Daytona Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Tyler Reddick
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – Tyler Reddick has been as prolific as a crasher as they come at big superspeedways, but perhaps times are changing. Reddick won at Talladega this spring and he notched a Duel 150 win in February, so perhaps he’s turning that corner. That said, Reddick has finished 27th or worse in 7 of his 10 Daytona starts and notched another bad one earlier this year so, he’s certainly not safe. At Daytona in the Next Gen, Reddick has a 2nd on his resume and then in the other four races he’s run well but crashed. In three of them, Reddick wrecked while running in the top ten (or just short of it).
Daytona Track History – Daytona hasn’t been a friendly track for Tyler Reddick, but he’s finished in the top 6 in two of the last three summer races, so perhaps he’ll have upside. Daytona has historically been a trouble spot for Reddick and in 6 of his 10 races he’s DNF’ed. In this year’s Daytona 500, Reddick added to the DNF tally and finished 29th. In the race, Reddick actually ran pretty well. He finished 5th in Stage #2, had the 3rd best average running position (11.8), earned the 4th best Driver Rating but was then caught up in the late “Big One” which led to his 29th. On lap 190, one lap prior to his demise he was running in 15th. Last summer, Reddick showed potential but crashed. In the race, Reddick finished 6th in Stage #2 but coming to the finish line in Stage #2, Reddick was involved in the Blaney/Ty Gibbs crash, so he basically logged laps for the remainder of the race and finished 25th. On the very lap he crashed, Reddick was running in 8th. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Reddick finished 39th after being collected in the lap 118 “Big One.” On lap 116 just prior to that, Reddick was running in 6th. In summer 2022, Reddick led 13 laps, finished 7th in Stage #2 and then finished 2nd overall. In the 2022 Daytona 500, Reddick finished 35th. On lap 150, Reddick was collected in a multi-car wreck which marked his demise. On the lap he crashed, Reddick was running in 9th.

Martin Truex Jr.
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – Martin Truex Jr. has never won at a superspeedway, and I don’t think he’ll start now. Truex is a solid superspeedway racer, but I fully expect him to take on a “Points Protection Driving Style” to make Darlington as manageable as possible with a lot of leeway. In the Next Gen at Daytona, Truex has the 3rd best average running position, the 4th best Driver Rating and a 15.0 average finish.
Daytona Track History – Martin Truex has been solid at Daytona and in the Next Gen, he’s finished between 8th to 15th in 4 of the 5 races with his average finish being 15th. In February, Truex finished 15th but I’ll note that underrates him. In the race, Truex earned the 7th best Driver Rating, had the 7th best average running position and was running in 8th on lap 190, but was then caught up in the lap 191 “Big One” but he was able to continue. Last summer, Truex won Stage #1 with a last lap pass, led 4 laps, had a 13.1 average running position but then finished 24th. The #19 was fast but Truex just kind of faded back to close out the race. In last year’s Daytona 500, Truex finished 9th in Stage #1, 6th in Stage #2, led 13 laps, had a 13.1 average running position and then finished 15th. I’ll note, Truex was involved in a lap 181 multi-car crash, so we didn’t really get to see the best of him at the end. In 2022, Truex had results of 8th and 13th.

Chase Briscoe
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – Chase Briscoe is a solid superspeedway racer who’s below the radar. Briscoe’s crashed quite often but he’s also run well and was subjectively the best last summer. To start the season, Briscoe finished a solid 10th in February and over the last two summer races, he’s looked especially good but ultimately ended up crashing. In 2024 at big superspeedways, Briscoe has an 11.0 average finish between the combined races. This is a “Hail Mary Race”, and there’s no doubt Briscoe will do whatever it takes.
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Chase Briscoe has finished 19th or worse in 5 of his 7 races and his overall average finish is 21.3. In February, Briscoe had one of his best Daytona races and escaped with a 10th. That said, Briscoe had a 17.9 average running position and was in 22nd on lap 190 which was before the “Big One” ensued. In the three races prior to that, Briscoe finished in the 30’s. Last summer, Briscoe had a hot rod that might’ve been the best but he finished an asterisk mark 30th. In the race, Briscoe won the pole, led a race high 67 laps, was the leader before the final green flag pit cycle which shuffled him back but then late in the race on lap 156 while running in the teens he crashed in the “Ryan Preece Crash” which also marked the end of his day. In terms of Driver Rating, Briscoe ranked 7th. In last year’s Daytona 500, Briscoe crashed 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 was crashed while leading in the summer (31st) and then finished 3rd in the Daytona 500.

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