2013 Sprint Unlimited Odds, Free Picks and Predictions: Favorites, Sleepers and Drivers to Avoid: While the Daytona 500 officially opens the 2013 Sprint Cup season, cars will first take the track in a non-points event dubbed the Sprint Unlimited. The race has been sponsored by Budweiser in previous years and was known as the Bud Shootout, but Sprint took over as the title sponsor in the offseason. While the title sponsor is new, the race is actually returning to its roots when it comes to deciding the starting lineup. In order to qualify for the event a driver must have won a pole in 2012 or be a past champion of the race. As a result of the eligibility requirements, defending series champ Brad Keselowski and runner-up Clint Bowyer will both be sitting this one out. Overall, 22 drivers are eligible to participate, and here is a look at the top contenders from the group.
2013 Sprint Unlimited Odds, Free Picks and Predictions: Favorites and Sleepers
The Favorites
The Daytona 500 continues to elude him, but Tony Stewart actually has the second-most wins at the track in series history behind only the late Dale Earnhardt. Three of those victories have come in the Sprint Unlimited, and no driver has a better average finish in the event than Stewart. He has finished third or better in five of his last six starts in the event, including a second-place run last year. Stewart is a factor almost every time he takes the track at Daytona, and he has been especially dangerous in the unofficial season opener.
Although he doesn’t win a lot of races, Kevin Harvick has a knack for being at his best on the biggest stages. The Sprint Unlimited has been no exception, and he has gone to Victory Lane in two of his last four starts in the event. Harvick has also won the Daytona 500 and the July race at the track during his career, and there are a few in the series with a better feel for working the draft and getting to the front of the field in crunch time.
The Dark Horses
Last year, Kyle Busch survived a wild finish and held the field at bay to pick up his first victory in the Sprint Unlimited. Overall, he has four top-10s in his last five starts in the event. Not to mention that a non-points race is right up his alley. Busch brings a checkers or wreckers attitude to the track almost every week, and with no points on the line, he has no reason not to go all out for the win. Back-to-back wins is a definite possibility.
Plate racing has always been a specialty of Dale Earnhardt Jr. since he broke into the series, and he has seven points-paying wins at superspeedways to prove it. Junior also has a pair of wins in the Sprint Unlimited and three additional second-place finishes. Whenever the series visits Daytona, Junior deserves to be in the conversation of potential winners.
Sleeper Specials
His luck in the Sprint Unlimited hasn’t been the best, but Matt Kenseth’s overall resume at Daytona speaks for itself. Not only is he the defending Daytona 500 champ, but he has finished third or better in the last three points-paying races at the track and has finished eighth or better in seven of the last nine. He will also be making his first start in the event for Joe Gibbs Racing, and considering that the organization has won the race five times since 2001, Kenseth could debut with a bang.
He has been bouncing around to different teams the last two years, but Kurt Busch is set for a full season with Furniture Row Racing, and the equipment is good enough that he could make some noise. In fact, Regan Smith once posted the best driver rating in the Daytona 500 for the same team Busch is now driving for. More importantly, Busch is one of the most consistent plate track drivers in the series, and he won the Sprint Unlimited in 2011.
Driver to Avoid
For whatever reason, Carl Edwards has never been able to duplicate the success he has had in points-paying races at Daytona in the Sprint Unlimited. He has never finished in the top five in six starts in the event, and has finished outside the top 15 three times. When you take into account that the field usually only has about 25 drivers in it, his finishes outside the top 15 are even more telling of his struggles.
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