Five Daytona 500 storylines: Unknowns aplenty at the 'World Center of Racing'

With the 67th running of the Daytona 500 on the horizon, there are plenty of captivating storylines leading up to the drop of the green flag.

As the 2025 NASCAR season officially gets underway, here are five storylines heading into the "Great American Race."

Favorite: Ryan Blaney (Team Penske No. 12 Ford)

Blaney is tied for the second-best odds to win this year's Daytona 500 — +1100, according to DraftKings. Although he is not the outright favorite as of Friday afternoon, his history on superspeedways suggests he probably should be.

Blaney is a three-time Talladega winner and won the 2021 Daytona summer race. He has finished runner-up twice (2017, 2020) in the Daytona 500 and led laps in all but three of his 10 starts, including a personal-best 118 laps in the 2018 race. 

Blaney has done everything but win in his 10 prior Daytona 500 starts. Starting 16th on Sunday, that could all change for the 2023 Cup Series champion.

Underdog to watch: Erik Jones (Legacy Motor Club No. 43 Toyota)

Even though his odds to win the Daytona 500 (+3500) are worse than some other underdog candidates, Jones gets the nod after his performance in Thursday night's Duel when he led 16 laps.

On top of that, Jones is a previous Daytona summer race winner (2018) and finished eighth in last year's Daytona 500 — one of only two top-10s all season. After Thursday night, it appears the No. 43 has the pace (qualified fourth) to be a surprise winner on Sunday.

Is this the year for Kyle Busch?

It took seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt 20 years to win his first Daytona 500. Following a winless 1997 campaign, "The Intimidator" won his first "Great American Race" with Richard Childress Racing. 

Sunday will be the two-time Cup Series champion Busch's 20th attempt. Coincidental or not, Busch went winless during the 2024 season and happens to be driving for the same team. Since Busch made the transition to RCR from Joe Gibbs Racing ahead of the 2023 season, he has come close in both races, leading laps in each one.

Scheduled to roll off in the 21st starting position, Busch will look to etch his name in the record books as a Daytona 500 champion.

Will there be another first-time winner?

Eight of the last 10 Daytona 500s have seen a first-time winner in NASCAR's most prestigious race. In seven of the last eight, the winner of the race did not lead until Lap 157 or later in the 200-lap event. Until William Byron won last year's race, the Daytona 500 was the only win of the season for 2021 winner Michael McDowell, 2022 winner Austin Cindric and 2023 winner Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

With Busch, Blaney, Chase Elliott and Brad Keselowski in the top six on the oddsboard, the likelihood of a first-time Daytona 500 winner is high. Bubba Wallace, who won the first Duel on Thursday night, poses another threat as a two-time runner-up. 

Notable drivers going to backup cars for Sunday

Following two eventful Duel races, there are several drivers bringing out their backups for the Daytona 500. Keselowski, Kyle Larson, Alex Bowman, Riley Herbst, Justin Haley, Daniel Suarez, Shane van Gisbergen and Ty Gibbs will be in backup cars and drop to the rear of the field because of their misfortune on Thursday night.

With the unpredictability and unknowns of Daytona each year, that is likely the beginning of what is sure to be an action-packed Sunday in Daytona Beach.