Daytona 500 Starting Lineup: Predictions and Odds Ahead of 2016 Can-Am Duels
On Thursday night, the Daytona 500's starting lineup will be set after the Can-Am Duel qualifying races.
Beginning at 7 p.m. ET, there will be two 60-lap, 150-mile races run to create the starting grid of NASCAR's biggest race. Each race will consist of 22 cars, where there are four open drivers who aren't guaranteed a spot in Daytona 500.
Two of those open cars will be cut after each race to round out the 40-car lineup.
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Here are the current odds, courtesy of OddsShark.com, as to who will win the Daytona 500:
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | 6-1 |
| Jimmie Johnson | 9-1 |
| Kevin Harvick | 10-1 |
| Joey Logano | 10-1 |
| Matt Kenseth | 10-1 |
| Brad Keselowski | 12-1 |
| Denny Hamlin | 12-1 |
| Kyle Busch | 12-1 |
| Carl Edwards | 16-1 |
| Kurt Busch | 18-1 |
| Chase Elliott | 18-1 |
| Martin Truex Jr. | 18-1 |
| Kasey Kahne | 22-1 |
| Kyle Larson | 22-1 |
| Jamie McMurray | 28-1 |
| Austin Dillon | 33-1 |
| Ryan Newman | 40-1 |
| Brian Vickers | 50-1 |
| Clint Bowyer | 50-1 |
| Greg Biffle | 50-1 |
| Ryan Blaney | 50-1 |
| Aric Almirola | 50-1 |
| Danica Patrick | 50-1 |
| David Ragan | 50-1 |
| Paul Menard | 50-1 |
| Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 50-1 |
| Trevor Bayne | 50-1 |
| Chris Buescher | 66-1 |
| Michael Waltrip | 66-1 |
| Regan Smith | 66-1 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | 75-1 |
| Casey Mears | 75-1 |
| David Gilliland | 75-1 |
| Ty Dillon | 75-1 |
| Bobby Labonte | 100-1 |
| Brian Scott | 100-1 |
| Reed Sorenson | 100-1 |
| Landon Cassill | 125-1 |
| Cole Whitt | 150-1 |
| Josh Wise | 150-1 |
| Matt DiBenedetto | 150-1 |
| Michael Annett | 150-1 |
| Michael McDowell | 150-1 |
| Robert Richardson Jr. | 150-1 |
After single-lap qualifying on Sunday, Chase Elliott will start the Daytona 500 on the pole regardless of his performance at the Can-Am Duels on Thursday. Two-time Daytona 500 winner Matt Kenseth will join him.
Kenseth last won the 500 in 2012 and has seen mixed results since. He finished 37th and 35th, respectively, in 2013 and 2015 while finishing sixth in 2014. So if there is any sort of pattern to Kenseth's performances, he should be near the top of the leaderboard in 2016.
It's Dale Earnhardt Jr., though, who is the favorite heading into the Daytona 500. The veteran is bringing in a car that he's had for quite some time, which is something rather uncommon in today's NASCAR.
Nicknamed Amelia, Earnhardt's car won three of five races and will be the vehicle to run in the 500. This year also carries sentimental meaning for Earnhardt. This is the 15th anniversary of his father, Dale Sr.'s, death at the track back in 2001.
The Daytona International Speedway is also a track that Earnhardt has seen a lot of success in with 16 wins. At the Daytona 500, he's been a familiar presence toward the top in the past few years. With 16 Daytona 500 races under his belt, he has 10 top-10 finishes.
Over the past four years, he hasn't finished lower than third place and has shown he can handle almost anything this track can throw at him.
Prediction: Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the Daytona 500
Stats courtesy of NASCAR.com
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