2018 Daytona 500 dark horse candidates

One of the most intriguing parts of watching NASCAR's biggest race is that surprising winners can wind up in Victory Lane on stock car racing's grandest stage. The 2018 field is chock full of drivers that have a real shot at winning, even if they typically aren't in the mix week-in, week-out. Here are your 2018 Daytona 500 dark horse candidates.

Darrell Wallace Jr., No. 43 Richard Petty Racing Chevrolet: Wallace made four spot starts for the injured Aric Almirola in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports ride last year, including the July Daytona race -- which was won by this team in the not-too-distant past. Wallace finished 16 spots higher than he started in that one, and should be competitive come Daytona.

Ty Dillon, No. 13 Germain Racing Chevrolet: Let us not forget that Dillon averaged a finish of 12.0 in a pair of races at Talladega Superspeedway last year, and this will remarkably be the young driver's fourth Daytona 500 start. He seems to be picking up momentum heading into the season, and cars haven't even hit the track yet.

Kasey Kahne, No. 95 Leavine Family Racing Chevrolet: Kahne's history at Daytona offers mixed results -- and he will no longer have three Hendrick Motorsports teammates to draft with -- but if there's one driver that has something to prove early on in 2018, it's Kahne. Not only that, but Michael McDowell piloted this same No. 95 ride to a fourth-place finish in the July Daytona race last season.

Michael McDowell, No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford: Speaking of McDowell, why not count him among the dark horses, as well? He was 15th in last year's Daytona 500, and now has a fellow restrictor-plate ace in teammate David Ragan to work with.

David Ragan, No. 38 Front Row Motorsports Ford: Ragan has two career wins, and both of them came at restrictor plate tracks. He's avoided wrecking out from the 'Big One' the past six races at Daytona -- no small feat -- and was sixth in the July Daytona race last year with the same team.

Paul Menard, No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford: Menard quietly put together a pair of top-five finishes at Daytona in 2017, and moves to a Team Penske-affiliated team at Wood Brothers Racing. He'll likely be able to work with some of the best restrictor-plate racers in Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano ... not to mention Ryan Blaney, who was runner-up in this race last year in Menard's current ride.

Alex Bowman, No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet: Of course. Not only does Bowman have a trio of respectable finishes at Daytona (including a 13th-place finish in 2014 for BK Racing), but he's taking over the No. 88 Chevrolet. The guy that used to drive that? Yeah, he knew what he was doing at Daytona. Expect some of that insight to be passed on to Bowman.

Trevor Bayne, No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford: Bayne, of course, won the Daytona 500 in 2011 as perhaps the darkest horse in the history of the race. With the gains Roush Fenway Racing made in restrictor-plate races last year -- i.e. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.'s two wins in them -- Bayne has a shot to become just the 12th driver to win the 'Great American Race' more than once.

Aric Almirola, No. 10 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford: This one is a no-brainer. Not only is Almirola a former Daytona winner (July 2014), he moves over to a stronger organization to pilot the car that sat on the 2013 Daytona 500 pole. As another driver that is looking to prove himself in 2018, look for Almirola to come out swinging.

Danica Patrick, No. 7 Premium Motorsports Chevrolet: Why not? Patrick has nothing to lose in her final career NASCAR start, and it's coming at the track where she's seem some of her biggest successes in stock car racing. It would be a great story to close this chapter of her career, and not outside the realm of possibility.