Daytona 500 predictions 2024: Expert picks for NASCAR's season-opening Cup Series race
Someone will make history on Sunday in the Daytona 500 to kick off the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Former 500 winner Joey Logano is on the pole, with former 500 winner Michael McDowell on the outside of the front row.
Denny Hamlin is a 3-time 500 winner who could tie for the second-most Daytona 500 victories of all-time with a win on Sunday.
Tyler Reddick and Christopher Bell won Thursday's duel races, locking themselves into the second row of the 500 lineup and earning 10 regular-season points.
Here are The Tennessean's expert predictions for Sunday's Daytona 500:
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Daytona 500 predictions: Who will win NASCAR's biggest race?
Mike Organ's pick: Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
The winner of the Daytona 500 needs momentum and Ryan Blaney, coming off the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series championship, has plenty. Blaney has never won the the Great American Race but he's been close, finishing runner-up in 2017 and 2020. He won races at Charlotte, Talladega and Martinsville last year and hopes to Sunday to become the first driver since Dale Jarrett in 2000 to follow up winning the Cup championship by winning the Daytona 500.
Nick Gray's pick: Chris Buescher, No. 17 Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing Ford
Buescher won last summer in Daytona, and the RFK Racing Fords have been strong for years at Daytona. Fords, including Team Penske, Front Row Motorsports and SHR, have been a major player in recent pack races, and it won't stop in 2024. The 500 race has served as a wild card race of sorts for the playoff field (Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell, Austin Cindric, Ricky Stenhouse Jr.), but Buescher is a level or two above that now. The No. 17 Ford will start a 2024 championship run on Sunday.
Tom Kreager's pick: Denny Hamlin, No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Denny has been absolutely masterful in the Daytona 500. He's won it three times — 2016, 2019 and 2020. He enters the 2024 NASCAR season with 51 wins and this checkered flag to open the year would tie Cale Yarborough for the second-most Daytona 500 wins. This win comes after his Busch Clash win two weeks ago.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Daytona 500 predictions 2024: Who wins NASCAR's season-opening race?
