Daytona 500 Race Betting Odds at Wagerweb Sportsbook

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Daytona 500 betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

Daytona 500

History

The Daytona 500 is a 200-lap, 500 mile (805 km) NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series race held annually at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is one of four restrictor plate races on the Cup schedule.

The Daytona 500 is widely regarded as the most important and prestigious race on the NASCAR calendar, carrying by far the largest purse. Championship points awarded are equal to that of any other NEXTEL Cup race. It is also NASCAR's first race of the year; this phenomenon is virtually unique in sports, which tend to have championships or other major events at the end of the season rather than the start.

Since 1995, U.S. television ratings for the Daytona 500 have been the highest for any auto race of the year, surpassing the traditional leader, the Indianapolis 500. The 2006 Daytona 500 attracted the sixth largest average live global TV audience of any sporting event that year with 20 million viewers.

The event serves as the final event of Speedweeks and is known as "The Great American Race" and the "Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing." It is held the third or second Sunday in February, and since 1971, has been loosely associated with Presidents Day weekend.

The winner of the Daytona 500 is presented with the Harley J. Earl Trophy in Victory Lane, and the winning car is displayed, in race-winning condition, for one year at Daytona USA, a museum and gallery adjacent to Daytona International Speedway.

Qualifying procedure

Qualifying is unique at Daytona for the 500. Some teams must race their way into the Daytona 500 field. However, since 2005, all exempt teams (the top 35 teams of the previous year in owner points) are guaranteed a spot in the Daytona 500.

The first row is set by one round of qualifying, normally held one week before the race. (Prior to 2003, this was two rounds; prior to 2001, it was three.) The remainder of the field is set by qualifying races (these were 100 miles from 1959-1967; 125 miles from 1969-2004; and 150 miles, with two-lap overtime if necessary, beginning in 2005. These races were not held in 1968 because of rain). The top two drivers from the qualifying races that are not in the top 35 in owner points are given spots on the field, and the rest is set by the finishing order of the duels, with guaranteed spots to those in the top 35.

The remaining spots, 40 to 43 are filled by top qualifying times of those not already in the field from the qualifying race. If there is a previous NASCAR Champion without a spot, he will get one of those four spots, otherwise, the fourth fastest car is added to the field.

Prior to 2005, after the top two cars were set, the top 14 cars in the qualifying races advanced to the field, and then between six (1998-2003), eight (1995-97, 2004), or ten (until 1994) fastest cars which did not advance from the qualifying race were added, and, since the mid-1980s, between two and seven cars were added by previous year's points performance and or championship.

Winners of the last 17 years

Year	Date	Driver	Car #	Car Make	Start	Laps Led	Winner's prize	Average Speed (mph)
1990	February 18	Derrike Cope	10	Chevrolet	12th	5	$188,150	165.761
1991	February 17	Ernie Irvan	4	Chevrolet	2nd	29	$233,000	148.148
1992	February 16	Davey Allison	28	Ford	6th	127	$244,050	160.256
1993	February 14	Dale Jarrett	18	Chevrolet	2nd	8	$238,200	154.972
1994	February 20	Sterling Marlin	4	Chevrolet	4th	30	$258,275	156.931
1995	February 19	Sterling Marlin	4	Chevrolet	3rd	105	$300,460	141.710
1996	February 18	Dale Jarrett	88	Ford	7th	40	$360,775	154.308
1997	February 16	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	6th	40	$377,410	148.295
1998	February 15	Dale Earnhardt	3	Chevrolet	4th	105	$1,059,805	172.712
1999	February 14	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	1st	15	$1,172,246	161.551
2000	February 20	Dale Jarrett	88	Ford	1st	87	$1,277,975	155.669
2001	February 18	Michael Waltrip	15	Chevrolet	19th	23	$1,331,185	161.783
2002	February 17	Ward Burton	22	Dodge	19th	4	$1,389,017	130.810
2003	February 16	Michael Waltrip	15	Chevrolet	4th	68 (of 109)	$1,419,406	133.870
2004	February 15	Dale Earnhardt, Jr.	8	Chevrolet	3rd	59	$1,495,070	156.341
2005	February 20	Jeff Gordon	24	Chevrolet	15th	28 (of 203)	$1,497,150	135.173
2006	February 19	Jimmie Johnson	48	Chevrolet	9th	24 (of 203)	$1,505,120	142.734
2007	February 18	Kevin Harvick	29	Chevrolet	34th	4 (of 202)	$1,510,469	149.333

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