Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks/ Predictions
Welcome to 2022! The NASCAR season has officially arrived, which means it’s Daytona 500 time! Hope you’re ready for the “Great American Race!” In this race, legacy’s are made, and many of the sports current super stars are still searching for their first Daytona 500 win. Also on Sunday, the Next Gen car is making its official debut in a points race, which will likely bring a whole new level of wildness into play. This race will not be lacking storylines and excitement.
The Daytona 500 has a unique format for setting the field. The front row was set by qualifying, and the rest of the lineup was set by the Duel 150’s. Here’s a look at the STARTING LINEUP.
Daytona 500 Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Denny Hamlin / Start 30th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
DraftKings $10,500 / FanDuel $14,000 / DK Betting Odds To Win +900
Daytona 500 Final Fantasy Spin – Denny Hamlin is the premiere superspeedway racer in NASCAR and in the Daytona 500, the road to victory lane goes thru him. A new car is debuting in 2022, but “The more things change, the more they stay the same,” and I think Hamlin will still be the driver to beat. Hamlin’s Duel performance was forgettable in part due to his pit road mishap, but Hamlin always brings his “A+” game in the Daytona 500. In the Daytona 500’s since 2014, Hamlin has 3 wins and in 7 of the 8 races he’s finished in the top 5. Over the last four, Hamlin has 2 wins and an impressive 2.5 average finish. Last summer, Hamlin was strong, but multiple mishaps took him out of contention. With just 4 laps to go he was up to 2nd, but he was then caught up in the late carnage which led to his 13th. In last year’s Daytona 500, Hamlin was the class of the field. In the race, Hamlin won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led a race high 98 laps but finished a misleading 5th. The final pit cycle which was manufacturer driven, cost him the race. In 2020 at Daytona, nobody was better than Hamlin. In the summer, Hamlin was the leader at the start of over-time, but then finished 3rd when Byron and Elliott teamed up together. In the 2020 Daytona 500, Hamlin finished 1st, won Stage #2 and led a race high 79 laps. When it was closing time, Hamlin took command of the race and led the final 12 laps. In the six Daytona 500’s prior to that, Hamlin had results of 1st, 3rd, 17th, 1st, 4th and 2nd.
Further Recommended Reading – Daytona 500 Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Daytona Playability Value Chart/ Projected Base Scores, FanDuel Daytona Playability Value Chart/ Projected Base Scores, DraftKings Top Targets Play Chart, Fantasy NASCAR Start Page
2) Ryan Blaney / Start 7th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
DraftKings $10,000 / FanDuel $12,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1000
Daytona 500 Final Fantasy Spin – Ryan Blaney is an elite performer at superspeedways who’ll be a driver to be reckoned with in the Daytona 500. Blaney raced his way to victory lane last summer at Daytona, and since 2020 minus last year’s 500 where he was swept up in the early “Big One”, Blaney’s average finish is 3rd. When you extend out his superspeedway track type record over the last nine races, Blaney has 3 wins, 4 results in the top two, 6 top ten’s and his average finish is 10.0. Last summer at Daytona, Blaney finished 6th in Stage #2, led 7 laps and consistently ran near the front when the trophy was on the line. On lap 155 shortly before the final “Big One” ensued he was running in 4th. In last year’s Daytona 500, Blaney was swept up in the early “Big One”, so no fantasy lessons were learned. In 2020 at Daytona, Blaney had results of 2nd (500) and 6th (Summer). In his Duel 150 on Thursday night, Blaney had a great race. In the event he led 22 laps, had a race best 3.6 average running position and then finished 3rd when the checkered flag waved. If Blaney can avoid mayhem, you can count on him to finish up front.
3) Chase Elliott / Start 11th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
DraftKings $10,400 / FanDuel $13,500 / DK Betting Odds To Win +1100
Daytona 500 Final Fantasy Spin – Chase Elliott has been knocking on the door to victory lane at Daytona, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he finds it on Sunday. The Hendrick cars showed up with speed, and when it’s truly time to “Race”, you better believe they’ll unleash. In his tune-up Duel 150, Elliott was the top finishing Chevy (5th), only bested by Ford’s and their pit strategy. At Daytona, Elliott nearly won the Daytona 500 in the past, and in recent races he’s come close. Over the last three Daytona races, Elliott has 2 runners-up’s and a 4th place average finish. Last summer, Elliott had a great performance. In the race he won Stage #1, was the leader with 5 laps to go, but then near the end he was involved in an accident. Elliott was able to continue, and he finished 8th when the checkered flag waved. Additionally, Elliott earned the best driver rating, led the 2nd most laps (36) and had the best average running position (8.0). In the 2021 Daytona 500, Elliott had a great car and finished 2nd. Additionally, Elliott finished 4th in Stage #2, had an 8.1 average running position and was running in 5th at the start of the final lap. In summer 2020, Elliott pushed Byron to victory lane and finished 2nd.
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