2011 Daytona 500 Betting Preview
Date & Time: Sunday, February 20, 2011 – 1:00 pm EST on ESPN
Where: Daytona International Speedway in Daytona, Florida
This Sunday starting at 1 p.m. (ET) the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series kicks off the 2011 racing season with the 53rd running of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway in Florida. This is by far NASCAR’s biggest and most prestigious race of the year and just like winning a Major in golf, most drivers would agree that their career would feel incomplete if they did not add this title to their resume.
Part of the allure of the Daytona 500 is the difficulty in surviving the grueling 200 + laps of racing to actually win. Lead changes are extremely common and one small mistake either on the track or in pit row can end a driver’s chances for the day. Only nine drivers in the history of the 500 have won it more than once and the last time somebody won it back-to-back was Sterling Martin in 1994 and 1995.
Turning to this year’s event Bodog.com has opened Dale Earnhardt Jr. as the current odds-on-favorite to win at 8/1. The primary reason is because he has already secured the pole position for the race by posting the fastest lap time in last Sunday’s qualifying run. He is also a sentimental pick to win this year as it is the 10th anniversary of his father’s tragic death in this very race. Earnhardt Jr. has not been a factor in the Sprint Cup point’s race the past few seasons, but he does have a previous win in the Daytona 500 in 2004 and a second-place finish in last year’s race.








