NASCAR Takes Over President’s Day – February 19

Rain in Florida postponed the start of the NASCAR Sprint Cup season yesterday. NASCAR officials decided to postpone the Daytona 500 until today. The 500-mile race is considered the most prestigious on the NASCAR calendar and one of the most important events each season. That’s because championship points are awarded equal to that of any other NASCAR event. This is something unique in the sports world as most have championships and major events at the end of a season rather than the beginning.

Denny Hamlin, a three-time Daytona 500 winner, is the favorite at +850 to win today’s race. The Daytona 500 is actually the second of two races today. NASCAR also postponed the Xfinity Series race scheduled for yesterday. That race will begin at 11 a.m. The Daytona 500 will follow at 4 p.m. Last year’s NASCAR Cup Series winner Ryan Blaney is among the favorites at +1100. Those are the same odds given to Brad Keselowski, the only driver to win the NASCAR Cup Series and the Xfinity Series.

It’s a NASCAR Monday

It’s not often we get such a huge NASCAR race on a Monday, but that’s exactly what we get today. If you haven’t already, you should check out our Daytona 500 preview, brought to you by Sports Hub’s own auto racing and NASCAR experts. You’ll see that just because Hamlin is the overall favorite, that doesn’t make him the obvious choice.

Hamlin hasn’t won at Daytona since 2020. Since then, he’s raced eight times at Daytona International Speedway and finished in the top ten just twice. Ricky Stenhouse (+2500) was last year’s winner, but is a huge longshot to pull off a repeat. Hamlin was the last driver to repeat, doing so in 2019 and 2020. Legendary NASCAR driver Richard Petty holds the record for most Daytona 500 wins at seven. 

Another Sports Hub Capper Rules the Day

It never gets old. Another Sports Hub exclusive handicapper was the top dog on yesterday’s leaderboard. Bill Blatt, who has won 56 percent of his picks over the last 60 days, went a perfect 4-0 yesterday to take the top spot on the leaderboard. 

Let’s see how the rest of our cappers did.

• Bill Blatt: Bill went 4-0 and added $400 to his bankroll. He’s now 9-3 over the last three days and is up $580. 
• Madjack Sports: The guys at Madjack put six picks in yesterday and went 5-1. They earned $395 to finish right behind Bill in second place. Madjack Sports has been consistent over the last 30 days and is up $1336 for the month.
• Seth Cohen: Seth took the third spot on the board with a perfect 3-0 day. He won $300 on three college basketball picks. If you’re looking for NCAAB picks, our guy Sal Lombardi has won 61.3 percent of his CBB picks over the last 30 days and is up $2830 betting on college basketball.
• Info Plays: Info Plays is part of the SportsCapping Group and flat bets everything. They picked a winner last night in Colombian Primera A action. One bet, $300 to the good!
• Mike Hawk: Mike is one of our exclusive cappers who crushed three picks last night to earn $290. It was another great day for Sports Hub handicappers like Mike!

Points and More Points Trending

If you’re a fan of defense, you didn’t get much of that in yesterday’s NBA All-Star game. The game ended up being the highest scoring one in NBA history with a total of 397 points. Five players scored 30 or more points and 15 of the game’s 24 players scored in double figures. If you like points, you were in luck.

Here’s a look at what’s trending in sports.

• Points: The 2024 NBA All-Star game was the highest scoring in history. The East won 211-186. No, there was not a lot of defense involved. Karl-Anthony Towns of the West had 50 points and didn’t win the game’s MVP. That went to the East’s Damian Lillard, who had 39 and hit 11-of-23 from three-point range. Lillard won the weekend’s 3-Point shooting contest on Saturday.

• Ohtani out: This Thursday, the Los Angeles Dodgers will open their spring training season against the San Diego Padres. Star Shohei Ohtani will most likely not play. Ohtani had offseason elbow surgery and is coming along fine with his rehabilitation, but manager Dave Roberts is playing it safe. Ohtani should be ready to go as a hitter when the Dodgers open the season against the Padres on March 20 in Seoul, South Korea.
• Mbappe moving?: Paris Saint-Germain forward Kylian Mbappe is in talks with Real Madrid to join the club this summer. Mbappe is a free agent once his contract expires at the end of this season.
• CBB upset: Ohio State fired head coach Chris Holtmann earlier this week. Interim head coach Jake Diebler led the Buckeyes to a 73–69 upset win over No. 2 Purdue on Sunday. This came just after the NCAA selection committee announced the Boilermakers are currently the overall No. 1 seed for the upcoming NCAA tournament.

NASCAR Makes Up for No NBA

With the NBA still recovering from its All-Star break, NASCAR and the Daytona 500 take center stage. The race was moved to today because of heavy rains in Florida yesterday. With it being President’s Day, there are quite a few afternoon sporting events today.

Let’s take a look at the schedule.

1. NCAAB: It’s a lighter schedule in men’s college basketball, but there are still some key games on tap. The Big 12 has two. Kansas State is at Texas and the big one is No. 10 Iowa State at No. 3 Houston. Both games start at 9 p.m.
2. NHL: With the NBA off tonight, the NHL can shine. There are 10 games on the ice tonight and ESPN is bringing fans an afternoon doubleheader. Toronto is in St. Louis to face the Blues and Detroit travels to Seattle to take on the Kraken. 
3. Daytona 500: NASCAR’s first Cup Series race of the season starts at 4 p.m. at Daytona International Speedway. Joey Logano (+900) opens in the pole.

4. Soccer: Crystal Palace and Everton play in a Premier League match today. There is also one La Liga match – Athletic Club vs. Girona – today. There are several matches in the South American professional leagues. Check our database for soccer picks.
5. Tennis: The Delray Beach Open final is today after being rained out yesterday. The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, Qatar ExxonMobil Open, Rio Open, and Mifel Tennis Open are all underway on the ATP Tour. The women are competing in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Mexico Series Puerto Vallarta 125, which begins today.

Enjoy this President’s Day and all the sports that come with it. NASCAR is the big dog today with the running of the Daytona 500. Check our members’ area for any NASCAR picks. Logan Wilson is our top auto racing handicapper at the moment. 

Some great college basketball tonight too. There are over two dozen college basketball picks in our database already. Check it throughout the day for more winners. Then, you can come back tomorrow with a heavier bankroll!