Is 2015 the year Carl Edwards (19) gets his first Daytona 500 win? (Getty)
Gentlemen, start your engines.
After more than a week of practice, qualifying and warm-up races in Florida, the green flag on the NASCAR season is about to wave.
It’s time for the Daytona 500.
Hendrick Motorsports dominated this week at Daytona International Speedway and will start 1-2-3 for Sunday’s 57th edition of The Great American Race. Jeff Gordon, who announced this would be his final 500, will start on the pole, Jimmie Johnson joins him in the front row, and last year’s winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is in the third spot.
A victory in Sunday’s opener might not win you the series championship, but the race is the Super Bowl of the Sprint Cup.
And a W at Daytona looks mighty fine on the resume.
The Basics
What:
The 57th Daytona 500
When:
Sunday
Where:
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida
Time:
1 p.m. Eastern
Channel:
Fox
Daytona 500 Betting Odds
Odds provided by Bovada and are subject to change.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. #88 … 7/1
Jimmie Johnson #48 … 8/1
Jeff Gordon #24 … 8/1
Matt Kenseth #20 … 11/1
Carl Edwards #19 … 12/1
Kevin Harvick #4 … 12/1
Joey Logano #22 … 14/1
Denny Hamlin #11 … 14/1
Brad Keselowski #2 … 14/1
Tony Stewart #14 … 16/1
Jamie McMurray #1 … 22/1
Kasey Kahne #5 … 22/1
Clint Bowyer #15 … 25/1
Kyle Larson #42 … 28/1
Greg Biffle #16 … 33/1
Ryan Blaney #21 … 33/1
Martin Truex Jr. #78 … 33/1
Ryan Newman #31 … 33/1
Austin Dillon #3 … 40/1
Paul Menard #27 … 40/1
Danica Patrick #10 … 50/1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. #17 … 50/1
Aric Almirola #43 … 50/1
Trevor Bayne #60 … 50/1
*Regan Smith #41 … 50/1
A.J. Allmendinger #47 … 66/1
Casey Mears #13 … 66/1
Michael Waltrip #55 … 75/1
David Ragan #34 … 75/1
Justin Allgaier #51 … 100/1
David Gilliland #38 … 100/1
Sam Hornish Jr. #9 … 100/1
Ty Dillon #33 … 100/1
Reed Sorenson #44 … 150/1
Bobby Labonte #32 … 150/1
Cole Whitt #35 … 150/1
J.J. Yeley #23 … 150/1
Johnny Sauter #83 … 150/1
Landon Cassill #40 … 150/1
Michael McDowell #95 … 150/1
Michael Annett #46 … 150/1
Mike Wallace #66 … 150/1
*Fill-in driver for Kurt Busch, who was suspended indefinitely by NASCAR.
Heavy’s Pick
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
It’s been back-and-forth between Earnhardt, Carl Edwards and Jeff Gordon.
Edwards has a new team this year, Joe Gibbs Racing. And as we’ve seen in the past, change can be very good for some drivers (Kevin Harvick won the Sprint Championship last year, his first with Stewart-Haas Racing). One issue: Edwards has never won a race at a restrictor-plate track, as Daytona International Speedway is. But he did turn in the 3rd-fastest time in last week’s qualifying. Edwards just seems poised to break out of that slump.
This is Gordon’s Daytona farewell. The 3-time Great American Race winner is on the pole and could write a storybook ending to his final go at the 500. He finished 4th in 2014, but besides that, hasn’t cracked the top 20 since 2009. Still, you’d be foolish to count the active wins leader out.
That brings us to Junior. Pushed to the back of the starting lineup at the Budweiser Duels because of a failed inspection at qualifying, he wasted little time getting into the front. And he stayed there, getting the win in race 1. Earnhardt didn’t seem bothered by his penalty. In fact, he took it as a challenge. After winning the Duel, he dominated Friday’s practice session as well. Junior is oozing with confidence right now. And that car is the best one in the field.
Earnhardt repeats at Daytona, becoming the first back-to-back winner since Sterling Marlin accomplished the feat 20 years ago.
