Fantasy NASCAR Preview: Daytona
The 400 miler at Daytona will be just as unpredictable as the 500 and the last race at Talladega. One thing is for sure: picking cars from the Joe Gibbs Toyota stable would appear to give you a good shot at winning. The Gibbs cars have led 332 out of 576 restrictor plate laps in the COT. Kyle Busch and Denny Hamlin took turns dominating the early stages of the Daytona 500 and Tony Stewart had a shot to win before his miracle push from Kurt Busch gave Ryan Newman the victory.
1. Tony Stewart, #20 Home Depot Toyota, Gibbs Racing
Stewart was 8th at Talladega last fall (led 38 laps), 3rd at Daytona (led 16 laps), and led 61 laps before crashing at Talladega. He was devastated after not winning the 500 and actually should have won Talladega as well. He's the best class A choice this weekend, especially after having another race stolen from him at New Hampshire.
2. Kyle Busch, #18 M&M's Toyota, Gibbs Racing
Busch dominated at Daytona in February, as he led 86 laps and finished 4th. There were a couple of drivers more dominant than he was at Talladega, but at the end of the day he won the race after leading 12 laps.
3. Denny Hamlin, #11 FedEx Toyota, Gibbs Racing
Hamlin looked strong early in the Daytona 500 (leading 32 laps) and also won one of the Twin 150's. He also led 40 laps in the fall at Talladega en route to finishing 4th and was 3rd in the spring at Talladega after leading another 37 laps. Should you not want to go with Stewart, Hamlin is an awesome class A option.
4. Dale Earnhardt Jr, #88 AMP/National Guard Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
Jr. won the Bud Shootout and a Twin 150 at Speedweeks, but struggled with handling late in the 500 and faded to 9th after leading 12 laps. He also led 46 laps at Talladega this spring and 31 last fall before blowing an engine. He is one of the top class B selections this weekend, as he always is on the restrictor plate tracks.
5. Kurt Busch, #2 Miller Lite Dodge, Penske Racing South
Kurt has been 3rd in the last two 400 mile races at Daytona and was 2nd in the Daytona 500, pushing Newman to the win. He was 7th last fall in the COT at Talladega. Ignore the 39th place finish in the spring at Talladega and focus on his other results. He should be a solid class A choice, just a notch below the Gibbs tandem this weekend. Maybe his luck turned around with the red flag win on fuel mileage last weekend.
6. Ryan Newman, #12 ALLTEL Dodge, Penske Racing South
Newman did win the 500, which a lot of people tend to overlook. He wasn't really a factor throughout the day, but put himself in contention at the right time. His last two finishes at Talladega in the COT have been 5th and 8th. Make sure to include him on your class B roster, even if you don't start him this weekend.
7. Jeff Gordon, #24 DuPont Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
While I do think Gordon will be better than he was in the Daytona 500 (where the chassis was so bad it eventually broke), I'm not sure he is worth a class A selection this weekend. He did win at Talladega in the fall (taking the lead for the first time on the last lap) and he does have the most plate wins of anyone since 2004 (6). I may eat my words on this one.
8. Clint Bowyer, #07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet, Richard Childress Racing
While there are better class A choices, Bowyer was 6th and 10th at Daytona his rookie year and 7th last July. He was running up front in the 500 until he had a late race run-in with Juan Pablo. Take a look at Bowyer when making your class A selections.
9. Jimmie Johnson, #48 Lowe's Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports
Like Gordon, he has struggled as of late on the plate tracks and there will be better places to use him throughout the year.
10. Brian Vickers, #83 Red Bull Toyota, Team Red Bull
Vickers was 12th in the Daytona 500, following it up with a top 5 at Talladega. He does have a plate win on his resume after crashing Johnson and Earnhardt in 2006 at Talladega. He is the top class C choice by far.
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