Daytona Coke Zero Sugar 400 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Qualifying Predictions

On Saturday night under the lights, NASCAR will be racing at Daytona for the Coke Zero Sugar 400! The Daytona summer race is always one of the wildest of the year and aggression will get dialed up two notches. Desperate drivers do desperate things, and this race is effectively many drivers last chance to make the Playoffs in a “Hail Mary.”

Daytona is a different beast so don’t be afraid to pick drivers well down in the rankings. Cody Ware has a 10th place average finish over his last two Daytona races, BJ McLeod has finished in the top ten in 2 of his last 3 Daytona summer races, so wild things can happen and most likely will. This is a race where you can really roll the dice.

Check out our Daytona Quick Rankings if you’re in a rush!

This weekend, no practice sessions were held for Daytona. Here’s a look at the Daytona Starting Lineup/ Qualifying Results.

Daytona Full Field Fantasy Rankings

1) Ryan Blaney
Start 14th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona Outlook – Ryan Blaney is arguably the premiere big superspeedway performer in NASCAR and at Daytona in the Coke Zero 400, he’s primed to be a factor. Blaney consistently runs up front, and his mastery of the draft in the Next Gen is next level. Blaney won here in summer 2021, and on other numerous occasions he’s flirted with victory lane. Blaney’s main objective on Saturday night is to pad his Playoff points column, so this is a checkers or wreckers race for him. At Daytona, Blaney was a standout performer in February, and he was elite in both 2023 races, so you can be confident he’ll have a fast #12. In the Next Gen at big superspeedways, Blaney has 1-win, the 2nd best average finish (12.9) and the 3rd best Driver Rating.
Daytona Track Record Breakdown – Ryan Blaney has been a super-elite performer at Daytona. Blaney won here in summer 2021 and since 2020 minus the three races he’s crashed, Blaney’s average finish is 6th. In February, Blaney was one of the best but finished an asterisk mark 30th. In the race, Blaney won Stage #2, led 12 laps and was running in 6th on lap 190, but then the next lap he was collected in the “Big One.” Last year, Blaney performed at an extremely high-level in both races, but neither were incident free. Last summer, Blaney looked great but was crashed while leading on lap 95, leading to his 36th. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Blaney crashed twice, brought out a debris caution but snuck in an 8th. On lap 116 two laps before getting caught up in a “Big One”, Blaney was running in 2nd. In summer 2022, Blaney crashed early but thanks to the extreme attrition rate he walked away with a 15th, despite finishing 6 laps down. Prior to crashing, Blaney was running in 3rd. In the 2022 Daytona 500, Blaney was very competitive and finished 4th. In summer 2021, Blaney raced his way to victory lane.
DraftKings $9,800/ FanDuel $13,000

Further Recommended Reading – Daytona Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Daytona Scoring Projections, FanDuel Daytona Scoring Projections

2) Joey Logano
Start 3rd / Projected Finish Range 1-6/ Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona Outlook – Joey Logano is a super-elite superspeedway performer who should be high on your radar. When it comes to racing at big superspeedways, I’ve long viewed Logano to be the perfect combination of smart and aggressive. Logano has a knack for the draft and once he gets to the front, the #22 gets really wide and is hard to pass. At Daytona, Logano was the class of the field in February and over the last three races since 2023, Logano has the best Driver Rating and the best average running position. Overall, in the Next Gen at big superspeedways, Logano has the 3rd best average running position and the 6th best Driver Rating. If Logano can avoid trouble, look for him to finish up front and be a factor.
Daytona Track Record Breakdown – At Daytona, Joey Logano is one of the best in the business and over the combined races in the Next Gen, Logano has the best Driver Rating, the best Average Running Position and he’s performed better than his 14.4 average finish. In February, I would argue Logano was the class of the field but was caught up in the late “Big One” which led to his asterisk mark 32nd. In the race, Logano started on the pole, led the most laps (45), had the best average running position (9.7) and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. On lap 190 right before he crashed, Logano was running in 2nd. Prior to the final green flag pit cycle, Logano was the leader. In 2023, Logano swept the top five and had a 3.5 average finish. Last summer under the lights, Logano finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 10th in Stage #2, had the 2nd best average running position (9.3), earned the 2nd best driver rating, led 9 laps and then finished 5th. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Logano finished 4th in Stage #2, led 12 laps and then finished 2nd when the checkered flag waved. In his Duel 150 leading up to the 2023 500, Logano led 29 laps and raced his way to victory lane.
DraftKings $9,300/ FanDuel $13,500

3) Kyle Busch
Start 11th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Daytona Outlook – At Daytona in the Coke Zero 400, look for Kyle Busch to go all out for the win. Winning is Busch’s only path to the Playoffs, and this will be a checkers or wreckers race for him. The good news for Busch is that he’s more than capable of winning. Busch was a standout performer in this year’s Daytona 500, he nearly won last year’s 500 and over the combined Next Gen Daytona races, Busch has the 3rd best average finish (10.8), the 3rd best average running position and the 5th best Driver Rating. In the Next Gen at big superspeedways over all the combined races, Busch has 1-win, he’s tied for the best average running position, has the 2nd best Driver Rating and the 3rd best average finish (13.0).
Daytona Track Record Breakdown – Kyle Busch is a former Daytona winner (summer 2008) who’s been elite in the Next Gen. In this year’s Daytona 500, Busch had standout speed and was one of the best but finished 12th. In the race, Busch finished 6th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, earned the best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best average running position (10.6) and led 12 laps. To make Busch’s race look a little more impressive, his afternoon wasn’t incident free. In the race, Busch got a safety violation during the Stage #1 caution, and then following the Stage #2 caution he had a loose wheel and had to come back to pit road. Last summer, Busch finished 2nd in Stage #2, finished 7th when the checkered flag waved, had the 7th best average running position and earned the 8th best Driver Rating. In last year’s Daytona 500, Busch was the leader at the 500-mile mark but was then shuffled out of line in overtime and wrecked which led to his 19th. In 2022, Busch had results of 10th (summer) and 6th (500).
DraftKings $8,800/ FanDuel $9,500