Getty Images Denny Hamlin has 51 NASCAR Cup wins andn counting.
The 66th Daytona 500 takes place this Sunday, February 18, and the stakes have never been higher. Joey Logano, who finished second at last year’s “Great American Race,” takes pole this year — and is looking to score his second win there. The oddsmakers, though, favor Denny Hamiln. Hamlin’s current odds to win are 9-1.
The winner will walk away with more than a trophy. This year’s Daytona 500 will be the richest ever, with a record purse of $28,035,991.
NASCAR no longer specifies how much of the purse goes to the winner, though when Logano won in 2015 — the last year NASCAR publicized the winner’s purse — he took home a hefty $1,586,503.
Another Daytona 500 Win for Florida?
Denny Hamlin has three Daytona 500 wins. He’s the odds on favorite to win this year. If he does, that will mark four Daytona 500 wins for a Florida driver, putting the state in a tie with Tennessee.
According to Bookies.com, since 1994, drivers from North Carolina and California have the most Daytona 500 wins — tied at six a piece. Tennessee is in third, with four wins. If Hamlin wins this weekend, that will put Florida in a tie with Tennessee for second most.
Been to victory lane at Daytona a time or three. Had to show @CBellRacing the way. #TeamToyota
Charting Daytona 500 success by state makes for a fascinating way of re-telling NASCAR history. There is no more storied race in NASCAR than the Daytona 500. And drivers from North Carolina reign supreme. Since 1994, drivers from the Tar Heel state have scored six wins and seven second-place finishes. And that doesn’t include Richard Petty’s many wins in Daytona.
For the 2024 Daytona 500, William Byron earns the best odds of any driver from North Carolina, at 16-1. Byron, driving for Hendrick Motorsports, will start from the 18th spot.
A Daytona 500 for the History Books?
Bettors — and regular fans — love to know, second guess, and beat the odds. Yes, Denny Hamlin is the odds on favorite to win the 2024 Daytona 500. But he hasn’t won it since 2020. Kyle Busch has the second-best odds. Might history repeat? In 2019, Busch took second — behind Denny Hamlin.
It’s not just fans who talk up the odds. NASCAR promotes these discussions by posting both the opening and current odds for the race, for every driver.
To add to the fun, NASCAR also ranks every Daytona 500, best to worst.
Will the 2024 Daytona 500 leave a big mark on history?
Hamlin’s victory at Daytona in 2016, where he beat out Martin Truex by 0.010 seconds, is considered one of the best ever.
Another Denny Hamlin victory is also regarded as one of the best Daytona 500’s in history. That would be Hamlin’s win in 2019, the year of the “big one” — the race with 21 cars taken out in a massive crash. After a restart, Hamlin held off his teammate, Kyle Busch, earning his second Daytona 500 win.
According to NASCAR, their lowest ranked Daytona 500 was in 1963. That year, Fred Lorenzen won his first and only Daytona 500 in a race shortened due to rain.
Weather for this Sunday’s Daytona 500 is calling for potentially heavy rain.
The best ever Daytona 500? Per NASCAR, it took place in 1998. A driver from North Carolina won it. Dale Earnhardt, after “twenty years of trying.”