NASCAR Betting Preview. Everyone is pumped up in the 2008 Daytona 500 set on Sunday, February 17, 2008 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. The 2008 Daytona 500 is the 50th annual running of “The Great American Race”, the 2008 Daytona 500 race will celebrate the Golden Anniversary of the first race run in 1959, won by NASCAR driver Lee Petty. To commemorate the 2008 Daytona 500 event, the Harley J. Earl Trophy, which goes to the winner of the race, will be plated in gold instead of silver.

Three drivers lead the pack as early favorites to win the 2008 Daytona 500. Defending Nextel Cup Champion Jimmie Johnson is listed at 6/1 favorite. Jimmie Johnson, has 33 wins in six full-time seasons under his belt, Jimmie Johnson has proven to be a worthy successor to Jeff Gordon at Hendrick Motorsports, edging his mentor for the 2007 championship. Jimmie Johnson is the only driver to have won three consecutive Coca-Cola 600s. And in 2007, he became the first driver since 1998 to win four races in a row.

While Hendrick Motorsports Teammates Jeff Gordon and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are all listed as 9/2 favorites to win the 50th running of the “ The Great American Race”. 2008 Daytona 500 will be Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s first year with Hendrick Motorsports after leaving DEI at the conclusion of the 2007 season.

Jeff Gordon became the youngest Daytona 500 winner in history when he led a 1-2-3 sweep in 1997, with ailing owner Rick Hendrick calling on his cell phone in Victory Lane. Two years later, Gordon made a daring pass of Rusty Wallace to win the 500 a second time, and added win No. 3 in 2005 by holding off Kurt Busch and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the race’s first green-white-checkered finish.

With 81 wins and four championships, Jeff Gordon is the winningest active driver in the series. Jeff Gordon wound up second to teammate Jimmie Johnson in the 2007 championship.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., passed Tony Stewart on Lap 180 and led the final 20 laps to win the 2004 Daytona 500 in his fifth start. That was the first of six wins that season for Dale Earnhardt Jr., who finished fifth in the final standings.

With 17 career victories and a loyal fan following, Dale Earnhardt Jr.is one of the most recognizable faces in the sport. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr. missed two of the last three Chases for the Nextel Cup, and in 2007, was winless for the first time since he began racing full time in Cup. During the summer, Dale Earnhardt Jr.. announced plans to leave his father’s race team. Dale Earnhardt Jr. signed with Hendrick Motorsports and will drive the No. 88 Chevrolet in 2008.

Previous Champions of the “The Great American Race” Daytona 500 dating back from 2000 to present were Dale Jarrett (2000), Michael Waltrip(2001 and 2003), Ward Burton (2002), Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004), JEFF GORDON (1997, 1999, 2005), Jimmi Johnson (2006) and last year’s Daytona 500 Champion Kevin Harvick (2007)

Looking back at the early day of Daytona 500 it were truly a proving ground for man and machine. Engines, chassis and tires were put under enormous stress at those speeds. Of the 59 cars, which took the green flag for the first 500, only 31 were running at the finish. In 1960, Bobby Johns’ rear window blew out while he was leading the race, handing the win to Junior Johnson.

Fireball Roberts was a perfect example. He dominated three consecutive races, but mechanical issues sidelined him in 1960 and 1961, just a few miles from the finish. But he was not to be denied in 1962, leading 144 laps for his only Daytona 500 victory.

Tiny Lund was without a ride in 1963 when fate intervened. When 1961 winner Marvin Panch crashed his Maserati sports car during practice, Lund was one of the people who pulled Panch from the burning car. From his hospital bed, Panch asked the Wood Brothers to consider Lund as his substitute. Lund went on to win the race, his first NASCAR victory.

It took Richard Petty six tries to get to Daytona’s Victory Lane, but once he got there in 1964, he became a regular visitor. He missed the 1965 race when Chrysler’s Hemi engine was declared illegal — the year Fred Lorenzen was able to keep his wrecked car running when the race was called because of rain — but came back to win in the rain in 1966.

Mario Andretti is best known for his USAC and Formula One championships, but his only NASCAR win came in the 1967 Daytona 500, when his Holman Moody Ford was nearly untouchable.

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