Clash At Daytona Fantasy NASCAR Preview

The 2018 NASCAR season unofficially kicks off on Sunday in the Advance Auto Parts Clash at Daytona (3PM). This exhibition race will be wild even though the field is only 17 cars. It will be comprised of two segments. The opening segment will be 25 laps ending with a competition caution, and then the final segment will be 50 laps.

The drawing for starting positions will be held on Saturday at 6:30 PM prior after the only practice session. If you play at DraftKings you want to wait until that is completed before you start creating rosters since place differential will be king (Driver prices). Good luck!

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1) Brad Keselowski – Brad Keselowski is an elite plate racer who’ll be a favorite to win the “Clash At Daytona.” He’ll have a great car underneath him, and with the small field having Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney as teammates will be big. Last year Keselowski had a stellar car that was arguably the best, but on the last lap while he was passing Denny Hamlin for the lead the #11 car came down on him which led to his 6th place finish. Him being in that position was impressive when you consider he had to overcome a pit penalty earlier in the race while leading (led 18 laps). In the Daytona Clash, Keselowski has a best result of 2nd, and a 5.25 average finish minus a 2015 wreck. In 2017 at plate tracks nobody scored more points than Keselowski. Last summer at Daytona he won Stage #1, led a race high 35 laps, earned the 5th best driver rating, but finished 31st after wrecking. In the 2017 Daytona 500 he had a good car but finished 27th after wrecking. In that race he finished 4th in Stage #1. In summer 2016 when he had his most recent incident free race he finished 1st, led 115 laps and earned the best driver rating by a wide margin. (DraftKings Price $9,500)

2) Joey Logano – Look for Joey Logano to get off to a fast start to the 2018 season in the Clash. He’s a strong restrictor plate track performer who also happens to be the defending champion of this particular event. Last year when Hamlin and Keselowski got together on the final lap Logano was able to take advantage of the situation and race his way to victory lane. In recent Clash races he’s performed at a very high level. In 2016 he finished runner-up. Over the last five events he has a 3.2 average finish and has had a result in the top 6 every race. At Daytona in points paying races he’s also been strong. Over the last six races he has 1 win and four top 6 results. (DraftKings Price $8,300)

3) Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin should prominently be on your fantasy NASCAR radar in the Clash. He’s a three-time winner who nearly got his 4th in 2017. Last year he led a race high 48 laps, but on the last lap while leading he blocked Keselowski which ended up spinning the #11 relegating him to a 13th place finish. In 2016 he got his most recent win. His other wins were in 2014 and 2005. At Daytona, Hamlin is always a strong performer. In the last three races here he’s been good but has walked away with a misleading result, in the five races prior to that he finished in the top 6. The 2016 Daytona 500 is his most recent incident free race and in that event he led 95 laps and raced his way to victory lane. (DraftKings Price $8,600)