Ryan Blaney was installed as the favorite in earliest odds for the 2023 Daytona 500.
That might seem like a strange pick considering that Blaney went winless in 2022 and has never won the “Great American Race.” A deeper dive, however, reveals that Blaney is a good choice to win his first 500.
The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford is a teammate of defending NASCAR Cup Series champion Joey Logano and Austin Cindric, the defending champion of the Daytona 500. Blaney had a breakout year in 2021 with three victories, but never found victory lane last season despite often being in contention.
It was the sixth straight season the third-generation racer finished in the top 10 of the year-end point standings. Obviously, Blaney’s teammates are also 500 favorites — and Logano is the 2015 race winner.
Ford has been the top brand in the Daytona 500 since Logano’s win with victories by Kurt Busch (2017), Michael McDowell (2021) and Cindric (2022). Blaney won the Coke Zero 400 in 2021 for his lone Daytona victory.
Denny Hamlin, in the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, has experienced the most success of any current driver with Daytona 500 wins in 2016, 2019 and 2020. Tied with Jeff Gordon, Bobby Allison and Dale Jarrett, he has a chance to join Cale Yarborough as a four-time winner.
Austin Dillon is a former 500 winner (2018). Also, he’s the most recent winner at the 2.5-mile superspeedway with his victory at the 2022 Coke Zero 400.
A sentimental favorite is 2007 race winner Kevin Harvick, who recently announced the 2023 season would be his last in the Cup Series.
Championship-winning drivers still looking for their first Daytona 500 victory include Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Brad Keselowski.
Larson hasn’t been able to put together a winning performance on the series’ bigger tracks like Elliott, who was the winner of the last superspeedway race at Talladega. Both drivers have shown speed at Daytona, where Larson took the pole for last season’s 500.
Like Darrell Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, who went years before finally winning the super bowl of stock car racing, the Daytona 500 is truly the biggest prize that continues to elude Busch. Will a change to the No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet prove to be what he needs to get over the hump?
Truex, in the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, lost the closest 500 finish in history to Hamlin by just .001 second in 2016. Keselowski, in the No. 6 RFK Racing Ford, can’t be counted out as he captured one of the Gatorade Duals victories last season.
Bubba Wallace, driving the No. 23 Toyota, also has to be considered a favorite with a pair second-place finishes in the 500. He led six times in last year’s race and came up a half-car length short to Cindric.
THE DARKHORSE PICK
The superspeedway races are the most unpredictable on the circuit, but we will give it a try.
It wouldn’t be shocking to see the winner come from the Legacy Motor Club organization. While seven-time champion and two-time 500 winner Jimmie Johnson makes his return, Erik Jones could pull off a surprise.
Jones, driving the legendary No. 43 Chevrolet, won the 2018 Daytona summer event and finished third in the 2019 Daytona 500. He led 22 laps at the last Daytona race, while rookie teammate Noah Gragson finished fifth in August.
KINGSPORT SPEEDWAY MALL SHOW
The annual Kingsport Speedway Mall Show is scheduled Saturday at The Mall at Johnson City.
Cars from all of the track’s classes will be on display. It’s a great chance for fans to meet the local drivers who compete on the 3/8-mile concrete oval and even a couple who race at the adjacent Kingsport Miniway go-kart track.
There are three back-to-back Friday and Saturday test sessions scheduled in March before the season-opening race Saturday, March 25.