2026 Daytona 500 predictions, odds, date, time: NASCAR model that nailed 11 winners reveals leaderboard picks

The NASCAR season officially takes the green flag on Sunday with the 2026 Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. William Byron enters as the two-time defending Daytona 500 champion, while Kyle Larson will begin his defense of the NASCAR season championship. Joey Logano, who will start in third at the 'The Great American Race,' is the co-favorite at +1000 alongside pole sitter Kyle Busch in the latest 2026 Daytona 500 odds via FanDuel Sportsbook, with Ryan Blaney right behind at +1100. 

Other top 2026 Daytona 500 contenders include Chase Elliott at +1200 and Denny Hamlin and back-to-back winner Williams Byron, both at +1300. The 200-lap race from the 2.5-mile asphalt track is scheduled to start at 1:30 p.m. ET, as the time was moved up an hour due to impending weather. Before making any 2026 Daytona 500 picks or NASCAR
 predictions, you need to see the projected leaderboard from Mike McClure's proven model.

McClure is a legendary professional DFS player with more than $2 million in career winnings. He uses a powerful prediction model that simulates every lap of NASCAR action 10,000 times. All told, the model has nailed a whopping 29 winners since 2021 and hit 11 winners in 2025. Anyone following his NASCAR betting picks at their favorite sportsbooks could have seen huge returns.

Now, McClure has turned his attention to the NASCAR season-opening Daytona 500. He's only sharing his best bets at SportsLine.

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