2008 Daytona
Written by Jack Jones
In less than a week, one of the biggest races of the year will make its historic 50th anniversary run. Daytona Beach, FL is geared up and ready for NASCAR’s best to line up at Daytona International Speedway for the Daytona 500. The 200 lap, 500-mile stock-car race began back 1959. It is simply amazing the way the sport has continued to grow over the years into a national phenomenon. Over 50 million viewers are expected to be glued to their TVs for the long race.
While many consider this the one race you must win to solidify your career. One of sports greatest platforms will be ready to challenge those this year who have yet to win this classic race. The most noticeable being Tony Stewart who will try for the 10th time to tackle this feat. While you must be at the top of your game to be the one entering the winners circle, you also have to have some luck to avoid the big crash that seems to always take place.
So as fans all over the world will be cheering on their driver in hope that they to can celebrate a victory, we are going to give you a couple of our favorites who we think will perform well next weekend.
Jeff Gordon 5-1
Gordon’s great year was somewhat overshadowed by teammate Jimmy Johnson, who had an incredible finish last year, to capture the Nextel Cup Championship for the second year in a row. Gordon though seems to lean on handing over the torch to Johnson as the most dominant racer today. Gordon still is loved and hated by many, just as other athletes past and present have been for dominating their sports. Gordon is no stranger to the Daytona 500, as he has won 3 previous times here, with the most recent coming in 2005. Gordon races on the most dominant racing team of today. Hendrix Motor Sports has three of the top drivers, with Gordon, Johnson, and newcomer Dale Earnhardt Jr. Each racer has won this race over the last four years, so the odds are good that one of the 3 will prevail this year. Gordon who always seems to be in contention, should be primed and ready for another great showing. So in our safe pick we like the driver of the Chevrolet’s 24.
Tony Stewart 8-1
Stewart as mentioned is searching for a chance to make his own personal history and finally win the big race. While it isn’t that Stewart doesn’t perform well at the event, it’s more that he has ran into a run of bad luck at the Daytona 500. While he has won on this track before, just never the race that really matters most. Part of the Joe Gibb’s Racing team, and driver of the Toyota 20 car, is only a matter of time before he wins this race. While it might be tough to take down the trio of Hendrix Motor Sports, This could very well be his year, and what a great time for it to happen at the 50th running of the Super Bowl of Racing. So if you still want a solid driver to pick, with better paying odds than the top 3, Stewart is your man.
This is a great chance for you to head over to Sportsbook.com and place a bet on one of these drivers. This is a great way to make up for that expensive valentines day present.
Below is a list of all the odds for each racer of the Daytona 500 found at Sportsbook.com.
Bobby Labonte 100 – 1
Travis Kvapil 100 – 1
Paul Menard 100 – 1
Reed Sorenson 100 – 1
Dario Franchitti 75 – 1
Jacques Villeneuve 75 – 1
Sam Hornish Jr 75 – 1
JJ Yeley 75 – 1
Robby Gordon 75 – 1
Dave Blaney 75 – 1
David Ragan 75 – 1
Elliott Sadler 75 – 1
David Gilliland 60 – 1
Juan Pablo Montoya 45 – 1
Greg Biffle 40 – 1
Jamie McMurray 35 – 1
Ryan Newman 35 – 1
Kasey Kahne 35 – 1
Jeff Burton 30 – 1
Casey Mears 25 – 1
Mark Martin 20 – 1
Kevin Harvick 20 – 1
Martin Truex Jr 20 – 1
Clint Bowyer 20 – 1
Kyle Busch 15 – 1
Matt Kenseth 15 – 1
Carl Edwards 15 – 1
Denny Hamlin 15 – 1
Kurt Busch 12 – 1
Tony Stewart 8 – 1
Jimmie Johnson 6 – 1
Jeff Gordon 5 – 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr 4 – 1
Field (Any Other Driver) 30 – 1
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