Daytona 500 Starting Lineup: Predictions and Odds Ahead of 2018 Duels

Alex Bowman and Denny Hamlin will lead the field at the start of the 2017 Daytona 500 on Sunday, with the rest of the drivers set to decide their fate during Thursday's Can-Am Duels.

There is certain to be plenty of entertainment on Thursday as drivers make their final preparations for Sunday's race. Forty drivers have entered the race, which celebrates its 60th anniversary in 2018, and all will make the starting grid.

Here's a look at the lineup, the current odds for the race, according to OddsShark, along with some predictions for the biggest event of the season.

Daytona 500 Lineup 

Duel 1 Lineup

1. Alex Bowman

2. Jimmie Johnson

3. William Byron

4. Daniel Suarez

5. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

6. Joey Logano

7. Aric Almirola

8. Ryan Blaney

9. Kurt Busch

10. Brad Keselowski

11. Ryan Newman

12. Jamie McMurray

13. Darrell Wallace Jr.

14. Ty Dillon

15. Chris Buescher

16. Brendan Gaughan

17. Justin Marks

18. Jeffrey Earnhardt

19. David Gilliland

20. David Ragan

Duel 2 Lineup

1. Denny Hamlin

2. Kyle Busch

3. Erik Jones

4. Kevin Harvick

5. Chase Elliott

6. Paul Menard

7. Austin Dillon

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Kasey Kahne

10. Trevor Bayne

11. Kyle Larson

12. Michael McDowell

13. Martin Truex Jr.

14. Danica Patrick

15. AJ Allmendinger

16. Matt DiBenedetto

17. DJ Kennington

18. Mark Thompson

19. Corey LaJoie

20. Gray Gaulding

Daytona 500 Driver Odds

Brad Keselowski 8-1

Denny Hamlin 10-1

Joey Logano 12-1

Kevin Harvick 12-1

Chase Elliott 12-1

Kyle Busch 12-1

Kyle Larson 12-1

Ricky Stenhouse 14-1

Martin Truex Jr. 14-1

Jimmie Johnson 14-1

Erik Jones 22-1

Clint Bowyer 22-1

Kurt Busch 25-1

Ryan Blaney 25-1

Jamie McMurray 25-1

Alex Bowman 28-1

William Byron 28-1

Aric Almirola 33-1

Daniel Suarez 33-1

Trevor Bayne 40-1

Austin Dillon 40-1

Ryan Newman 50-1

Darrell Wallace Jr. 50-1

Paul Menard 66-1

Kasey Kahne 66-1

Ty Dillon 80-1

Daytona 500 Predictions

Brad Keselowski is the favourite going into Sunday's race and will be hoping to win the Daytona 500 for the first time in his career. Of course, Keselowski was also one of the pre-race favourites last year before ending up in a disappointing 27th place.

Kurt Busch, who took the chequered flag in 2017, has said Keselowski and Denny Hamlin are two racers to look out for, per ESPN's Ryan McGhee:

Keselowski claimed victory in the Advance Auto Parts Clash, the season's exhibition kick-off race at Daytona, and former racer Dale Earnhardt Jr. was impressed with his car's handling:

The 34-year-old goes into the race in good shape, and he's arguably now the best current restrictor-plate driver out there. He may well feel this is his year to finally claim the Daytona 500 that has so far eluded him. 

Hamlin is not far behind Keselowski in the odds and has spoken about the advantage of qualifying on the front row. He also said it's the fastest car he has ever had in the race, per commentator Lane Casadonte:

The 37-year-old certainly has the experience and talent to win the race, and his qualifying stint showed his team may also be in position to help him finish top of the pile on Sunday.

Chase Elliott is also one to watch; he started on pole in 2016 and 2017 and led five times in last year's race before running out of gas late on.

The Hendrick Motorsports driver is no stranger to coming close and could be finally ready to make the step up. NASCAR on NBC showed his record so far:

Elliott is also set to become NASCAR's most popular driver, per sports writer Zach Dean:

A victory on Sunday for the 22-year-old would certainly be a popular one; he's looked strong at Daytona and has the aggression and power needed to collect his first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series victory.