The Monster Energy Cup Series kicks off the 2020 NASCAR season at Daytona International Speedway Sunday afternoon for the Daytona 500 at 2:30 p.m. ET. Below, we analyze the Daytona 500 betting odds and lines, with NASCAR picks and tips.

• Fantasy Picks Football
• 2020 Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks
• Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks
• Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks 2020

The weather forecast is always important for NASCAR races, particularly in the early part of the season when the rains are a little more prevalent in the East. The good news is the temperatures will be in the mid-70’s with just a 20% chance of precipitation for the first Monster Energy Cup Series race, and really the worst day for weather for Speedweeks appears to be Friday. While the Gander Outdoors Truck Series race might be affected Friday night, the Xfinity race Saturday and MENCS race Sunday look to be good to go barring a change to the forecast.

Fantasy NASCAR: Daytona 500 Driver Picks. BY Chad Robb. March 7, 2017. Facebook twitter reddit link. The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series kicks off the 2017 season this week with the. Feb 14, 2020 Slingshot Fantasy Auto Contest Picks for the Daytona 500 Photo Credit: Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images. Denny Hamlin ($11,900) – If you have followed me for any length of time on Twitter (click here if you don’t and hit that follow button) you know that I’m not a Denny Hamlin fan in the slightest.

1. NASCAR fantasy racing fans don't have to wait any longer, the start of the season is finally here. Let's take a look at which drivers should be on your Daytona 500 roster.
2. Chase's DraftKings and FanDuel DFS lineup picks for the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. Read our daily fantasy NASCAR advice and sleepers analysis.

Who is going to win the 2020 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway?

Odds courtesy of BetMGM; access them at USA TODAY Sports for a full list. Odds last updated Wednesday at 9:45 a.m. ET.

Last season’s Daytona 500 winner, Joe Gibbs Racing driver Denny Hamlin (+1000), as well as Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson (+2000), are the only active drivers with multiple victories at the Daytona 500.

According to NASCAR’s Loop Data, Johnson has an 85.3 Driver Rating over his past five starts at DIS, which includes the July summer races, to rank fifth among active drivers while leading 14 laps and running 57.1% of his rotations inside the Top 15.

Looking to place a bet on this race or other motorsports? Get some action in the NASCAR race through BetMGM. Sign up and bet at BetMGM now!

If you look at the Loop Data for just the past five Daytona 500 races, Hamlin goes from outside of the Top 10 in Driver Rating for all races, to second. He has a 99.4 Driver Rating over the past five February races at the track while leading a circuit-best 151 laps. He has also run 70.2% of his laps inside the Top 15 in the past five Daytona 500s. Hamlin not only won the 2019 installment of the Great American Race but also the 2016 version, too.

Penske Racing driver Joey Logano (+1000) is actually listed as a co-favorite with Hendrick’s Chase Elliott, Hamlin and JGR’s Kyle Busch (+1000). Logano tops the charts over the past five Daytona 500 starts with a 102.7 Driver Rating while leading 61 laps and running 80.7% of his laps inside the Top 15. He has managed a 4.2 Average-Finish Position (AFP) during the five-race span, too. Logano averaged 161.939 mph in his 2015 victory at Daytona, the fastest average speed since Dale Earnhardt Sr. won Feb. 15, 1998 with an average speed of 172.712 mph.

2020 Daytona 500 longshot bets

JTG Daugherty’s Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (+2000) is on the pole for Sunday’s race, the eighth consecutive season a Chevrolet leads the pack out. He’ll be right ahead of Hendrick’s Alex Bowman (+2000), who will be on the outside of Row 1. In the past four Daytona 500 starts, Bowman is closing in on a winner. He has averaged a 1.5 Average-Start Position while registering a 9.5 AFP. That’s good for a 93.4 Driver Rating, so he’ll be one to watch as he looks to earn his first checkered flag in the Great American Race. His best-ever finish in the 500 is 11th, so he’ll be looking to improve upon that dramatically.

Stenhouse leads all drivers with a 95.9 Driver Rating across his past five starts overall at Daytona International Speedway, leading 97 laps. While he isn’t rostered on one of the ‘power’ teams at JTG, he does have a Hendrick motor under his hood, so don’t discount him. Traditionally he has fared well at the superspeedways.

Fantasy Picks Football

Don’t forget about Richard Childress Racing’s Austin Dillon (+3500), the 2018 winner of this race. In 15 career starts at DIS he leads all active drivers (at least two starts) with a 15.1 AFP with seven Top 10 finishes in 13 starts.

2020 Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks

Want some action in this one? Place a bet at BetMGM now. For more sports betting tips, visit SportsbookWire.com.

Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks

Follow @JoeWilliamsVI and @SportsbookWire on Twitter.

Daytona 500 Fantasy Picks 2020

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.