After recording a career-high three victories in 2010, including a checkered flag in the Daytona 500, Jamie McMurray won only one NASCAR Cup Series race over the next eight seasons before calling it quits. The 44-year-old, who became a broadcast analyst, made a one-off start in the 2019 Daytona 500 and finished in 22nd place. McMurray will get behind the wheel again after a two-year hiatus when he competes in the 2021 Daytona 500 on Sunday. He has notched two of his seven career Cup Series victories at Daytona International Speedway, also winning the 2007 Pepsi 400.
Defending champion Denny Hamlin is the 17-2 favorite in the latest 2021 Daytona 500 odds from William Hill Sportsbook. Reigning NASCAR Cup Series champion Chase Elliott is listed at 10-1, while Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano and Kyle Larson round out the top five 2021 Daytona 500 contenders at 11-1. The race at Daytona International Speedway is set 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 2021 Daytona 500 picks.
Roberts is arguably the nation's premier NASCAR betting expert, and his top pick won the first two races of the 2020 season. In the season-opening Daytona 500, he nailed Hamlin's win at 10-1 odds, and he hit eventual winner Joey Logano at 13-2 in the Pennzoil 400 a week later. He also nailed the victory by Hamlin, who wasn't one of the top three favorites, in the Toyota 500 last May.
Roberts also crushed the 2019 NASCAR season. Those who wagered $100 on his predicted winner in each of the 40 NASCAR races (an investment of $4,000) finished with a strong profit of $2,100. In addition, those who put down $50 on each of Roberts' top four choices in each of those races (an investment of $8,000) were up a head-turning $3,400. Anyone who has followed his picks is up huge year after year.
Now, Roberts has analyzed the field and odds for Sunday's NASCAR at Daytona 2021 race. He's only sharing his winner and leaderboard right here.
2021 Daytona 500 expert picks
One shocker: Roberts is fading Brad Keselowski, even though he's one of the top 2021 Daytona 500 favorites at 12-1. In fact, Roberts says Keselowski, who had 24 top-10 finishes in 36 races last season, barely cracks the top 15.
"Keselowski doesn't have any Daytona 500 wins, even though he has strong equipment that's capable of winning," Roberts told SportsLine. "He's just had bad luck in the season-opener."
Another curveball: Roberts is high on Bubba Wallace, a long shot at 22-1 in the latest NASCAR at Daytona odds. He's a target for anyone looking for a huge payday. The 27-year-old, who has posted six top-15 finishes in seven Cup Series starts at Daytona International Speedway, has been putting on a show in his new No. 23 Toyota for the Hamlin and Michael Jordan co-owned 23XI Racing. Wallace recorded the fastest lap in Wednesday's first practice (199.747 miles per hour in 45.057 seconds) and was fourth during qualifying (189.577 in 47.474).
"Wallace has three career top-fives in the Cup Series, and two of them came at Daytona," Roberts told SportsLine. "I expect him to be right there with a chance to win at the end."
How to make 2021 Daytona 500 predictions
Roberts also is high on a mammoth long shot with a strong chance of winning it all. This driver is being underestimated by oddsmakers, and anyone who backs him could hit it big. You can only see who it is here.
So who wins the 2021 Daytona 500? And which long shot stuns NASCAR? Visit SportsLine now to see the projected 2021 NASCAR at Daytona leaderboard from the nation's premier NASCAR handicapper, and find out.
2021 Daytona 500 odds
Denny Hamlin 17-2
Chase Elliott 10-1
Joey Logano 11-1
Kyle Larson 11-1
Ryan Blaney 11-1
Brad Keselowski 12-1
William Byron 13-1
Kevin Harvick 13-1
Alex Bowman 13-1
Kyle Busch 14-1
Martin Truex Jr. 15-1
Aric Almirola 16-1
Kurt Busch 22-1
Bubba Wallace 22-1
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 25-1
Christopher Bell 28-1
Austin Dillon 30-1
Ross Chastain 35-1
Matt DiBenedetto 35-1
Ryan Newman 40-1
Tyler Reddick 55-1
Cole Custer 60-1
Austin Cindric 60-1
Jamie McMurray 60-1
Erik Jones 60-1
Chris Buescher 65-1
Chase Briscoe 70-1
Daniel Suarez 100-1
Michael McDowell 100-1
David Ragan 125-1
Corey Lajoie 125-1
Ryan Preece 200-1
Anthony Alfredo 250-1
Kaz Grala 250-1
BJ McLeod 1000-1
Cody Ware 1000-1
Quin Houff 1000-1
oey Gase 1000-1
Josh Bilicki 1000-1
Derrike Cope 2000-1