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Kyle Busch Leads the Way for Bettors as He Hoards 12.5% of All the Money Bet on Daytona 500

Published 02/19/2024, 12:31 PM EST

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USA Today via Reuters

The Daytona 500 may be the trickiest race among all of NASCAR’s Cup Series races. Kyle Busch has already stockpiled 229 wins across the 3 national series, with a whopping 63 victories in Cup races. Yet the Harley J. Earl trophy seems to have eluded his grasp, but not his brother’s.

Kyle Busch faced a calamitous wreck at the second qualifying race for the Daytona 500 on Thursday. He, along with some big names, had to resort to back-up cars as their original cars were in absolute shambles. You would expect that to drop Busch’s odds at Daytona. However, on the contrary, betting odds are looking bright for him.

Kyle Busch growing golden wings to fly through Daytona

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Busch is reigning supreme among his fans who are intent on watching him finally claim the Daytona 500 as his own. The two-time Cup Series champion is pacing himself for a grand performance a few hours later. The Daytona 500 was rescheduled, but fans are loosening some purse strings on Kyle Busch.

In a recent post on Instagram, NBC Sports Bet shared Busch’s photo as testimony for his betting rank. The post is captioned, “Is this the year Kyle Busch FINALLY wins the #Daytona500? Most of the money is on him to do it, via @BetMGM.”

With 12.5% of betting money spent lavishly on Busch’s endeavors, will he be able to wow people at Daytona? After Thursday’s crash, chances seem to have slimmed. Further, Busch expressed his apprehensions after the mishap. 

“I thought media day was Groundhog Day,” Busch stated on Friday. “Then I had yesterday running the Duels’ Groundhog Day from last year getting torn up and crashed, having to go to a backup car, and starting all over again. I don’t know if we saw our shadow today or not.” Busch came closest to a win in 2023. He led on lap 200 before the race was extended overtime and he crashed, earning him a dismal 19th place. 

His elder brother, Kurt Busch, had won the Daytona in 2017. He recently took a dig at whose name the trophy at home spells. “It actually says Kurt and doesn’t say Kyle, so that’s one thing I still have up on him, otherwise, he’s got two championships and double the wins but I got the Harley Earl (Daytona 500 trophy) at home and he does not.”

Watch This Story: Kyle Busch and Joey Logano respond with sarcasm after NASCAR Docuseries ignores them 

Busch is vying for the Harley J. Earl Trophy, along with a string of others. But this prize cannot be won with a plan.

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The Daytona 500 is very unpredictable

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Any prior predictions about the Daytona 500 are bound to be proven false. The past three Daytona winners demonstrate how capricious this race is, with the last 3 Daytona 500 winners McDowell (2021), Austin Cindric (2022), and defending champion Ricky Stenhouse Jr. only having six Cup Series wins between them.

Former Daytona 500-winning crew chief and current Fox Sports analyst, Larry McReynolds, once said that fate can dupe the most perfect plan in this race. Reported by Orlando Sentinel, he said “You can have the fastest race car; the best-handling car. You can have perfect strategy. You can have flawless pit stops,  and all it takes is one driver to make a bad move and it ends your chances.”

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Read More: “I Hated Everybody”- Kyle Busch Expresses Regret for Trying to Help Mark Martin Win the Daytona 500

Besides Kyle Busch, Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, and Brad Keselowski at the top of the odds board. Which driver do you think will haul home the coveted Daytona 500 title in 2024?

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Written by:

Sumedha Mukherjee

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Sumedha Mukherjee is a NASCAR Writer at EssentiallySports who is known for her in-depth track analysis as well as her lifestyle coverage of Cup drivers like Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick. Inspired by the Kiwi's journey so far, Sumedha has also written pieces on Shane Van Gisbergen, predicting how the Supercars Champion would do in the new and unfamiliar American setting. Pairing her research skills with her vast experience as a writer, Sumedha creates stories her readers can easily get lost in.
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Edited by:

Rohan Karnad