Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings
Chris Buescher
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – Chris Buescher should be high on your radar at Daytona. Buescher’s a strong superspeedway performer, and among mid-tier drivers, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better option. Plus, Buescher also comes with added out of sync potential since post-race penalties in 2 of the last 5 races on this track type have stripped him of top ten’s. At Daytona, Buescher has crossed the finish line in the top ten in 6 of the last 9 races. At Talladega, Buescher has crossed the finish line in the top ten in 3 of the last 4.
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Buescher has been solid, and he’s crossed the finish line in the top ten in 6 of the last 9 races. Since 2020 minus last year’s 500 where he crashed in the early “Big One”, Buescher’s average finish is 4.6 (when you credit him with a 2nd last summer). Last summer, Buescher had a great race, but you wouldn’t know it by looking at his 40th place result courtesy of his post-race inspection DQ. In the race, Buescher led 8 laps, was the leader at the start of “Over-time” and crossed the finish line in 2nd before post-race inspection penalties led to his 40th. In last year’s 500, there’s no fantasy takeaways from Buescher’s afternoon since he was swept up in the lap 13 “Big One” which led to him limping home to finish 31st. In 2020, Buescher swept the top ten and had results of 3rd and 9th. In 2019 his finishes were 17th and 37th. In 2018, Buescher had a pair of 5th place finishes.
Kurt Busch
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – At Daytona, I think Kurt Busch could make a splash in his #45 23XI Toyota debut. Busch is a strong superspeedway performer, and in recent Daytona 500’s Toyota’s have been showing up with race winning speed. With a new car, I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the case again. In the Daytona 500, I’m confident he’ll run well, but the key question is will he make it to the finish?
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Kurt Busch is a former winner but since his 2017 Daytona 500 win he’s finished 22nd or worse in 7 of the 9 races. Last summer, Busch had a solid showing and finished 12th. That said, Busch was up to 4th on the final lap but was collected in the carnage. In the 2021 Daytona 500, Busch crunched up his car in the lap 13 “Big One” and limped home to a 22nd place finish. In 2020, Busch had a tough season and had a pair of results in the 30’s. In August 2020, Busch finished 4th in Stage #2, but then with 9 laps to go he was swept up in the “Big One.” With 11 laps to go before the carnage ensued, he was running in 3rd. In the 2020 Daytona 500, Busch said he liked his car in an interview, but he wrecked late and finished 33rd. In summer 2019, Busch should’ve won (race Haley won), but NASCAR officiating with the rain screwed him over and he came home 10th. In the four Daytona races prior to that, Busch’s results were 25th, 37th, 26th and 28th. At Talladega, the other superspeedway on the schedule, Busch finished 4th last fall and in 8 of the last 13 races there he’s finished in the top ten.
Bubba Wallace
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – Bubba Wallace will be a popular mid-tier pick for the Daytona 500. Wallace is of course the most recent superspeedway winner (Talladega last fall), and at Daytona the next most recent superspeedway race he finished 2nd. Last year at superspeedways, Wallace had a great season and his 9.75 average finish over the combined events ranked as the 2nd best. At Daytona, Wallace has performed at a high-level throughout his career and minus last year’s 500 where he had a misleading result and the 2019 500, Wallace has finished in the top 15 every race and has a 9.7 average finish. I’ll also note, going by overall average finish at tracks visited more than once, Daytona ranks as his very best courtesy of his 13.67 career average finish.
Daytona Track History – Bubba Wallace has been strong at Daytona and has been a top 15 machine. In 7 of his 9 starts at this “Wild Card” track he’s finished in the top 15. Last summer, Wallace had a great evening and notched his second career runner-up at Daytona. Additionally, Wallace finished 9th in Stage #2, led 8 laps, had a 14th place average running position and was running in 9th at the start of “Over-time.” In last year’s Daytona 500, Wallace had a great car and had standout speed. In the race, Wallace started in the rear of the field, finished 7th in Stage #1, 3rd in Stage #2 and was running in 10th on lap 175 before he made an unexpected pit stop on lap 179 for having a loose wheel. Leading up to the Daytona 500, Wallace finished 2nd in his Duel 150. In summer 2020, Wallace had a great car and finished 5th. At the end, Wallace drove up to the front only to have Logano run into him which caused a late “Big One”, in which Wallace got some damage. In the 2020 Daytona 500, Wallace finished 15th, but I would say he benefitted from a high attrition rate. He crashed with 16 laps to go, and prior to that he was running around the mid 20’s. In the 2019 Daytona 500, Wallace crashed and finished 38th. I’ll note he showed potential and shortly before his wreck just after the quarter race mark he was running just outside the top ten. In his three Daytona races prior to that, Wallace had results of 14th, 2nd and 15th.
Portions of this content are hidden. To view this ifantasyrace advantage content log in or join the site
Make sure you read the full spectrum of our Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Rankings
Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runner Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier
