The Low Tier – Daytona
David Ragan – At Daytona, David Ragan will be returning behind the wheel of the #15 Rick Ware Racing Ford. Ragan is a two-time superspeedway winner who previously raced his way to victory lane in this very event back in 2011. At Daytona, Ragan has finished in the top eight in 2 of his last 3 starts. In this year’s 500, Ragan dodged the carnage and finished 8th. In the 2021 Daytona 500 in his next most recent start, Ragan finished 37th after getting caught up in the early “Big One.” In the 2020 Daytona 500, Ragan finished 4th. If you’re looking for a low-tier performer, I think he’s your guy.
Noah Gragson – At Daytona, Noah Gragson will be piloting the #62 Beard Motorsports entry. In this year’s Daytona 500 in his Cup debut, Gragson looked solid and was running in 9th on lap 189, but then on lap 190 he was swept up in late carnage that relegated him to a 31st. At Talladega this spring when he also piloted the #62, Gragson finished 20th.
Landon Cassill – Landon Cassill is a low-tier superspeedway racing tease. He’s a quality performer on this track type and in 2 of his last 3 Daytona starts he’s finished between 11th to 15th. In this year’s Daytona 500 in the #77 which he’ll be piloting on Saturday night he finished 15th. Last summer at Daytona, Cassill crashed and finished 37th. In summer 2019 in his next most recent start he finished 11th. At Talladega, the other big superspeedway on the schedule he finished 19th this spring
Cody Ware – Cody Ware has elevated fantasy potential at Daytona, thanks to attrition. Over his last three Daytona starts his average finish is 22.3. In this year’s Daytona 500, Ware finished 17th. In 2021, Ware finished 28th in the summer and then 21st in the Daytona 500. This spring at Talladega, the other big superspeedway on the schedule, Ware finished 28th.
BJ McLeod – BJ McLeod has upside at Daytona, if he can avoid the “Big One.” It happened last summer and he finished 9th, so there’s always hope! That said in his other five Daytona starts he’s finished 19th or worse. In this year’s Daytona 500, McLeod finished 27th. At Talladega, the other big superspeedway on the schedule he finished 26th this spring.
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