: Widely considered one of the best to ever do it in the Craftsman Truck Series, Johnny Sauter will be back behind the wheel, this time he will be driving the #45 for Niece Motorsports. Sauter has 4 wins on Superspeedways, with 3 coming here at Daytona and 1 at Talladega in 2013. Simply put, if Johnny Sauter is in the field, he should be considered a threat.
My Pick To Win: Corey Lajoie
United Rentals 300
Saturday, February 17, 2024 @ 5:00PM EST
The Xfinity Series starts their season Saturday Evening. They also have had a number of notable driver changes, including: Jesse Love joining Richard Childress Racing in the #2, Sheldon Creed left RCR to join Joe Gibbs Racing to drive the #18, Sammy Smith will now be driving the #8 for JR Motorsports after leaving JGR, along with an abundance of other changes as well.
Most Recent Winner at Daytona
Last time out, Justin Allgaier beat out Sheldon Creed in the first of two photo finishes between the two in 2023.
Names To Watch
Frankie Muniz: He will be making his Xfinity Series debut on Saturday for Joey Gase Motorsports, the Malcolm in the Middle star will certainly have lots of eyes on him to see how he performs.
Anthony Alfredo: Alfredo will be making first start for Our Motorsports driving the #5. Alfredo always seems to manage to find his way into contention on these drafting tracks, including a couple solid runs last year for BJ McLeod Motorsports.
Shane van Gisbergen: The man of the hour, the one who will have the eyes of the entire NASCAR world on him on Saturday. The 34-Year Old New Zealander will be making his first attempt at the Daytona oval on Saturday Afternoon, in the ARCA race, of which NASCAR is requiring him to be in, in order to be eligible for the Saturday Nights race. The 81-Time Supercars Winner and 3-Time Champion won on his NASCAR Cup Series debut last summer in Chicago, which has created a lot of hype. But it would be unfair to make Daytona feel like the end all be all, so just sit back, relax, and enjoy something you don’t see very often, one of the best race car drivers in the world taking his first attempt at a form of racing that can’t, and won’t be recreated anywhere else.
My Pick To Win: Austin Hill
Daytona 500
Sunday, February 18, 2024 @ 2:30PM EST
As the Daytona 500 looms on Sunday, and as with the Truck and Xfinity Series, many new drivers in new homes, including: Josh Berry replacing the newest member of the Fox Booth, Kevin Harvick, Noah Gragson replaced a retiring Aric Almirola, as well as John Hunter Nemechek, Zane Smith, and Carson Hocevar moving up from the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series respectively.
Most Recent Winner at Daytona
Chris Buescher won last time out at Daytona. It was unfortunately overshadowed by two of the most violent crashes of the year.
Names To Watch
Ryan Preece: Preece returns to the site of his vicious crash during the summer race that saw him flip roughly 10 times down the backstretch. It will interesting to see how Preece fares.
Justin Haley: In his first race with Rick Ware Racing at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Haley had a very impressive showing that was cut short but a mechanical failure. Haley is one of the best Superspeedway racers in the sport, and will certainly be in contention by the end of the Daytona 500.
David Ragan: Ragan will be attempting the 500 with RFK Racing driving the #60. Ragan has 2 career wins, both on Superspeedways, 1 at Daytona and 1 at Talladega. Ragan was also long considered one of the best of his era on drafting tracks.
My Pick To Win: Ryan Blaney
Daytona 500 Betting Odds
*All of the odds you will see come from Draft Kings
Favorites
Denny Hamlin +900
Kyle Busch +1100
Brad Keselowski +1200
Ryan Blaney +1200
Kyle Larson +1400
Longshots
Michael McDowell +3500
Justin Haley +6000
Jimmie Johnson +7000
image: Sean Gardner/Getty Images
