7 NASCAR drivers to watch in Sunday’s Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH — Kyle Busch picked up a Powerball ticket Wednesday after the lottery game was announced as a new NASCAR partner.

“Better chance of winning that than the Daytona 500,” Busch quipped.

It sure seems that way for Busch, a two-time Cup Series champion who has, somehow, never won “The Great American Race” and wrecked out of his qualifying race Thursday. But NASCAR’s biggest event is notoriously unpredictable; don’t be surprised if Busch and his new team, Richard Childress Racing, find themselves in the mix in the closing laps.

Here are six others drivers to watch in Sunday’s season-opening Daytona 500:

Jimmie Johnson

The seven-time Cup champion is back after two largely uneventful seasons in the IndyCar Series (including two finishes outside the top 20 at the Firestone Grand Prix of St. Petersburg). Johnson is one of the team owners for Legacy Motor Club and earned a spot in the field with his No. 84 Chevrolet.

Johnson is in a weird position. The legend is inexperienced with the Next Gen cars the series started using last season. That means he has been asking his team’s other drivers, 26-year-old Erik Jones and 24-year-old Noah Gragson, for advice, not the other way around.

“It’s probably awkward for them,” Johnson said, “but for me, I genuinely need some help.”

Will he figure things out quickly enough to make a run at his third Daytona 500 victory?

Bubba Wallace

One of the series’ biggest names, Wallace has two runnerup finishes in the Daytona 500. After the first one (2018), he felt validation; he cried after the breakthrough performance in his first full Cup season. After the second one (last year), he felt frustration at being so close again.

“The third one? I don’t know what happens after that…” Wallace said. “Just got to win it, and we don’t have to worry about it, right?”

Right. Wallace has established himself as a strong superspeedway racer, and his No. 23 Toyota should be good enough to give him a chance at earning the top spot.

Aric Almirola

The Hillsborough High alumnus joked Thursday night that he should have been sitting in a rocking chair as a new retiree instead of racing in (and winning) his qualifying duel. Perhaps it’s a sign of an even bigger victory Sunday.

His No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford is one of the fastest in the field, and Almirola races well at Daytona International Speedway. He won the summer race in 2014, has a pair of top-five finishes in the 500 and was half a lap from winning it before wrecking in 2018. Almirola belongs on the short list of contenders.

Denny Hamlin

The Tampa-born driver said it takes three things to win this iconic race: the right skill-set, strong execution and good luck. He clearly has the skills, and he and his Joe Gibbs Racing team usually have the execution part down, too. As for luck? We’ll find out. A victory would move Hamlin into a tie with Cale Yarborough for the second-most Daytona 500 wins ever (four, behind only Richard Petty).

Joey Logano

The reigning Cup Series champion has already proven himself as a Hall of Famer. He’s joining eight others as grand marshals who will give the starting command to kick off NASCAR’s 75th season because he has a series title and a Daytona 500 win. But adding a second win in the sport’s Super Bowl to go with his two Cup championships? That would put him in even rarer air; only Petty, Johnson, Yarborough and Jeff Gordon have multiple series titles and multiple Daytona 500 victories.

Kyle Larson

One of the few items missing on the resume of the 2021 series champion is a victory at a superspeedway. He has three poles at Daytona International Speedway but has never finished higher than sixth.

“It’s definitely a unique style of racing and one that I haven’t quite figured out yet,” Larson said. “I’ve had good races where I’m like, ‘Okay, I’ve got a handle on this,’ and then come back the next time you crash on like Lap 20, and you’re like, ‘Okay, no I don’t.’”

His No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has the speed to win (he qualified second). Perhaps this is the year he finally gets it done on a 2 ½-mile oval.