Daytona Coke Zero 400 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Paul Menard – Daytona hasn’t been the most friendly track to Paul Menard recently. Currently he has five straight results outside the top fifteen at this venue. In this year’s Daytona 500 he performed better than he finished. In the race he earned the 12th best driver rating, had a 15th place average running position and finished 25th. During the last lap it looked like he would finish around 14th but he was involved in the last lap accident and finished 25th. In the 2014 “Great American Race” he was a consistent front runner for the first 120 laps. Unfortunately the race wasn’t incident free for him. On lap 145 he got collected in the “Big One” which relegated him to 32nd place finish. Before the wreck he likely had a single digit average running position and led 29 laps. In July 2014 at Daytona he started in 21st but elected to drop back early. That worked well for him because he dodged the first “Big One”. In the middle segment to the conclusion of the race he typically ran around the low to mid-teens. Late in the race on lap #98 he was involved in the “Big One” but his damage wasn’t severe and he was able to continue racing. When the checkered flag waved he escaped with a 16th place finish. The 2013 season was tough for him at Daytona and he had results of 21st and 43rd. Between the 2012 and 2011 season’s at Daytona he had a 9.3 average finish and the 7th best driver rating. At Talladega this spring Menard finished 3rd. In three of the last four races there he’s finished in the top six. (Yahoo B Driver)

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Aric Almirola – Aric Almirola is the defending champion of the July race at Daytona. In this event last year he survived the carnage and waited out the rain to earn his first career victory. In the event he ran well in the final two-thirds where he typically ran between 13th and the lead. His win was extremely improbable though. He got the race lead and ultimately the win during a late race restart and then the “Big One” ensued. Then the rain fell which cemented his win. In this year’s Daytona 500 he ran near the back for much of the afternoon but when the checkered flag waved he finished 15th. In his first six Daytona races he had a 28.7 average result and has finished south of 30th 2/3rds of the time. In the 2014 Daytona 500 in the first 80 laps I would estimate his average running position was around 18th. Then on lap 83 his race went downhill after he completed a green flag pit stop when he left his pit box with a jack. The result was a “stop and go” penalty which ultimately dropped him down a lap. Later in the race on lap 145 he was involved in a big multi-car wreck that sent him to the garage for repairs. When the checkered flag waved he finished 39th. In July 2013 he was also involved in an accident and finished 38th. (Yahoo B Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Daytona Top Tier Elite Picks, Daytona Front Runner Rankings, Daytona Scouting Report, Who will win at Daytona?

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has shown promise at restrictor plate tracks but as soon as everyone found out about his success it ceased. In this year’s Daytona 500 he ran well over the final 50 laps. Over that particular segment I would estimate his average running position would be right around 13th. On the final lap he was on pace to finish around 12th but he was caught in the carnage which relegated him to a 29th place finish. Last July he had his worst Daytona result. In that event he looked good but on lap #21 while he was leading the top groove he got collected in the “Big One”. In the 2014 Daytona 500 he ran mid pack for much of the race but when the checkered flag waved he finished 7th. In the 2013 Daytona 500 he finished 12th and earned the 14th best driver rating. In July 2013 he was involved in the carnage at the end but still managed to finish 11th. In a pre-rookie year Daytona start in 2012 he finished 20th. This spring at Talladega he finished 26th but his other three results there are finishes of 10th, 3rd and 13th. (Yahoo B Driver)

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