Daytona Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

William Byron – William Byron will be a quality sleeper pick at Daytona. In all six of his super speedway races he’s finished outside the top 20, but that could easily change on Saturday night. In the last two Daytona races he’s been very competitive. Earlier this year, Byron had a great car in the season opener. In the race he earned the best driver rating, had an 8th place average running position, led 44 laps, finished 2nd in Stage #2 but finished an asterisk mark 21st when the checkered flag waved. With 4 laps to go he was running in 7th, but then with two laps to go he was caught up in a multi-car wreck. Last summer, Byron showed potential but while he was leading (led 12 laps) he crashed which led to his 32nd place finish. In Stage #1 prior to his demise he finished 4th. In last year’s Daytona 500 he had a troubled race and finished 23rd. On lap 93 he brushed up against the wall getting a good amount of damage and then with 11 laps to go he spun and brought out a caution. Prior to his first problem he was running in 14th.

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Brendan Gaughan – Brendan Gaughan is one of the most popular low-tier picks at plate tracks. He’s had some success here and in 3 of his last 5 races he’s finished in the top 12. At Daytona, you don’t see him for much of the race, but as it reaches its conclusion he’s done a good job finishing near the front. In this years Daytona 500 he didn’t have one of his better recent races and finished 23rd after being involved in a wreck during “over-time.” I’ll note he never really ran well and probably benefited from all the attrition. Last summer he dodged the attrition and finished 12th. In last years Daytona 500 he almost snuck in another good result but he was caught up in the “Big One” with 2 laps to go. Two laps prior to wrecking he was running in 7th. In 2017 at Daytona he had results of 7th and 11th. At Talladega, the other super speedway on the schedule he finished 8th this spring.

Matt DiBenedetto – Matt DiBenedetto has dark horse potential at Daytona. He had a great performance earlier this year and in other recent Daytona races he’s finished well. Earlier this year in his #95 debut he had a career day in the “Great American Race.” He led the most laps (49), earned the 3rd best driver rating, had a 10th place average running position and finished 6th in Stage #2. Unfortunately, his race wasn’t incident free and he was caught up in a late wreck that led to his 28th place finish. In 3 of the 4 Daytona races prior to that he finished in the top 13, in the one race he finished outside of that range he was competitive but walked away with a misleading result. Last summer you really didn’t see him until the end (ran around the mid to high-teens from about lap 100 until the end), but when the checkered flag waved 7th. In the 2018 Daytona 500 he had a great chance of sneaking in a top ten, but with two laps to go he was caught up in the “Big One” which led to his 27th place finish. Two laps prior to the wreck he was running in 6th. In 2017 he had a great season at Daytona. He finished 13th in July, and 9th in the Daytona 500.

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