Daytona Coke Zero 400 Sleepers / Dark Horse Picks

Daytona is a Wild Card track where some unusual drivers can crack the top ten. In this season’s Daytona 500 Regan Smith, Danica Patrick, Michael McDowell and JJ Yeley finished in the top ten. This is my list of six sleepers to watch in the Daytona Coke Zero 400.

Jeff Burton – Restrictor plate tracks are Jeff Burton’s best track type. I wouldn’t recommend him to anyone at any other type of venue. Last season on this track type he accumulated the 2nd most points and finished in the top ten every race. At Daytona he was particularly strong. In the 2012 Daytona 500 he finished 5th, led 24 laps and earned the 2nd best driver rating. In the July race he finished 2nd. In this season’s Daytona 500 he was involved in an accident and finished 30th. The #31 team has shown some improvement this summer and for that reason combined with his track record he should be on your radar for a sleeper pick for the Coke Zero 400.

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Michael Waltrip – Michael Waltrip has been quite successful on restrictor plate tracks recently. He’s had good performances the last four times he drove the #55 on plate tracks. He most recently drove this car at Talladega in May. In that event he crossed the finish line in 4th. At Talladega in 2012 he nearly won the fall race and led 21 laps in the spring. At Daytona last July in the #55 he finished 9th. In this season’s Daytona 500 he drove the #30 car and finished 22nd. From a historical perspective this is Waltrip’s best track type by a wide margin. All four of his career victories have come on this track type. Waltrip will start in 7th on Saturday night.

David Ragan – David Ragan is a quality sleeper pick on restrictor plate tracks. Earlier this season his dark horse potential came to fruition and he took home the trophy at Talladega. In his last season with Roush Fenway Racing (2011) he was arguably the best driver of the year here. In that Daytona 500 he was leading late but jumped a restart and in that summer race he earned his first career victory. You can’t overlook David Ragan this week.