“He’s a Polarizing Individual” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Goes Against NASCAR Fans & Denny Hamlin in Picking His Daytona 500 Winner

This weekend is the 2023 Daytona 500—one of the most prestigious NASCAR races. All drivers in the NASCAR arena dream of winning this iconic race, but not many succeed. Heck! It took the late great Dale Earnhardt 20 years to pull it off, after he had won seven Cup titles.

Ahead of this weekend’s race, Denny Hamlin had tipped himself, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Joey Logano, and Brad Keselowski as favorites. However, Dale Earnhardt Jr disagreed and roped in a surprising pick for a Daytona 500 winner.

Junior mentioned in his podcast, “Right out of the gate, I’m telling you, Chastain is … that’s speaking to me a little bit. I could see Daytona just has that potential to be that sort of storybook.

February 17, 2019 – Daytona Beach, FL, USA – Dale Earnhardt Jr. laughs in a press conference PK Pressekonferenz before the Daytona 500 NASCAR Motorsport USA race at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach on Sunday, February 17, 2019. Daytona 500 – ZUMAm67_ 20190217_zaf_m67_038 Copyright: xStephenxM.xDowellx“Man! The Trackhouse story has been incredible, it’s been electric. It would be an amazing way to kick off a season with a win from that team. He’s a polarising individual, he doesn’t always want to be.”

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What else did Dale Earnhardt Jr say to counter Hamlin’s prediction?

The former Hendrick Motorsports star confessed that the #1 Trackhouse Racing driver is in excellent form. It is also worth mentioning that the team has had a bit of a fairytale rise up the ranks to be a genuine title threat. So the big question is, can Chastain tick another achievement off of his bucket list—the Daytona 500?

Earnhardt Jr continued, “But he’s a hard charger and rubs some fenders on the race track, which we all like. So we all want him in the mix of the season, right? That win at Daytona would lock him in the Playoffs.

“We know we’re going to get Chastain all year long. Chastain’s going to be a contender all year with a win at Daytona. So I’m going to go Ross Chastain is the winner of the Daytona 500.”

Of course, Hamlin‘s own predictions came with a few clauses. He is aware that this race can be unpredictable, with big wrecks to watch out for. So, according to him,  in a perfect world with no wrecks, Hamlin, Logano, Keselowski, Blaney, and Byron were strong contenders. Otherwise, he would include himself, Larson, Logano, and Byron as favorites.

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