Daytona Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Todd Gilliland
Daytona Fantasy Spin – Todd Gilliland has shown potential at Big Superspeedways, but the results column hasn’t been pretty. Gilliland’s finished in the top ten in 2 of the last 3 races on this track type, but overall, he’s DNF’ed in 4 of his 6, and that includes him being 3 for 3 at crashing at Daytona. If Gilliland can avoid trouble which he’s never done here, I think he might be able to sneak in a good result for those willing to roll the dice.
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Gilliland is 3 for 3 at crashing and his average finish is 27.6. In this year’s Great American Race, Gilliland finished 10th in Stage #1, around 19th in Stage #2, was running in 21st on lap 198 but then shortly after that he was caught up in the “Overtime #1 Big One” which relegated him to a 27th. For the afternoon, Gilliland’s average running position was 20.4. Last summer, Gilliland finished 6th in Stage #2, had a 15.2 average running position but was collected in the “Rain Big One” while running around 17th which led to his 23rd. In February 2022 in his Cup debut, Gilliland ran a great race but had a late demise. In the race he finished 3rd in Stage #1, 10th in Stage #2, had a 14th place average running position but then finished 33rd when the checkered flag waved. On lap 189 he was running in 13th but then the next lap he was collected in the mass carnage that ensued which marked the end of his race.

Daniel Suarez
Daytona Fantasy Spin – Daniel Suarez has been a DNF machine at Daytona and in 9 of his 12 races, he’s DNF’ed. Perhaps he’s turning the corner since he didn’t in 2 of the last 3, but I’ll note in both of those races he still managed to be involved in a late caution. This year at superspeedways, I don’t know how he’s done it, but Suarez has finished in the top ten in 3 of the 4 races and is 2 for 2 at the big superspeedways at getting a top ten. On Sunday, I think he’s incredibly risky especially when you take into account Playoff implications, but he might just sneak in another good finish.
Daytona Track History – Daytona has been brutal for Daniel Suarez. As you can guess by a driver who’s DNF’ed 75% of the time, the results column is quite ugly. That said, Suarez had his best result in this year’s Daytona 500 so perhaps he had DNF’s out of his system for a while. In February, Suarez had a career day at Daytona and finished 7th. That said, Suarez brought out a late caution on lap 197 while running in 11th when he spun, so his race wasn’t exactly incident free. To close out the race prior to his late spin, Suarez ran extremely well and in/near the top ten. Last summer, Suarez showed potential but as is norm, he crashed. In the race, Suarez played it safe driving near the back for much of the race but when rain became a threat for ending the race early, he drove up to the front and was actually the leader at the time of the “Rain Big One”, but then he crashed just like everyone else which led to his 24th. In last year’s Daytona 500, Suarez finished 18th and had a 21.3 average running position. I’ll note, Suarez was caught speeding on pit road on lap 109, so his race wasn’t completely incident free. Prior to that he was running in the 20’s.

Chase Briscoe
Daytona Fantasy Spin – Chase Briscoe will be going for a “Hail Mary” at Daytona, and I have no doubt he’ll be laying it all out on the line. That said, Briscoe hasn’t been that good here in terms of finishes. Briscoe finished 3rd in the 2022 “Great American Race”, but in his other four starts he’s finished 19th or worse. At big superspeedways in his Cup career, Briscoe has finished in the top 14 50% of the time but in the other 50% he’s finished 19th or worse. At Talladega the other big superspeedway on the schedule, Briscoe finished 4th this spring.
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Chase Briscoe has finished 19th or worse in 4 of his 5 races. In this year’s Daytona 500, Briscoe had a short race and finished 35th. On lap 170 he was running in 19th, but then shortly after that on lap 181 following a green flag pit cycle he was caught up in a multi-car accident. In 2022, Briscoe ran pretty well in both races. Last summer, Briscoe raced his way up to the front on lap 124 and took the lead, but then that very lap he crashed while leading after a bad bump from Bowman that led to his 31st. Last February, Briscoe had a strong week. He finished 4th in his Duel 150 and then in the Daytona 500 he finished 3rd, despite starting in the back, causing a caution when he spun Cindric and missing his pit box. When it was closing time though, he was up front. In 2021, Briscoe had results of 19th and 22nd.

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