Daytona 500 Odds: Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Shaky Favorites to Shy Away from

There are a handful of questionable favorites heading into Sunday's Daytona 500 (1:00 PM ET, FOX), including past champions and some drivers still searching for their first trip to Victory Lane at Daytona.

Why are they favorites? Well, because Vegas likes their chances, even if we don't.

Although it truly is anyone's race at Daytona (just look at what 20-year-old Trevor Bayne was able to accomplish in 2011), some drivers are just safer bets.

The big one will come at some point—it always does. Early, late or whenever, it can rewrite the Daytona 500 script in an instant and set the stage for an improbable winner.

That being said, these shaky favorites should be avoided at all costs on Sunday:

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 10-1, according to Bovada

Dale Earnhardt Jr—that's right, the guy who has not been to the winner's circle in 129 races, since June 2008—is the favorite to win the 2012 Daytona 500.

The 2004 Daytona 500 champion has always stepped up his game at the famed speedway, but his lengthy losing streak will be the elephant in the room on Sunday.

Earnhardt Jr. will start fifth, which certainly helps his chances of taking the checkered flag, but unless he can stay up front and out of trouble to lift his confidence out of the gutters, then the usual disappointing result is in his future.

Kyle Busch, 10-1, according to Bovada

Along with Earnhardt Jr. and Kevin Harvick, troubled driver Kyle Busch comes into the 53rd installment of "The Great American Race" as a favorite to take the crown. He'll start 14th.

The 26-year-old has won 19 races over the past four Sprint Cup seasons, but never the Daytona 500. Busch is always a threat to contend, but his Ricky Bobby-like antics on and off the track always seem to derail his promising future.

Kasey Kahne, 14-1, according to Bovada

The baby-faced NASCAR sensation, Kasey Kahne will start 20th on Sunday, but that has not hurt his odds. Kahne is a 14-1 favorite to finish ahead of the field at the 2012 Daytona 500.

Kahne has just one Sprint Cup win in the past two seasons, and he has never won a Daytona 500 in his eight full seasons running with the big boys.

The full body of racing work from Kahne suggests that he will not be at the front late in the race, and that means he is a shaky favorite to shy away from on Sunday.