Daytona 500: Fantasy NASCAR “Top Tier Elite” Picks
Matt Kenseth – Matt Kenseth will be one of the favorites to win the 2013 Daytona 500. I predict many fantasy NASCAR experts will pencil him in as their pick to win because after all he’s the defending champion. Last year Kenseth was king of the plate tracks. He won at both venues and had a 2.0 average finish. This season Kenseth will be in a much different situation. He’ll no longer be in a Ford and Biffle will no longer be his teammate. Both of those factors were keys to his success. The Ford FR9 was the best engine at plate tracks and Biffle was a dedicated teammate even to his own detriment. In the Sprint Unlimited Kenseth had one of the strongest cars. Now imagine how he’ll look in the Daytona 500 with teammates and his best car on the track. My prediction is that Kenseth will win the 2013 Daytona 500. Make sure you visit ifantasyrace.com throughout the week because after the Duels my rankings will likely change. (Yahoo! A Driver)
Tony Stewart – Tony Stewart has four wins at Daytona but not a single one was in the Daytona 500. He wants this win badly and eventually in his career he’ll get it. It took Dale Earnhardt 20 years, Darrell Waltrip 17 years and currently Stewart is going on year 15. There’s no question in my mind he’s due. Stewart is the most recent winner at Daytona. In the summer race he qualified second but his time was disallowed (open vent hose). As a result he started in 42nd and earned the victory the hard way. Prior to his win his next most recent top ten was the 2009 July race when he also visited victory lane. I think a strong showing should be expected from Stewart. He’s always solid here and will benefit now that the era of tandem drafting is likely done. In the Sprint Unlimited Stewart looked very impressive. (Yahoo! A Driver)
Kevin Harvick – I couldn’t fault anyone for making Harvick their default fantasy pick for the 2013 Daytona 500. He’s a two-time Daytona winner who’s elite in the art of drafting. He’s also a clutch performer in these races when he’s near the front and the checkered flag is waving. Since 2010 Harvick has been very good here. In this span of races he has a win and three seventh place finishes. His only finishes outside this range were when he had engine problems in 2011 and wrecked while running near the front of the pack in last summers race. In the Sprint Unlimited Harvick shown his elite talent in the draft. Once he was out front nobody could get around him. (Yahoo! A Driver)
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Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin had one of the strongest cars at Daytona last year. In the 2012 Daytona 500 he finished 4th, recorded the second best driver rating and led a race high 57 laps. Also in this race last year he had the strongest car on the outside line. If the track wasn’t damaged by fire he could’ve potentially been a big factor for the win. Last July with 8 laps to go Hamlin was running in 4th but came across Kyle Busch’s nose and caused the big one. From a career perspective Daytona hasn’t been a good track for him. In fourteen races he’s only finished in the top ten twice. I expect Hamlin to be very good in this race though. I think the JGR Toyota’s could very well be the cars to beat. (Yahoo! A Driver)
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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > Not So Fast
