NASCAR at Daytona: Betting favorites after Daytona 500 preview

The Daytona 500 is just days away, and we have seen a small sample size of who to watch. Over the past few days on the track, NASCAR Cup Series drivers have been showing off their speed.

Qualifying saw Hendrick Motorsports' Chevys display the fastest speed. Defending Cup Series Champion Kyle Larson grabbed the pole position while his teammate Alex Bowman took the final front row spot for Sunday's race. The team's cars exhibited the most speed during the qualifying sessions, and their odds will improve before the green flag waves Sunday afternoon.

This led to the two duel races on Thursday night at Daytona Beach. These two 60-lap, 150-mile races, were a rehearsal for drivers to prepare for Sunday.

2012 Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski won the first duel. He will start third in the Daytona 500 this weekend with his duel win. Keselowski will be joined by Austin Cindric, Ryan Blaney, Chase Briscoe, and Chase Elliott in rounding out the top 5. At the end of the race, attention was on Kaz Grala as he passed J.J. Yeley on the final lap and earned a transfer spot to get into the 500.

Duel 1 Results

1. Brad Keselowski
2. Austin Cindric
3. Ryan Blaney
4. Chase Briscoe
5. Chase Elliott
6. Erik Jones
7. Kyle Larson
8. Tyler Reddick
9. Kurt Busch
10. Ross Chastain
11. Daniel Suarez
12. William Byron
13. Justin Haley
14. Landon Cassill
15. Todd Gilland
16. Cole Custer
17. Daniel Hemric
18. Kaz Grala
19. JJ Yeley
20. BJ McLeod
21. Noah Gragson

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Daytona 500 Duel 2 Results

NASCAR Cup Series Bluegreen Vacations Duel #2 at Daytona

Chris Buescher, in his car #17, took the checkered flag at the last event of the night. Like his car-owner/team-mate Brad Keselowski, this was the final chance for transfer spots to be up for grabs in the second and last duel race of the night.

This duel saw a lot more aggressive driving styles compared to duel one. The type of racing on show is something one could expect to see in the Daytona 500. Buescher won dramatically as Joey Logano tried to block and keep the lead on the last lap before ending up crashing into the wall. With this result, Buescher will start fourth on Sunday afternoon.

Duel 2 results

1. Chris Buescher
2. Michael McDowell
3. Harrison Burton
4. Kyle Busch
5. Christopher Bell
6. Martin Truex Jr
7. Bubba Wallace
8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr
9. Joey Logano
10. Kevin Harvick
11. Corey Lajoie
12. Ty Dillon
13. Greg Biffle
14. Alex Bowman
15. Denny Hamlin
16. Cody Ware
17. David Ragan
18. Austin Dillion
19. Aric Almirola
20. Timmy Hill
21. Jacques Villeneuve

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Favorites for the Daytona 500 via Vegasinsider.com

Just as we finish up the duels, opinions have shifted to who people are putting their money on. For insights, look no further than the Vegas sportsbooks who have experts already releasing their updated odds for Sunday. Not much has changed, but the favorites on the list below are usually drivers who contend in the Daytona 500 every year.

1. Denny Hamlin (+850)
2. Chase Elliott (+1000)
3. Kyle Larson (+1100)
4. Ryan Blaney(+1200)
5. Joey Logan (+1200)
6. William Byron(+1500)
7. Brad Keslowski (+1600)
8. Kurt Busch (+1700)
9. Kyle Busch(+1700)
10. Alex Bowman(+1800)
11. Austin Dilion (+1800)
12. Kevin Harvick (+1800)
13. Bubba Wallace (+2000)
14. Martin Truex, Jr. (+2000)
15. Aric Almirola(+2200)
16. Tyler Reddick(+2500)