Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin – Defending Daytona 500 champion, Denny Hamlin will be tough to beat in “The Great American Race.” Hamlin’s a standout performer in the Daytona 500, and in 5 of the last 6 he’s finished in the top 4. Over those combined events, Hamlin has a series best 4.7 average finish, he’s led the most laps (167) and his driver rating ranks as the second best. At Daytona, Hamlin is a two-time winner who’s finished in the top six in 7 of the last 12 races. Last summer at Daytona, Denny Hamlin had a great car and was a contender to win, but crashed in the late “Big One” which led to his 26th place finish. On lap 113 which was six laps before the “Big One” ensued he was the leader. In the race, Hamlin led 5 laps, finished 8th in Stage #1 and finished just outside the top ten in Stage #2. In last years Daytona 500, Hamlin had a great car and raced his way to victory lane after leading 30 of the final 38 laps. When it was closing time, nobody was better. In summer 2018, Hamlin showed potential but finished 38th after crashing on lap 54. One lap prior to wrecking he was running in 9th. In the 2018 Daytona 500, Hamlin was very competitive. He finished 3rd, earned the 4th best driver rating, led 22 laps and finished 10th in Stage #2. I will note his race wasn’t incident free. During the first round of pit stops while leading, Hamlin was penalized which led to him losing a lap and the draft. In the four Daytona 500’s prior to that, Hamlin had results of 17th, 1st, 4th and 2nd. (DraftKings $10,400/ FanDuel $13,000)

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Joey Logano – Joey Logano is a premiere performer at superspeedways who’ll likely be the driver to beat in the Daytona 500. In 2019 over the combined superspeedway races, Logano scored the most points, had the best average running position (8.8) and had a misleading 11.0 average finish. At Daytona, Logano has performed at an exceptionally high-level, and in the “Great American Race” he’s been a standout performer. Over the last five Daytona 500’s he has the best average finish (4.2), the best driver rating and he’s finished in the top 6 every race. Last summer at Daytona, Logano had a great car and was a contender to win, but finished 25th after crashing in the “Big One.” In the race he led 40 laps, won Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2 and was the leader 9 laps before the final “Big One” ensued. In 5 of the 7 Daytona races prior to that he finished between 4th to 6th. In last years Daytona 500, Logano had a great car. He finished 4th overall, 3rd in Stage #1 and 10th in Stage #2. If he would’ve had some help at the end, I think there’s a good chance he could’ve won. In his Duel 150 leading up to the Daytona 500 he raced his way to victory lane. In summer 2018, Logano had a fast car but finished a misleading 39th after crashing in the lap 54 “Big One.” One lap before wrecking he was running in 11th. In the 2018 Daytona 500, Logano had a great car and finished 4th. Additionally, he earned the 2nd best driver rating and finished 3rd in Stage #2. (DraftKings $10,500/ $14,000)

Kyle Busch – Defending series champion, Kyle Busch nearly won last years Daytona 500, and in this years “The Great American Race” there’s no question he’ll be a driver to be reckoned with. At the time of the final restart in the 2019 Daytona 500, lets not forget Busch was the race leader. At Daytona, Kyle Busch has been an extremely competitive performer and in 5 of the last 8 races he’s been a top five contender, but he’s had a lot of problems along the way. Last summer, Busch had a strong showing but wrecked in the late “Big One” which led to his 14th place finish. In last years Daytona 500, Busch finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position, won Stage #1 and led 37 laps. In summer 2018, Busch had a fast car, but finished an asterisk mark 33rd. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #1 and was running in 2nd at the time of his demise on lap 65 when Ricky Stenhouse Jr. wrecked him. In the 2018 Daytona 500, Busch looked good, but had a couple of flat tires and his second flat essentially doomed him to a 25th place finish. Prior to his first flat he was running in the top five. In summer 2017, Busch was involved in a “Big One” that damaged his car dooming him to a 20th place finish. Six laps prior to wrecking he was in 4th. (DraftKings $9,800/ FanDuel $14,000)

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