Daytona Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings/ Driver Breakdowns

1) Denny Hamlin / Starting 10th / DraftKings $10,400 / FanDuel $11,700

Daytona 500 winner, Denny Hamlin will be a favorite on Saturday night. He has back to back Daytona 500 wins, and he’s consistently performed at a super-elite level. If Hamlin didn’t have problems last summer at Daytona, he might potentially be looking at 3 straight wins at this “Wild Card” track. When it comes to drafting, Hamlin is without question one of the best in the business. He knows how to race his way to the front, and he isn’t afraid to make the big moves needed to win. In the post-plate era at superspeedways, Hamlin has three straight top 4 finishes and over those events his average finish is 2.6. In this years Daytona 500, Hamlin finished 1st, won Stage #2 and led a race high 79 laps. When it was closing time, Hamlin was clutch and he led the final 12 laps. In summer 2019, 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. At Talladega this spring, Hamlin finished 4th. On Saturday night, look for Hamlin to go all out and try to accumulate as many Playoff points as he can.

[themify_box]Content NOTE: Drivers in red are drivers who run well and have potential, but have have some sort of elevated risk. Logano for example is highlighted in red because in 6 of the last 7 summer races he’s finished 17th or worse. [/themify_box]

2) Joey Logano / Starting 3rd / DraftKings $9,400 / FanDuel $9,600

Joey Logano is a fantasy ace at Daytona, but he’s been much better in the “Great American Race” then he has been in summer events. In 6 of the last 7 Daytona summer races he’s finished 17th or worse, and in the last three he’s finished 25th or worse. I’ll note he hasn’t run bad in the summer, its just that bad things keep happening to him.  In this years Daytona 500, Logano was a standout performer, but involvement in a late wreck led to him finishing 26th. In the race he finished 4th in Stage #1, 9th in Stage #2, had the best average running position (9.0) and led 6 laps. With 5 laps to go before he wrecked late he was running in 2nd. Leading up to the Daytona 500, Logano raced his way to victory lane in his Duel 150. 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. One attribute I like about Logano is his momentum. He now has 6 straight top tens heading into the weekend and over the combined events his average finish is 6.7. Look for Logano to be a factor on Saturday night!

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3) Ryan Blaney / Starting 9th / DraftKings $10,000 / FanDuel $10,000

Ryan Blaney is the premiere performer at superspeedways in the post-plate era, and at Daytona he’ll be tough to beat. He won at Talladega this spring, and over the last three combined races on this track type he’s won twice, finished in the top 2 every race and has a 1.3 average finish. This spring en route to victory lane at Talladega he led 63 laps and unquestionably had the car to beat. At Daytona, Blaney has never won, but he’s certainly been good enough. In this years Daytona 500, Blaney had a great car. In the race he finished 6th in Stage #1, 8th in Stage #2 and finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. In summer 2019, Blaney had a great car, but finished 36th after being a victim in the “Big One.” In the race he finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished just outside the top ten in Stage #2 and was running in 4th on lap 110 which was shortly before the “Big One.” In the 2019 Daytona 500, Blaney had a great car but finished 31st after crashing with about ten laps to go. Just prior to wrecking he was running in 10th. From the race I’ll note he finished 5th in Stage #1, won Stage #2 and led 13 laps. In summer 2018, Blaney looked top ten good, but wrecked on lap 54. In the 2018 Daytona 500, Blaney had a great car and nearly raced his way to victory lane. When the checkered flag waved, he finished 7th, earned the best driver rating, led a race high 118 laps, finished 3rd in Stage #1 and won Stage #2. If there weren’t late cautions which regrouped the field, he was poised to win. In summer 2017, Blaney was strong, but wrecked late and finished 26th. In the 2017 Daytona 500 he finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best driver rating and led 2 laps.