This article is part of our NASCAR DFS series.
Daytona 500
Location: Daytona, Fla.
Course: Daytona International Speedway
Format: 2.5-mile tri-oval
Laps: 200
Daytona 500 Race Preview
Practice is over, the qualifying races have been run, and now it is officially time to start the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season with Sunday's Daytona 500. Chase Briscoe struck first when he captured Toyota's first Daytona pole position in single-car qualifying, and he will have a Daytona 500 champion starting alongside him in the form of Team Penske's Austin Cindric. Toyota continued their run of good form when Bubba Wallace drove from deep in the field to win the first qualifying race Thursday night, but it was Cindric who struck again with a narrow win over Erik Jones as caution fell with the finish line within reach in the second duel. Toyota's success so far demonstrates progress with their superspeedway package, but Ford and Chevrolet don't appear to given up too much ground either. Sunday's 500-mile odyssey is bound to be a competitive and close-fought battle that will likely come down to very small differences and split-second decisions. The prize on the line is the first trophy of the year, a spot in the season's championship playoffs, and a name forever etched in the record books as a Daytona 500 champion.
Key Stats at Daytona International Speedway
- Number of races: 155
- Winners from pole: 26
- Winners from top-5 starters: 75
- Winners from top-10 starters: 114
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 14
- Fastest race: 183.295 mph
Previous 10 Daytona Winners
2024 fall - Harrison Burton
2024 spring - William Byron
2023 fall - Chris Buescher
2023 spring - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
2022 fall - Austin Dillon
2022 spring - Austin Cindric
2021 fall - Ryan Blaney
2021 spring - Michael McDowell
2020 fall - William Byron
2020 spring - Denny Hamlin
Daytona International Speedway is famous for its pack-style racing where drivers must team up to move forward. Thursday's two qualifying races showed that fantasy players can expect similar approaches to Sunday's race as seen in recent seasons. Early cautions can disrupt fuel strategy and enable a more aggressive battle while long green-flag runs will put greater emphasis on fuel mileage. Manufacturers are still working to align their pit strategies in order to have help drafting back up to race pace, and it seems cars that are able to run longer on a given fuel load will have an advantage over those that need to stop earlier. While Toyota has typically underperformed at this track, the brand appears to have made some progress this week, Ford and Chevrolet also still appear to be contenders, though. Ford won the second qualifying race with Cindric and Chevrolet drivers finished second through fourth in the first. In short, the racing at Daytona this week has been close, which will only make margins for error smaller than they already are. Success on Sunday is based on being there at the end, and every team and driver must work the first 400 miles of Sunday's race to put themselves in position to race for the last 100 where anything could happen as aggression builds toward the checkered flag.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Daytona 500 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Ryan Blaney - $9,900
Joey Logano - $9,600
Chase Elliott - $9,500
Kyle Busch - $9,300
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Chris Buescher - $8,900
Christopher Bell - $8,800
Bubba Wallace - $8,600
Ryan Preece - $8,400
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Ross Chastain - $8,100
Austin Cindric - $7,900
Michael McDowell - $7,100
Justin Allgaier - $7,000
DraftKings Long-Shot Values
Austin Dillon - $6,900
Noah Gragson - $6,800
Carson Hocevar - $6,500
Riley Herbst - $6,100
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Daytona 500
Ryan Blaney - $9,700
Kyle Busch - $9,300
Chris Buescher - $8,900
Austin Cindric - $7,900
Justin Allgaier - $7,000
Austin Dillon - $6,900
Daytona's unpredictability tends to bring fantasy prices down for the favorites, and that remains true for this week's Daytona 500. With the depth of the field in this year's race, fantasy players can take at least two top-tier drivers and still have plenty of stout options still available further down the price list. Ryan Blaney (DK $9,700, FD $13,500) might be the top-tier of top-tier choices, too. The Team Penske driver has been one of the best superspeedway races in the new generation of car. He won the fall race in 2021 and has a total of four top-fives and seven top-10s from 19 Daytona starts. Blaney raced to an eighth-place finish in his qualifying race Thursday night, too. Kyle Busch (DK $9,300, FD $13,000) will also be highly sought after this week. A win in this race is one of the only trophies missing from his impressive resume, and he has been on a good run at the track since joining Richard Childress Racing. His four Daytona starts with RCR averaged a finish of 10th with a second-place finish in last season's fall race. Busch won the fall race of 2008 and finished 10th in his qualifying race.
