Good morning! It's an exciting day as NASCAR is BACK! The Daytona 500 is just around the corner and the duels are set to kick off tonight at 7:00pm ET. We've got you covered with the latest driver odds and trends to look into as you place your bets and set your fantasy lineup! As always, catch up on the latest happenings in motorsports this week and enjoy because race season is officially here!

Who won the very first Daytona 500 and why was the finish so controversial?

*Answer at the bottom

As always, at the bottom, we'd appreciate your feedback in our poll.

Money Lap Fantasy by eRacr

Don't forget to join our fantasy league for exclusive prizes all season long! Be sure to join before the Daytona 500 this Sunday. Check out the driver odds below and get your lineups set!

Join 96 others here!

NASCAR

Motorsports Moneyline

Daytona 500 Driver Odds (provided by BetMGM)

+1200 Denny Hamlin

+1200 Chase Elliott

+1200 Ryan Blaney

+1400 Joey Logano

+1400 Kyle Larson

+1400 Kyle Busch

Trending Up

📈 Alex Bowman - Alex Bowman and Hendrick Motorsports has put the no. 48 on the pole for the Daytona 500 yet again. It's only a matter of time until they're in victory lane for winning The Great American Race.

Trending Down

📉 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. - Usually a force to be reckoned with on the Superspeedways, Stenhouse has an average finish of 25.5 over his last four Superspeedway starts. If he can keep the car unscathed, Stenhouse may be a contender again.

Front Row Freak

Hamlin Harps on the Next Gen

Denny Hamlin, like many Cup series competitors, has expressed his concern over the "brutal hits" experienced during the recent Busch Light Clash pre-season event. Hamlin complained about the "super solid" bumper tags and called for NASCAR to introduce softer bumpers.

Last year's major concern of harsh impacts affecting the driver have seemed to improve very little, if at all. Hamlin's other concern is the rocker box area, which caused a fire in his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate's car, Ty Gibbs, during the event at the LA Coliseum. Hamlin also revealed that he required emergency oxygen from his jet's pilots after inhaling fumes from inside his car on his journey home.

Trackhouse Locks Down Suarez with Multi-year Extension

Daniel Suarez has signed a multi-year contract extension with Trackhouse Racing, where he has been racing for the past two seasons in the Cup Series. The 31-year-old driver's contract was set to expire after this season, but he has now agreed to continue with the team.

Suarez scored his first career Cup win with the team last season and made his first playoff appearance. Team owner Justin Marks praised Suarez's performance, saying the best is yet to come.

Wallace Wants to Impress in 2023

NASCAR Cup Series driver Bubba Wallace is eager to "make a statement" for 23XI Racing, the team co-owned by Denny Hamlin and Michael Jordan, in the upcoming season. Wallace has won two Cup series races since joining the team in 2021, but he has failed to qualify for the playoffs in both seasons and was suspended for one race in 2022.

He believes the team is capable of making his presence this season, and he has learned from past experiences to think before acting and appreciate the moment. Wallace expects to be pushed by his new teammate, Tyler Reddick, and hopes to win before the playoffs to set himself up for postseason success.

F1

Norris Knows Patience is Key

In an interview, McLaren F1 driver Lando Norris has expressed his faith in the team and willingness to wait "a few more years" for a car that can win races. Despite a disappointing 2022 season, Norris said he retains full confidence in McLaren and is comfortable with his current position. He believes that the 2024 and 2025 seasons will see significant progress, with the latter being when McLaren will have a car capable of competing regularly at the front. Norris is provisionally contracted to McLaren until the end of 2025 and is willing to wait until the latter stages of his contract for a competitive car.

Back in Black

SlimFast Sidepods

Mercedes' team principal Toto Wolff has said that the team will retain its slim sidepods for the W14 F1 car in the coming season, but has hinted that changes could be made throughout the year. Wolff noted that Mercedes remains true to its "bold" approach from last season, and while the sidepods may evolve over time, it is not seen as a major performance differentiator under the Mercedes concept.

The team is not planning a major overhaul of the W14 at the pre-season test in Bahrain, with Mercedes wanting to gain as much understanding with the car that will race at the start of the year as possible.

Lewis Hamilton Speaks up on Speaking Out

Lewis Hamilton has joined the list of drivers speaking out against the new regulation by the FIA prohibiting drivers from making personal statements without prior approval. The FIA recently introduced an article into the International Sporting Code that could lead to drivers receiving sporting penalties for making statements that have not been pre-approved.

Hamilton, who is known for speaking out about social and environmental issues, has said that the regulation will not deter him from sharing his views, and that he will continue to use his platform to raise awareness about important topics.

IndyCar

IndyCar goes Global

NTT IndyCar Series has announced an expanded range of international broadcast partners for the 2023 season, to extend the audience reach of the racing series to more than 100 countries. The series' direct-to-consumer streaming service, IndyCar Live, will offer qualifying and practices in territories not covered by an international partner. Various other media partners including Sky Group, Canal+, Ziggo Sport, etc. will further broaden IndyCar's coverage around the world.

One Final Ride

Tony Kanaan has announced his retirement from IndyCar racing. Kanaan, who won the 2004 IndyCar championship and the 2013 Indy 500, has no plans for 2024 after closing out his career with McLaren.

The 48-year-old Brazilian will drive in this year's Indy 500, which will be his 390th Indy car race. Kanaan, who accumulated 17 wins and 11 pole positions in his career, said his decision to end his IndyCar career was a result of not seeing an opportunity with a strong team in the years ahead, and being unwilling to race just in a grid-filler car.

eNASCAR

In the world of eNASCAR, Tucker Minter of Team Dillon eSports and Altus eSports took the checkered flag in the season opener at Daytona International Speedway after a dramatic last-lap pass on XSET's Casey Kirwan. The move wasn't without a little bump-and-run action, as Kirwan was sent spinning into the infield before spinning back in front of the pack. Kollin Keister and Collin Bowden, representing eRacr, had promising starts with a second row lockout and with Keister leading several laps early on. However, draft shuffling and pit stop mistakes set them back, with Keister finishing in 19th and Bowden in 35th after sustaining damage in a late wreck. The series will return February 28th at the virtual Milwaukee Mile, where the NASCAR Cup Series car will make its debut. It's anyone's race, so buckle up and get ready for some high-speed digital action!

GLOBAL MOTORSPORT

Take a trip to far away motorsport lands

🚀 McLaren launches new GT3 car... the 720S GT3 EVO features improved bodywork, aero and suspension

Memes

ONBOARD OF THE DAY

Porsche 911 GT3 R Onboard 2022 24 Hours of Spa

Take a short trip back to the 2022 24 Hours of Spa. Ride along with Team Herberth in their Porsche 911 GT3 R during their qualifying lap.

TELL ALL YOUR FRIENDS

*Answer

Lee Petty won the first Daytona 500 in 1959. The finish was so close that NASCAR Founder Bill France took three days to decide the outcome with help from photographs and newsreel footage.

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