Fantasy NASCAR Scouting Report – Daytona

[themify_box ]NOTE: This Scouting Report is a recap of what happened in the 2015 Daytona 500[/themify_box]

Daytona Top Ten Starters

1. Jeff Gordon
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
4. Kyle Busch
5. Joey Logano
6. Carl Edwards
7. Tony Stewart
8. Greg Biffle
9. Clint Bowyer
10. Martin Truex Jr.

Daytona Full Starting Lineup

Daytona Pre-Race Notes

Drivers who started in the rear of the field: Austin Dillon, Trevor Bayne, Sam Hornish Jr., Danica Patrick, Matt Crafton, Ryan Newman, Bobby Labonte, David Ragan, Regan Smith, Kyle Larson, AJ Allmendinger, Mike Wallace and Johnny Sauter.

Regan Smith drove the #41 (Kurt Busch suspended)

Matt Crafton drove the #18 (Kyle Busch injured)

Michael Waltrip drove the #55 (Vickers out for health reasons)

Ty Dillon drove the #33.

Fun Fact: The last time the Daytona 500 was won from the pole was in 2000.

Race Notes

Jeff Gordon started on the pole and led the first lap. He choose to start in the bottom lane.

On lap #2 Jimmie Johnson who started in second got the lead and managed both lines blocking whichever one made a run at him. He led the next 12 laps.

In the first 3 laps Matt Kenseth moved up 18 positions.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. had an extremely fast car and was happy with his speed. On lap 6 he was in second.

Running order on lap 8: 48,24,22,88,19,14,4,16,78,20 … 21,95,11,5,51,1,2,10,17,40 … 27,6,23,41,35,42,33,44,38,46 … 9,83,55,15,43,31,18,34,3,13 … 32,47,66

Notable Moment: On lap 14 Johnson brushed the wall. Within a lap he was back to about 8th. Within about 2 laps he was back to about 10th. Johnson didn’t get any notable damage.

On lap 14 Jeff Gordon retook the lead. He led until lap 19. He resumed the lead following the lap 20 round of pit stops.

About 15-20 laps into a run is when tires start to drop off.

Notable Moment: On lap 20 the first caution came out when Landon Cassill’s engine blew up. He was running around the mid-teens at the time. He finished 43rd.

During the first pit stop Brad Keselowski had a really long pit stop to make changes. It dropped him to 33rd.

Running order on lap 25: 24,88,22,19,78,14,48,11,1,5 … 4,10,21,51,20,95,16,17,55,27 … 41,6,33,43,38,44,42,1,2,3,23 … 31

Tony Stewart had a fast car. Prior to the race his team repaired the #14 following an incident in his Duel 150 so he wouldn’t have to start in the rear of the field. On lap 27 he was in 7th.

Running order on lap 39: 24,88,19,14,11,22,5,48,5,16,78 … 21,4,1,17,2,20,55,95,33,41 … 51,6,10,42,9,27,43,44,23,46

On lap 39 Dale Earnhardt Jr communicated to Jeff Gordon that it’s good when they run the low line because it strings out the field.

Big Moment: On lap 41 Tony Stewart bounced off the wall and Matt Kenseth was caught in the carnage. Stewart got heavy damage and was pushed behind the wall. His suspension was damaged. Kenseth’s damage was was to his right front and it caused him to drop multiple laps down. At the time of the incident Stewart was in 6th, and Kenseth was in 13th. Other drivers who got damage were Ryan Blaney and Michael Waltrip. Blaney’s suspension had some damage and the toe of his car was knocked out.

Joey Logano took the lead on lap 46. He led the next 6 laps until Jeff Gordon retook the lead.

Running order on lap 51: 22,48,24,11,88,1,16,19,5 … 33,4,27,6,17,41,95,51,10,38 … 2,9,23,35,46,83,42,43,44,15 … 32,47,21,3,34

On lap 52 Jeff Gordon side drafted Joey Logano and took the lead. He then paced the field for the next 35 laps.

After getting shuffled out of line Johnson was in 18th on lap 57. His car was tight off turn 4.

On lap 62 the front of the field was single file.

On lap 63 Kevin Harvick said he was just riding out the race while driving in 13th.

Clint Bowyer was in 30th on lap 64. He said his car was loose and didn’t have the down force in his rear tires he wanted. He was racing in a backup car after wrecking his primary in qualifying.

Running order on lap 64: 24,88,78,5,11,33,19,22,2,27 … 1

On lap 66 Ty Dillon said his car didn’t feel right because he had a vibration. He thought it was blowing up. His car was ultimately fine. It was just a handling issue. At that time he was running in 6th.

Running order on lap 74: 24,88,78,22,19,48,511,4,33 … 2,1,16,27,51,23,41,95,35,83 … 46,38,10,9,42,43,44,15,32,47 … 34,21,3,31,13,6,18,17,55

Martin Truex Jr. had a very strong car and was leading the bottom lane on lap 77.

On lap 83 there was a front breakaway pack composed of 24,88,19,11,5,78,33,2 and 4.

Notable Moment: During pit stops around lap 88 Jimmie Johnson got a drive through penalty because his team went over the wall too soon.

Notable Moment: Drivers who got speeding penalties during the round of pit stops in the high 80’s: Carl Edwards, Martin Truex Jr. Kyle Larson and Bobby Labonte.