Michael McDowell won the 2021 Daytona 500. While it served as a feel-good story for NASCAR, between McDowell holding no wins at the Cup level in over 358 races and Front Row racing never winning the Daytona 500, it was a series of very unexpected events. Unfortunately for 99.6% of the betting public that made wagers on last Sunday’s Great American race, they were all in possession of losing tickets when McDowell was eventually declared the winner.
That’s right! Only 0.4% of gamblers at BetMGM made a wager on McDowell. One unidentified gambler placed a 100 dollar bet on the Cup Series veteran and won 6,600 dollars.
Remember, Michael McDowell has remained winless throughout 13 seasons at the Cup level, and Front Row racing hasn’t won a race either. That means the odds were pretty stacked against them heading into the Daytona 500, and their chances took an even bigger dip as the start of the race unfolded. This was due to a multi-car incident in the opening laps where McDowell took damage, forcing his team to work really hard to repair the #34 Chevrolet.
In the end, it was nothing short of a miracle for Michael McDowell to win the Daytona 500, and almost no one saw it coming.
