NASCAR Duels at Daytona Predictions, Odds and Race Preview — Daytona International Speedway

Kyle Busch won the pole in qualifying for the Daytona 500 last night, with Chase Briscoe taking second. The rest of the NASCAR Cup Series The starting grid will be determined during tonight’s Duels at Daytona.

My free bet choices tell you who will win each duel and what impact the races could have on the Daytona 500 odds.

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Chances of winning the 2026 Duels at Daytona (Duel 1)

Odds from 2-12.

Chances of winning the 2026 Duels at Daytona (Duel 2)

Odds from 2-12.

Daytona duels, expert picks and predictions

Odds shown below courtesy of PariRivers.

Duels at Daytona favorites

DUEL1
Joey Logano (+600)
Joey Logano leads all full-time drivers in average rating at draft tracks like Daytona over the last three seasons (18 races). He will also have teammate Ryan Blaney ready, willing and able to help him. Logano is a three-time Duel winner since 2019.

DUEL2
Denny Hamlin (+450)
Good things came in threes for Denny Hamlin at Daytona. Hamlin is a three-time Duel winner, three-time Clash winner and three-time Daytona 500 champion. Hamlin handled personal tragedy during the offseason after a heartbreaking loss in the 2025 championship race, so he will look to get off to a strong start in 2026.

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Daytona sleeper duels

DUEL1
William Byron (+900)
It’s hard to ignore the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion at these odds. William Byron also leads the average rankings among full-time drivers on draft tracks over the past three seasons.

DUEL2
Carson Hocevar (+1800)
Youth has been served in recent Duels, with Bubba Wallace, Austin Cindric, Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell among the last four winners. Carson Hocevar is one of the most aggressive drivers in the Cup Series and has reached the Top 10 in four of his last five races at draft tracks.

The duels at Daytona fade

DUEL1
Brad Keselowski (+1100)
Brad Keselowski was just allowed to drive again after breaking his leg in an offseason skiing accident, and we saw how long it took Chase Elliott to get back into the winner’s circle when he had a similar incident a few years ago. Simply reaching the finish line would be a victory for Keselowski, who has just one victory at this oval (2016 Coke Zero 400).

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DUEL2
Austin Cindric (+750)
Most of the Cup Series’ top Fords, including Penske’s teammates Logano and Blaney, met in Duel 1. Expect Austin Cindric to be sidelined by the Chevys and Toyotas in crunch time.

Popular Motorsports Futures Odds

Daytona International Speedway Track Analysis

Why this has nothing to do with the Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway is a 2.5-mile, high-banked, high-speed superspeedway unlike almost every other track on the schedule except Talladega and Atlanta. These three venues represent six of the 36 points races each season and are completely different from the other 32 events.

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This is largely due to the tapered spacers used to limit engine power and the specific aerodynamic package designed for these tracks, which keeps the cars tightly grouped in large groups.

Simply put, drivers go flat out – full throttle with little or no braking – and everyone goes at roughly the same speed. Writing becomes essential and mastering it is an art form.

The Duels are not quite the same as the Daytona 500, since each race only brings together half the field. With fewer cars, there is less energy and momentum built into the draft.

Modern superspeedway racing is also heavily influenced by manufacturer alliances. In the Duels, however, drivers might have fewer marquee teammates to recruit with compared to Sunday’s larger field.

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Additionally, 38 drivers already know they are entered in Sunday’s race, so there is little incentive to take risks or damage their equipment, especially for pole-sitters.

Daytona Trendy Duels

• The last Duel winner to win the Daytona 500 was Matt Kenseth in 2012. He is the only one to have done so in the last 19 years.

• Pneumatic strategy almost never decides a Duel, so winners are usually not the result of pit betting.

Winners of previous Duels at Daytona

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This article was originally published on Covers.comread the full article here