NASCAR 2021 kicks off with Daytona 500; who has best odds to win?

The 2021 NASCAR season gets underway this week, and the biggest race of the season is Sunday to kick off what promises to be another fantastic year of racing.

The Daytona 500 opens up the new campaign, and it is the two-time defending champion, Denny Hamlin, that has the best odds to win his third-straight title (who knew?)

Right now, Hamlin has odds of +800 to win the race, just ahead of five other racers with odds of +1000 to +1100: Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Brad Keselowski.

Of course, Elliott stunned everyone last season, becoming the third youngest driver to win the NASCAR Cup Series championship at 24 years, 11 months, and 11 days old, only behind Jeff Gordon and Bill Rexford. Elliott also joined his father, Bill Elliott (1988), as champion.

Of the final four racers last season (Elliott, Logano, Hamlin, and Keselowski), all are in that top six group of odds listed above.

With some US online sportsbooks, you can get good value betting on a top 3 or top 10 finish. For example, if you think Hamlin is a lock to finish in one of those spots, but maybe he gets beat at the wire, you can get odds of +250 for top 3.

Odds for the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series championship

Right now, Kevin Harvick (+550), Hamlin (+600), and Elliott (+600) are pretty close, with Keselowski (+700), 201 champion Logano (+700), and 2017 champion Martin Truex Jr. (+750) right behind them.

One thing is for sure: no matter who you bet for the race or the season, you are getting tremendous value if your driver crosses that line first.