Even those who bet on college basketball have to acknowledge the dominance of Jimmie Johnson as the 2011 NASCAR season gears up next weekend with the Daytona 500. Before handicapping the actual race, we’re going to take a look at whether anyone will put the brakes on Johnson’s five-year Sprint Cup reign.

Jimmie Johnson (+300): UFC betting players would maybe compare Johnson’s run to Anderson Silva, and what he did to the field, specifically Denny Hamlin, was like Silva destroying Vitor Belfort with one straight kick to the face at UFC 127. Johnson has now won the title in every way imaginable, and they don’t seem like they’re ready to hand over the crown just year. A sixth title wouldn’t be a big surprise at all.

Denny Hamlin (+500): You would think that Hamlin has been repeating the phrase, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”, since the checkered flag dropped at Homestead-Miami because that’s the only thing that will get him through this year. Hamlin won a season-high eight races last year, and hasn’t changed anything from 2010, but how much did losing last year’s title hurt him?

Carl Edwards (+500): Edwards won the last two races of the season, and he made the Chase last year when his team was clearly behind the rest of the field. Edwards finished second in 2008, and he won the 2007 Busch (now Nationwide) Series, so he has championship experience. We would even put him above Hamlin, so jump on his odds if you can.

Kyle Busch (+900): The younger Busch is arguably the most talented driver in the Sprint Cup series, which is saying something, and he won three times last year. However, the 2009 Nationwide champion is also running a lot in that series, and of course he has his own team in the Truck series, so Busch may be spreading himself thin. Also, Busch tends to get down when things go bad and if he can keep his head in the game, he’ll be a guy worth betting 5dimes on.

Everyone Else: Kevin Harvick is probably the smartest bet at +750 after coming up just short in last year’s title race, but former champions Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon would be decent bets at +1000, but really, the race is between the first four. We think Edwards is the strongest challenger to Johnson’s title, but really, until someone proves them wrong, the No.48 team is the king of the hill in the Sprint Cup series and it will take a massive effort to take them down. They weren’t even close to their best last year, but they stepped up when it counted, which is why they’ll be a popular sports betting pick.