10 drivers who could win the Daytona 500 — and five who won’t

It’s go time. The preliminary races and the practices are in the books for the Daytona 500, with 40 drivers set to race on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on FOX. It’s time for the talking to stop and the racing to start.

Here are the 10 drivers we feel have the best chance of winning and five more who won’t:

The 2010 Daytona 500 winner was particularly aggressive in his Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying race, where he finished second behind Chase Elliott.

Don’t ever count out Kenseth at Daytona. He’s won the Great American Race twice already and nearly won it a third time last year.

Certainly, Busch will have a very fast Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota in the race. Last year, he finished third here.

In his Can-Am Duel 150 qualifier, his first competition with Stewart-Haas Racing, Bowyer finished a strong second behind Denny Hamlin. He’s thrilled to finally be back in a good car.

The second-year, second-generation driver will start from the pole and he won his Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying race Thursday night. The only hesitation is that in the draft, the Chevrolets don’t seem quite as fast as the Fords and Toyotas.

One of the sport’s top restrictor-plate racers, Keselowski won the July Daytona race last year. And from the start of Speedweeks, the Team Penske Fords have demonstrated tremendous speed.

Despite being out of the car for sixth months, Earnhardt showed no signs of a layoff in his Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying race, where he led 53 laps and finished fifth after being hung out at the end.

All the top Fords are fast and Harvick has been a great teammate to the other Blue Oval racers. He’s smart, fast and has a capable car.

The defending Daytona 500 winner has been fast throughout Speedweeks, winning his Can-Am Duel 150 qualifying race and nearly winning the Advance Auto Parts Clash.

Two years ago, Logano won this race. Last year, he won the fall race at Talladega Superspeedway and last Sunday he won the Advance Auto Parts Clash. Right driver, right team, right car.

 

Kahne has never won a restrictor-plate points race, so expecting him to suddenly win on NASCAR’s biggest stage is probably unrealistic.

Make no mistake about it, Suarez is a fantastic young talent. But this is his first Cup race and if it comes down to the end, his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates have a lot more experience than Suarez does, which will place him at a huge disadvantage.

Busch is a past champion. But like his boss, Tony Stewart, and NASCAR Hall of Fame drivers Terry Labonte, Rusty Wallace and Mark Martin, Busch has never won the Daytona 500. In fact, he’s winless on restrictor-plate tracks.

An improperly located template bracket back at Furniture Row Racing’s shop in Denver has caused Truex and the team nightmares during inspections throughout Speedweeks. Last year, Truex finished second here. He might have a tough time repeating.

Look, Johnson will probably go down in history as the best NASCAR driver ever. He’s a seven-time champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner. But this Speedweeks has not been good for him, with three crashes in two races so far. Sometimes even the very best struggle.