Fantasy NASCAR Asterisk Mark Report – Daytona 500 (2021)
Denny Hamlin – Denny Hamlin finished 5th in the Daytona 500, but I think he clearly had the best car. Hamlin won Stage #1 and #2, led 98 laps and had firm control of the race until the final pit cycle which was manufacturer driven which really hurt the few Toyota’s in the field. If Hamlin would’ve just pitted with the Ford’s, he likely would’ve won his third straight Daytona 500.
Joey Logano – We all know what happened to Joey Logano, and where he was at the time of his incident. If Logano wasn’t wrecked on the last lap while leading, I think he clearly would’ve won. Following the final pit cycle, Logano had firm control of the race.
Bubba Wallace – Bubba Wallace had a great car in the Daytona 500 and had standout speed (best speed by segment), but he finished an asterisk mark 17th. In the race, Wallace finished 7th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2, was in 10th on lap 175 following the final pit cycle but then on lap 179 he made an unscheduled pit stop for a loose wheel. Then on the last lap he was also collected in the carnage.
Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch was a top five contender in the Daytona 500, but he finished an asterisk mark 14th after getting collected in the last lap “Big One.” In the race, Busch finished 9th in Stage #2, was running in 4th prior to the final pit cycle ensuing and was in 7th at the start of the final lap.
Brad Keselowski – Just like Joey Logano, we all know where Keselowski was running and what happened. That said, he was clearly going to finish better than 13th prior to the accident on the last lap.
Christopher Bell – Christopher Bell had one of the best cars in the Daytona 500, but he finished an asterisk mark 16th. In the race, Bell led 32 laps (all straight), finished 6th in Stage #1 and was the leader before a late green flag pit cycle in Stage #2. That pit cycle jumbled up the field and led to him getting involved in an accident which damaged the #20. That wasn’t his last problem, on lap 180 he had some sort of fuel related issue that led to an unexpected pit stop.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Ricky Stenhouse Jr. finished 18th in the Daytona 500, but I thought he was better than his result. Late in Stage #2, while Stenhouse was running in the top ten he was involved in an accident with Christopher Bell. If his race would’ve been incident free, I think he had a great chance to finish in the top ten.
Austin Cindric – Austin Cindric had a great car in last year’s Daytona 500, but he walked away with a misleading 15th. In the race, Cindric finished 5th in Stage #1, had a 10.4 average running position and was running around 5th until the final pit cycle where he had a slow pit stop which shuffled him back to the teens.
Drivers who crashed in the lap 13 “Big One” so it was really too early to say how they performed: Aric Almirola, William Byron, Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, David Ragan, Alex Bowman, Anthony Alfredo, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, Daniel Suarez, Martin Truex Jr and Tyler Reddick.
