NASCAR Odds – Gatorade Duels Are An Important Element To Daytona 500

Those looking at the NASCAR odds understand that one important component of Speed Weeks at Daytona, leading up to the Daytona 500, involve the Gatorade Duels, which can determine drivers who actually get to start the race, and for those who are qualified, where they are starting. In Duel Race #1, Kevin Harvick and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are co-favorites, at +300, while in Duel Race #2, Kyle Busch is favored at +300 in the NASCAR odds,. The Daytona 500 takes place on Sunday at 1 PM ET at Daytona International Speedway, and will be televised by Fox.

NASCAR Odds

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Gatorade Duel Race 1

(20/1 odds or lower)

AJ Allmendinger +2000

Brian Vickers +1500

Dale Earnhardt Jr +300

Jimmie Johnson +500

Juan Montoya +800

Kasey Kahne +1500

Kevin Harvick +300

Kurt Busch +700

Mark Martin +2000

Matt Kenseth +1200

Ryan Newman +1200

Tony Stewart +400

Field (Any Other Driver) +4000

This is roughly how the Gatorade Duels work – there are two 150-mile races, and they serve not only as qualifiers for cars that are looking to get into the race itself, but go toward determining who starts where.

The teams that are ranked in the top 35 of owners points are going to be locked into the field, and that is the case regardless of where they are in the Duels. The pole position winner is usually given the pole for a Duel, but since Dale Earnhardt Jr. (+3000 in NASCAR odds in Race #1) wrecked his car, that has changed, as he’s got to start all over again with another car.

They take the teams that were in odd-numbered positions in the owners points and put them into one Duel, while the even-numbered positions are placed into the other Duel. Then drivers from non-exempt teams are split between the two duels. There is actually a whole list of complicated rules from there, but I don’t think it’s going to serve our purpose – that is, the purpose of analyzing NASCAR odds – to go over all of them.

NASCAR Odds

Gatorade Duel Race 2

(20/1 odds or lower)

Brad Keselowski +2000

Carl Edwards +1000

Clint Bowyer +700

David Ragan +1500

David Reutimann +2000

Denny Hamlin +400

Greg Biffle +1200

Jamie McMurray +500

Jeff Burton +1000

Jeff Gordon +350

Joey Logano +700

Kyle Busch +300

Martin Truex Jr +1500

Field (Any Other Driver) +3000

We’re going 60 laps in each of these races, which at Daytona, means 150 miles. They are qualifiers only for some, but every year, everyone wants to compete at Daytona, so some of the drivers will have to go home.

Derrike Cope, Casey Mears, Brian Keselowski, JJ Yeley (former Indy driver as well) and Michael McDowell have to race well enough in their duel to qualify. And yes, Brian Keselowski is the bother of "Bad Brad," who is at +2000 in NASCAR odds to win Duel #2.

There are some other drivers who can race their way in, or they can get in based on their speed from the qualifying runs that took place last weekend. It all depends on what happens in the Duels. This list includes Kevin Conway, last year’s Sprint Cup rookie of the year (which wasn’t saying much), Dave Blaney and Todd Bodine (the reigning Truck Series champion). It also includes two-time Daytona 500 winner Michael Waltrip, who is +3500 in NASCAR odds to win Duel Race #2. For Waltrip, who is also a well-known commentator on SPEED Channel and for Showtime’s "Inside NASCAR," it’s not that hairy a situation, because he can likely qualify for this race based on his fourth-best qualifying speed on Pole Day.

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