Fantasy NASCAR Asterisk Mark Report – Daytona

NOTE: This post is a recap of who had a misleading result in the 2020 Daytona 500

Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr is an elite performer at superspeedways, and in this years Daytona 500 he was stout, but finished an asterisk mark 20th. In the race, Stenhouse Jr. started on the pole, led 24 laps, finished 7th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and looked like a top five contender, but in the last quarter of the race his evening unraveled. With 40 laps to go while he was running in the top five he was black flagged for going below the yellow line, and then shortly after that his car was damaged and it led to an unexpected pit stop. In the race, Hamlin unquestionably had the best car and after him, I think a strong case could be made Stenhouse Jr. had the 2nd best.

William Byron – William Byron was strong in the season opening Daytona 500, but he walked away with a last place result. In the race he was an early victim of Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and he wrecked while running in 4th on lap 58. If his race would’ve been incident free, I think its clear he was poised to have a solid showing.

Kyle Busch – The Daytona 500 trophy has been elusive to Kyle Busch, and in this years “Great American Race” he once again had trouble. In the race, Kyle Busch had a great car but he finished 34th. In the race he finished 2nd in Stage #2, led 14 laps, was leading with 24 laps to go but then with 18 laps to go he slowed on the track because of engine problems which led to his poor result.

Brad Keselowski – Daytona has been a trouble spot on the schedule for Brad Keselowski. In 6 of the last 7 races here he’s finished 27th or worse, and that includes a poor result in this years 500. In the race, Keselowski led the 2nd most laps (30), was running in 3rd with 24 laps to go but then with 16 laps to go he was swept up in the “Big One” which led to his 36th place finish.