Kevin Harvick establishes himself as favorite for Daytona 500 DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - There are two certainties heading into the Daytona 500: Kevin Harvick is the favorite, and no one is sure what the action will look like in the "Great American Race." Harvick remained perfect through Speedweeks on Thursday by winning the first of two 150-mile Budweiser Duel qualifying races, and the victory has positioned him as the top pick to win NASCAR's version of the Super Bowl. Being labeled the favorite is the last thing the 2007 Daytona 500 winner wanted headed into the season opener on Sunday. We like to be the lame-duck underdog. That's what we're shooting for," Harvick said. Harvick is a perfect two for two at Daytona International Speedway. He also won an exhibition race last weekend. This strong start comes at a time when Harvick has found a balance in his life with the addition of a son, Keelan, who was born last July, and as he heads into his final season with Richard Childress Racing. Harvick has decided to move to Stewart-Haas Racing in 2014. We've been fortunate to win the first two races of Speedweeks. We've just got to keep a level head on our shoulders, not get too high over what we've done, just do the same things that we've done," he said. If it's meant to be, it's meant to be. I think we definitely have the car and team to be in contention to do that. But nobody is quite sure what the 500 will look like with NASCAR's new Gen-6 race car. Sunday's race will go off with a full 43-car field, double the amount of cars that ran in Thursday's qualifying races. There were 19 cars in last Saturday's exhibition. Kyle Busch, winner of the second duel, believes more cars on the track will create a much different race than what fans have seen so far. All three races at Speedweeks to date have lacked much action as drivers continue to learn the new cars and how it reacts in traffic and different aerodynamic situations. "With more cars out there, we might see it be a little bit different come Sunday," Busch said. There was half the field in each race, obviously. There's going to be twice as many good cars, twice as many middle of the pack cars, twice as many back of the pack cars. If you can get your car handling, driving, feeling good, you'll be able to be one of the guys that's up front. Busch gave Toyota its first victory of Speedweeks and snapped Chevrolet's dominance. Harvick took the new Chevrolet SS to Victory Lane twice, and Danica Patrick put it on the Daytona 500 pole in time trials. The starting field for the Daytona 500 is set by the results from the pair of 60-lap qualifiers, but Patrick held on to the pole by running a safe race in the first qualifier. The first woman to win a pole at NASCAR's top level, Patrick earned the top starting spot in time trials last weekend. She started first in the first qualifier, raced a bit early, then faded back to run a conservative race and ensure she'll start first in the 500. "I hate coming to the end like that and just lagging back," she said. That's not fun. But it's also really ignorant to go drive up into the pack and be part of an accident for absolutely no reason. You're really not going to learn much there. Patrick wound up 17th out of 23 cars.