Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Duel Predictions
Welcome to 2024! The NASCAR season has officially arrived, which means it’s Daytona 500 time! In the “Great American Race”, legacies are made, dreams are crushed and many of the sports super stars are still searching for their first elusive Daytona 500 win.
The Daytona 500 has a unique format for setting the field. The front row was set by qualifying, and the rest of the field was set by the Duel 150’s. Here’s a look at the STARTING LINEUP.
New for 2024 for those in a hurry, check out our Daytona 500 “Quick Rankings.”
Daytona 500 Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Joey Logano
Start 1st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona 500 Outlook – Polesitter, Joey Logano is a super-elite superspeedway performer who’s primed to be a factor in the Daytona 500. Logano won this race in 2015, and in 6 of the last 9 Daytona 500’s he’s finished in the top 6, with one of those outliers coming in 2021 where he was wrecked while leading on the last lap. When it comes to superspeedway racing prowess, Logano’s arguably the best. He often runs up front and can make the #22 three-lanes wide. Following the Duel 150’s, Logano was very happy with his speed and drivability.
Daytona Track History – Joey Logano has been elite at Daytona and over the combined races in the new car, he’s been a standout. In the Next Gen, Logano has the best Driver Rating, the best average finish (10.0) and the 2nd best average running position. In 2023, Logano swept the top five and had a 3.5 average finish. Last summer, Logano finished 5th in Stage #1, 10th in Stage #2, had the 2nd best average running position, earned the 2nd best driver rating, led 9 laps and then finished 5th overall. In the 2023 “Great American Race”, Logano nearly raced his way to victory lane and was roughly about 2-second away from winning but lost the lead to Ricky Stenhouse Jr. just before the race ending caution in overtime. When the checkered flag waved, Logano finished 2nd, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating and led 12 laps. In his Duel 150 leading up to the 500, Logano led 29 laps and raced his way to victory lane. In 2022, Logano was strong every time he seen the track, but he also literally had problems while running in 1st (Duel 150), 2nd (500) and 3rd (summer) in every race which led to asterisk mark results. In 2021, Logano led 37 laps but got into the wall with 5 to go while running in 5th in the summer and in that year’s 500, Logano was crashed while leading on the last lap.
DraftKings $9,200 / FanDuel $12,000 / DK Odds To Win +900 (Friday Night)
2) Denny Hamlin
Start 8th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona 500 Outlook – Denny Hamlin is Mr. Daytona 500, and in the “Great American Race”, the road to victory lane might very well go thru him. Over the last decade of Daytona 500’s, Hamlin has 3-wins and in 70% of the races he’s finished in the top 5. When it comes to superspeedway racing prowess, Hamlin races with a high-IQ and there’s no questioning his knack for the draft.
Daytona Track History – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Daytona and as you read above, he’s been the premiere performer over the last decade. Daytona’s been somewhat of a buzz saw to him recently with Hamlin having four straight finishes of 17th or worse, but he hasn’t lacked when it comes to performance. Last summer under the lights, Hamlin started mid-pack and drove right to the front, leading 12 laps and finishing 8th in Sage #1, but then in Stage #2 his evening went downhill leading to his asterisk mark 26th. In that Stage, Hamlin went into safety mode, got a speeding penalty during green flag pit stops and was then caught up in a crash. In last year’s Daytona 500, Hamlin had a solid showing but finished 17th after getting collected in the overtime #1 crash, and a crash coming to the finish line. In the race, Hamlin earned the 6th best driver rating, had the 7th best average running position and was running in 8th before the final pit cycle which ushered in chaos. In summer 2022, Hamlin was involved in two accidents while running in the top 3. At the time of his second accident in the “Rain Big One” which led to his 25th, Hamlin was running in 2nd. Additionally, Hamlin earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, led 13 laps and finished 3rd in Stage #2. In the 2022 Daytona 500, Hamlin looked great but finished an asterisk mark 37th. In the race, Hamlin started 30th, was up to 5th on lap 62, but then the very next lap, Keselowski caused a “Big One” and Hamlin was caught up in the carnage. In the seven Daytona 500’s prior to that, Hamlin had results of 5th, 1st, 1st, 17th, 1st, 4th and 2nd.
DraftKings $10,000 / FanDuel $13,000 / DK Odds To Win +1000
Further Recommended Reading – Daytona Quick Rankings, Daytona Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Daytona Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Daytona Playability Value Chart
3) Brad Keselowski
Start 16th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona 500 Outlook – In the Daytona 500, Brad Keselowski will be trophy hunting. Keselowski’s won all the other crown jewel races out there, but not the “Great American Race.” Keselowski certainly hasn’t lacked when it comes to performance and over the last two Daytona 500’s, he ranks #1 in our exclusive PROS Rankings for subjectively being the strongest. When it comes to superspeedway racing prowess, Keselowski’s been stellar. He’s a 7-time winner on this track type and I would argue he’s the premier “pusher.”
Daytona Track History – Brad Keselowski is a former Daytona winner (summer 2016) who ranks among the best in the Next Gen. Last summer, Keselowski won Stage #2, finished 2nd overall, led 6 laps and then pushed Buescher into victory lane in overtime. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Keselowski was a standout performer. In the race, Keselowski won Stage #1, led a race high 42 laps, earned the 2nd best driver rating, had the 2nd best average running position (8.6), was the leader as late as lap 196 but then late in the race he got shuffled out of the lead and then crashed in overtime which led to his 22nd. In 2022, Keselowski led 31 laps in the summer but crashed (35th) and then in the Daytona 500 he led a race high 67 laps, had a race best 4.8 average running position, earned the 2nd best driver rating and then finished 9th.
DraftKings $9,000 / FanDuel $11,000 / DK Odds To Win +1000
