Kyle Larson will begin the defense of his NASCAR Cup Series championship when the new season begins with the 2022 Daytona 500 on Sunday. Larson won 10 races last year, including four of the final five, after recording a total of six over his first eight Cup Series seasons. The 29-year-old has yet to finish in the top five in 15 series starts at Daytona International Speedway, while his best showing in "The Great American Race" was seventh in 2016 and 2019.
Kyle Larson is listed at 10-1, while Denny Hamlin is the 9-1 favorite in the latest 2022 Daytona 500 odds from Caesars Sportsbook. Chase Elliott is 10-1, 2015 winner Joey Logano is 11-1 and Ryan Blaney rounds out the top five 2022 Daytona 500 contenders at 12-1. The Daytona 500 2022 is scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. ET. You'll want to check out the NASCAR at Daytona predictions from Micah Roberts, the legendary Vegas bookmaker who pioneered wagering on racing, before locking in any 2022 Daytona 500 picks.
A former Vegas bookmaker, Roberts was the first to offer expanded NASCAR betting. He's now the nation's premier NASCAR betting expert and hands out winners to his followers on SportsLine. Last season his top pick, Chase Elliott, won the Jockey Made in America 250.
He also correctly predicted the 2021 Coca-Cola 600 winner, hitting Kyle Larson's victory at 11-2 odds. The previous week, he was on point at the EchoPark Texas Grand Prix, targeting Elliott as the winner at 8-5 odds. Anyone who has followed his picks is way up.
Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's NASCAR at Daytona 2022 race. He's only sharing his winner and leaderboard right here.
2022 Daytona 500 expert picks
One shocker: Roberts is fading Kyle Larson, even though he is the reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion and one of the top favorites at 10-1. In fact, Roberts says Larson barely cracks the top 20. Larson had a year for the ages in 2021. He became the first driver to have 10 wins and a championship in the same season since Jimmie Johnson in 2007. Larson ended last year with 10 wins, 2,581 laps led and an average finish of 9.08.
But he has never finished well at the 2.5-mile tri-oval at Daytona. His best finish in 15 Cup starts at Daytona is sixth and his average finish is 21st. He also has failed to finish the race six times.
Another curveball: Roberts is bullish on the chances of Ricky Stenhouse Jr., even though he's a long shot at 33-1 in the Daytona 500 2022 odds. The 34-year-old has made 19 Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, taking the checkered flag in the Coke Zero 400 in 2017 for his first career series win while posting one other top-five finish. Stenhouse's best showing in the Daytona 500 came in 2014, when he was seventh.
"Stenhouse's two career Cup wins came on superspeedways in 2017 while driving for Roush Racing," Roberts told SportsLine. "He's a daring driver who takes every opportunity he can to move up."
How to make 2022 Daytona 500 predictions
Roberts is high on a huge long shot who "usually has a great superspeedway car" and will start the season fast. This driver is being underestimated by oddsmakers, and anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can see who it is only here.
So who wins the 2022 Daytona 500? And which long shot stuns NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected 2022 NASCAR at Daytona leaderboard from the nation's premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.
2022 Daytona 500 odds
Denny Hamlin 9-1
Chase Elliott 10-1
Kyle Larson 10-1
Joey Logano 11-1
Ryan Blaney 12-1
Brad Keselowski 14-1
William Byron 15-1
Bubba Wallace 16-1
Kyle Busch 16-1
Kurt Busch 17-1
Alex Bowman 18-1
Kevin Harvick 20-1
Martin Truex Jr. 22-1
Aric Almirola 22-1
Tyler Reddick 25-1
Austin Dillon 25-1
Christopher Bell 28-1
Austin Cindric 30-1
Chris Buescher 30-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 33-1
Ross Chastain 40-1
Michael McDowell 40-1
Justin Haley 40-1
Daniel Hemric 50-1
Chase Briscoe 50-1
Daniel Suarez 60-1
Greg Biffle 60-1
Cole Custer 60-1
Erik Jones 75-1
Ty Dillon 75-1
Harrison Burton 75-1
David Ragan 75-1
Corey Lajoie 100-1
Noah Gragson 100-1
Landon Cassill 125-1
Kaz Grala 150-1
Todd Gilliland 200-1
Jacques Villeneuve 1000-1
B.J. McLeod 1000-1
Cody Ware 1000-1