The middle-tier of driver selections is similarly packed with talent and opportunity. Chris Buescher (DK $8,900, FD $9,000) is one of the standouts. He drove to a third-place finish in his duel Thursday night and won the fall race at this track just two seasons ago. Buescher led 10 laps the last time this series visited this track, and with plenty of Ford partners to help in the draft, he should be poised for success. One of those Ford compatriots is Austin Cindric (DK $7,900, FD $9,200). Not only did Cindric put his car on the front row for Sunday's race, but he then went out and won his qualifying race. That was a brave effort from a driver who could have lost that front-row starting spot in a crash, but the gamble paid off. Cindric is also the 2022 Daytona 500 champion, and he led a combined 28 laps in the two Daytona races last season.
Even with the selections above, there are still great options for fantasy players to choose at the bottom of the roster. Justin Allgaier (DK $7,000, FD $4,500) and Austin Dillon (DK $6,900, FD $6,200) are two names that should immediately come to mind. Allgaier is the defending Xfinity Series champion who earned JR Motorsports its first Cup Series start after racing his way into the field Thursday night. Allgaier is a veteran who finished eighth or better in six of his last seven Xfinity starts at this track and his ninth-place duel finish Thursday night was enough to put him in the starting lineup. Don't sleep on Dillon either. Richard Childress Racing consistently fields some of the most competitive superspeedway cars, and Dillon has used them to win twice at Daytona. He is the 2018 Daytona 500 champion, but he hasn't finished better than 22nd since his last win at the track in 2022.
NASCAR Best Bets for the Daytona 500
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook as of 2:00 PM ET Friday
Race Winner - Ryan Blaney +1100, Chris Buescher + 2000, Austin Dillon +4000
Top-10 Finish - AJ Allmendinger +260, Riley Herbst +300
Winning Manufacturer - Toyota +260
Sunday's lineup features many potential winners and choosing just one is a really hard thing to do given the unpredictable racing that is likely to occur. Wagerers shouldn't be afraid of taking some longshots this week, and a good strategy might be to stagger a wager by choosing a favorite, a middle-tier, and a long-shot option. Ryan Blaney is one of those favorites. He currently has slightly better odds than Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin, and Team Penske has already shown they could win this year with teammate Cindric's qualifying victory. Those assessing the favorites should be wary of choosing Kyle Larson, though. While he is priced like a favorite, he has never won at Daytona and only have five top-10 finishes from 21 starts despite four front-row starts. An attractive middle-tier option could be Chris Buescher. The RFK Racing team has shown top-tier speed and Buescher drive a fantastic qualifying race to finish third. A good longshot option should be Austin Dillon. The RCR driver is a two-time winner at this track with one of the best superspeedway organizations in the sport.
Other betting options include picking drivers that will land in the top 10. With those odds, looking deeper in the lineup could offer good value. Leading that list is AJ Allmendinger, who returns to the Cup Series full time in 2025. He is better known as a road-course specialist, but he has been very good on superspeedways, too. He finished six of his last seven Daytona starts inside the top 10 and was sixth in his qualifying race this week, too. Riley Herbst and Cole Custer should be two other considerations. Herbst has just three series starts at Daytona and finished 10th in one of those.
Looking at the odds for winning manufacturer, Toyota appears to be the best value. While Ford and Chevrolet have had Toyota's number in recent seasons, Chase Briscoe's pole position and Bubba Wallace's qualifying win from Thursday show the manufacturer may have something to say Sunday. Toyota hasn't won at Daytona since 2020, but their speed so far this season shows that run of bad form could come to an end this week.
