Daytona 500 2018: Odds and Predictions for 60th Great American Race

Storylines abound heading into NASCAR's 2018 debut at the Daytona 500. 

These narratives start well before the race itself, with Dale Earnhardt Jr. telling drivers to start their engines and Peyton Manning handling duties in the pace car. 

On the track itself, the 200-lap affair will feature major talking points such as the final race of Danica Patrick's career and the noise-making triumph that was Alex Bowman sitting on the pole. 

Here's a look at everything to know about the upcoming epic. 

Date: Sunday, February 18

Time: 2:30 p.m. ET

TV: Fox

Odds 

Brad Keselowski (+700; Bet $100 to win $700)

Denny Hamlin (+1,000)

Joey Logano (+1,000)

Kevin Harvick (+1,200)

Chase Elliott (+1,200)

Kyle Busch (+1,200)

Kyle Larson (+1,200)

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+1,400)

Martin Truex Jr. (+1,400)

Jimmie Johnson (+1,400)

Erik Jones (+2,200)

Clint Bowyer (+2,200)

Kurt Busch (+2,200)

Ryan Blaney (+2,500)

Jamie McMurray (+2,800)

Alex Bowman (+2,800)

William Byron (+2,800)

A.J. Allmendinger (+3,000)

Aric Almirola (+3,300)

Daniel Suarez (+3,500)

Trevor Bayne (+4,400)

Ryan Newman (+5,500)

Darrell Wallace Jr. (+6,600)

Paul Menard (+6,600)

Kasey Kahne (+6,600)

Danica Patrick (+7,500)

Chris Buescher (+10,000)

David Ragan (+10,000)

Gray Gaulding (+10,000)

Jeffery Earnhardt (+10,000)

Michael McDowell (+12,500)

Brendan Gaughan (+12,500)

D.J. Kennington (+15.000)

Matt DiBenedetto (+15,000)

Mark Thompson (+15,000)

via OddsShark

Back again is the successful stage-racing format from a year ago. Said format created some wild finishes last season and had guys fans wouldn't normally see sitting high on leaderboards or outright winning checkered flags. 

Speaking of guys who aren't normally making major noise, let's look at the starting grid, headlined by one Bowman, courtesy of NASCAR journalist Jeff Gluck: 

Bowman is an interesting story, to say the least. He didn't qualify at all in 2015 and sat watching the race from home in 2016 while serving as a little-used sub—for Earnhardt. 

Naturally, expectations are huge for the 24-year-old driver taking over the No. 88 for a legend. His calm demeanor would suggest it's business as usual. 

"We've proved we can contend for wins," Bowman said, according to USA Today's Mike Hembree. "We have to prove we can finish the job. I think I'm confident we can do that this year. I'm hired to win races and contend for championships. I'm going to do everything I can to keep the race car clean. It's my job to do the best job I can, and we'll see how it plays out."

This is anything but business as usual for Patrick. 

Patrick will cap off her farewell tour in NASCAR at Sunday's event before switching gears and heading over to the Indy 500: 

As tends to happen in sports, the raw emotion of the moment could keep Patrick in serious contention for most of the day. 

Other contenders should include Chase Elliott, winner of Duel No. 2 and a guy who, despite sitting at all of 22 years old, feels like he's due for a major win. Team Hendrick also features young talent like Bowman and William Byron, but it's Elliott with the 77 starts under his belt who could flip a switch and start a strong season off the right way. 

The usual suspects are here, too. Denny Hamlin, the 2016 winner of this race, is here alongside other strong Joe Gibbs Racing representatives. Kurt Busch, the 2017 winner, brings along brother Kyle Busch. And Brad Keselowski, as one can see from the above, is the outright favorite, even after a crash during the process leading up to the event. 

Keselowski certainly isn't shying away from the challenges ahead of him Sunday: 

Another name fans will notice close to the top, though, is Joey Logano. 

Logano looks like he's in a good position to become a two-time winner of this event here. He has the restrictor-plate prowess necessary to win, as we saw in 2015, and though his 2017 campaign was far from perfect for various reasons, he handled the stage-based format well enough. 

Ford has been downright dominant at this event over the last seven runnings, taking home four checkered flags. After an odd 2017 in which he finished 17th despite one win, 10 top-five and 17 top-10 finishes, look for Logano to start 2018 off with a bang. 

Prediction: Logano wins

Stats and info courtesy of ESPN.com. Odds via OddsShark.