Daytona 500 2012: 10 out-of-Nowhere Picks to Win at the Great American Race

Races like the Daytona 500 are hard to preview. Few (if any) predictions are accurate or even close to what eventually pans out at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega.

Rather than try to guess what will happen when the checkered flag drops on Feb. 26, this article will try to surmise 10 drivers who could pull off a thunderous shock to the racing world by winning the season's first race and richest prize.

In 2011, at the four superspeedway "tandem draft fests," or "races" as they are still officially called, all four featured the winner getting his first win of the season. The Daytona victories were the first and only of that driver's career (Trevor Bayne and David Ragan).

Clint Bowyer's victory at Talladega was his only win of the season. The other win, by Jimmie Johnson, was his only win during the regular season. However, he did manage to score another victory during the chase in Kansas.

The theme here is that this style of racing breeds winners that are unexpected and perhaps unlikely to win again during the year. That's not always the case, but 2011 gave a strong paradigm as to just how unpredictable these races are.

Here are 10 participants that could come out of nowhere to shake up the season as soon as it begins.

Trevor Bayne

Why not? He won the race last year in only his second start. At least if he wins this year, he will be able to legally celebrate with champagne.

Even though he won, it would almost be more shocking if he pulled out a repeat performance in 2012. It is very difficult to fathom that he could do it again, but he will most likely have more drivers willing to draft with him based on his success last year.

The odds are slim, though it would make for a great story.

Marcos Ambrose

No foreigner has ever won the Great American Race. If and when it ever happens, it will be a surprise by default.

Of the two foreign-born drivers in NASCAR today, Marcos Ambrose would probably be a bit of a bigger surprise to win the Daytona 500 than his colleague Juan Pablo Montoya.

The only reason for that is because Montoya has two wins to Ambrose's one. However, neither has won on an oval. Their three combined victories are limited to the road courses of Watkins Glen and Infineon Raceway.

This achievement would be a historic one for either driver, and a turning point in NASCAR history.

Regan Smith

Regans Smith's actual first NASCAR Sprint Cup victory was achieved at Talladega. Unfortunately for him, he was stripped of this victory because officials declared that he made an illegal move to gain the checkered flag.

Many think that his first "real" victory at the Southern 500 last year was just a fluke.

Smith could prove those critics wrong with a win at Daytona. He is still far from most short lists of possible 2012 Daytona winners.

David Gilliland

David Gilliland has not made much noise as a Sprint Cup driver. The only measurable success that he has had is at superspeedways, though he has never won.

Last year, he silently finished third at the Daytona 500 because of the magnitude of the victory by Trevor Bayne.

Could Gilliand be this year's Bayne?

Bobby Labonte

Including David Gilliand also requires including Bobby Labonte, based on last year's result. He finished right behind Gilliland in fourth place.

The case of Labonte and Gilliand also brings up an interesting point: It does not really matter where your favorite driver qualifies at this race.

Labonte qualified 31st while Gilliand started in 39th. Therefore, the qualification run/Gatorade Duel should not be considered a good barometer as to where any individual driver will finish in this year's Daytona 500.

Danica Patrick

This would truly come out of nowhere. Not only would Danica Patrick be the first woman to ever win a Daytona 500, but she would be the first woman to ever win a top-level NASCAR race, period.

No woman has ever won, even at the Nationwide and Camping World Truck Series levels.

This is pretty much the only victory that could eclipse Trevor Bayne's win in terms of media attention, fan frenzy and mass appeal for NASCAR as an organization.

However, the odds are heavily stacked against her in 2012.

Denny Hamlin

I'm not sure if Denny Hamlin winning the 2012 Daytona 500 would be a total surprise, especially with addition of Darian Grubb as his new crew chief.

After all, Grubb has coordinated five wins in his last 10 races while working for Tony Stewart.

On the other hand, Hamlin looked fairly weak for most of the 2011 season and finished 21st at last year's Daytona 500.

A victory on Feb. 26 would not be as surprising as some of the other drivers mentioned here, but it would be a great accomplishment for both driver and crew chief in their first official race together.

Joey Logano

Like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano is another member of Joe Gibbs Racing but has never won a full race at the NASCAR Sprint Cup level. He does have one rain-shortened victory.

His history at Daytona is fairly poor, though he was able to muster a third place finish at last year's Firecracker 400 after qualifying 37th. Still, that race is about 40 laps shorter than the Great American Race.

Added to this, he would become the second youngest driver ever to win the Daytona 500, being just a bit over a year older now than Trevor Bayne was when he won last year.

David Ragan

A victory at Daytona by David Ragan could only be considered to come from out of nowhere for one reason: He has departed Roush Fenway Racing and signed on with Front Row Motorsports.

With Roush engines, Ragan had a truly solid couple of races in Daytona last year. He won the Firecracker 400 and was leading the Daytona 500 at the very end before a costly penalty relegated him to a 14th place finish.

He may have some extra motivation this year to vindicate himself.

David Reutimann

David Reutimann and David Ragan are similar in that both were released from their teams in 2011.

In Reutimann's case, he was let go in a much more surprising manner by being replaced at Michael Waltrip Racing when Mark Martin signed on.

Luckily for Reutimann, he was able to secure a ride with Tommy Baldwin Racing despite not having ample time to shop around. Other drivers, including Brian Vickers, may not have been as fortunate.

Of any driver in the field, Reutimann may have the biggest chip on his shoulder coming into the 2012 season.

Though it would be a major surprise if he could win, the stories of vindication would not cease any time soon after such a miraculous comeback.