America is the land of opportunity.

With that, I’m taking the chance to make some good old fashioned fake money this holiday weekend.

Daytona is the first track to host its second race. Coupled with a new website with different racing odds, and I see it as a perfect chance to combine hindsight with insight to create foresight for Saturday night.

Ford engines are the real deal:

They have four wins on the season. Every week, a Roush driver has sniffed around a win. If odds makers won’t respect them, I will.

Dodge is charging…get it:

Kurt Busch was the man to beat at Daytona. Nobody could beat him last week. Busch’s teammate even has a win. No, it’s not a typo. Teams that get strong in the summer are interesting follows for the fall.

Chevy looks heavy:

Three wins for Hendrick Motorsports. That’s it? Yes Jeff Gordon has two wins and Dale Jr. is coming back. But the team seems a step off. Ditto for Stewart Haas. They may make the Chase. Does anyone expect them to win it? And I like Smoke and the Big Ten Network.

It feels like a new year. With that in mind, here are some new numbers to stew over Saturday night, with me down 160 fake dollars after losing in Sonoma.

Ten fake dollars on Carl Edwards at 8/1:
Pure safety pick. You’ll see why below.

Ten fake dollars on Denny Hamlin at 15/1:
If the Gibbs engine issue is fixed, this is a steal. If not, I’m being taken to the cleaners. It’s worth the risk.

Ten fake dollars on Kurt Busch at 10/1:
He was a favorite at Daytona and has momentum on his side. Too bad being whiny jerk on the radio yields such dividends.

Five fake dollars on Greg Biffle at 25/1:
I don’t get this either.

Five fake dollars on Matt Kenseth at 30/1:
This makes me want to lay more money down.

Five fake dollars on David Ragan at 40/1:
Too bad I’m hedging my fake bets with the “He hasn’t won a race yet and could have won the 500,” guy.

Five fake dollars on Brad Keselowski at 40/1:
Not to mention the “Kurt Busch has a teammate. What a novel concept,” candidate who has won on a superspeedway before.

Enjoy the opportunities and freedom that comes with being an American this weekend. Here’s what Vegas Insider thinks, and insert random catchphrase here.
KEVIN HARVICK 6/1  
DALE EARNHARDT JR 8/1       
 KYLE BUSCH 8/1      
CARL EDWARDS 8/1     
JIMMIE JOHNSON 8/1  
JEFF GORDON 10/1      
KURT BUSCH 10/1       
TONY STEWART 14/1      
CLINT BOWYER 14/1      
JAMIE MCMURRAY 15/1     
DENNY HAMLIN 15/1     
JOEY LOGANO 20/1      
MARK MARTIN 20/1      
KASEY KAHNE 25/1       
JUAN MONTOYA 25/1      
GREG BIFFLE 25/1       
MATT KENSETH 30/1  
JEFF BURTON 30/1    
RYAN NEWMAN 35/1      
DAVID REUTIMANN 35/1    
BRIAN VICKERS 35/1   
MARTIN TRUEX JR 35/1   
DAVID RAGAN 40/1    
AJ ALLMENDINGER 40/1     
BRAD KESELOWSKI 40/1    
PAUL MENARD 45/1     
MARCOS AMBROSE 45/1   
TREVOR BAYNE 50/1   
REGAN SMITH 60/1  
FIELD - ALL OTHERS 50/1