Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions / The Low Tier

Josh Berry
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – In his #21 Wood Brothers Racing debut, Josh Berry will be looking to make a splash. Harrison Burton raced his way to victory lane last summer in this ride, so no pressure on Berry! At Daytona, Berry has shown potential but when it comes to the results column, he’s 3 for 3 at finishing in the 20’s with a 24.3 average finish. In 2024 at big superspeedways over the four combined races, Berry had a 25.8 average finish.
Daytona Track History – At Daytona, Josh Berry is 3 for 3 at finishing in the 20’s with a 24.3 average finish. Last summer in his old #4, Berry was a standout performer, but his race wasn’t incident free. In the race, Berry won Stage #1, led 9 laps, had the 2nd best Driver Rating, was tied for having the 2nd best average running position (7.5) but then with 2 laps to go while battling for the lead, Berry crashed in spectacular fashion which led to his 26th. Last February, Berry finished 25th. I’ll note, Berry’s race wasn’t incident free and on lap 112 during green flag pit stops he spun on pit road, and that put him behind for the rest of the race, dropping him off the lead lap and into the 30’s. Prior to spinning out, Berry ran around the teens. In summer 2023 in the # 42, Berry finished 22nd.

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Ryan Preece
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – In his new fast RFK #60, Ryan Preece will have dark horse potential. Preece is basically the definition of “Hero or zero.” At Daytona, Preece has a 60% DNF rate over his 10 starts which weighs down his average finish to 24.5 but his non-DNF average finish is 10.3.
Daytona Track History – Ryan Preece has historically been a “Hero or zero” at Daytona with his non-DNF average finish being 10.3. In the Next Gen, Preece’s 32.3 average finish ranks among the worst. Last summer, Preece had a short evening and finished 39th. In the race, Preece started 4th, finished way back in the 30’s in Stage #1 trying to avoid trouble, was in the high 20’s on lap 58 but then on lap 60 he was collected in the “Big One.” Last February, Preece showed potential, but finished 23rd. In the race, Preece finished just outside the top ten in Stage #1, but then in Stage #2 on lap 112 when he was running in 2nd prior to pitting during the green flag pit cycle, Preece was caught speeding on pit road which put him behind for the rest of the race. Then late in the race, Preece was caught up in the late “Big One”, but he was able to continue and due to attrition, he finished 23rd. In summer 2023, Preece’s evening ended with an infield flip which led to his 31st. Take note he didn’t run bad. For quite a bit of the last Stage prior to the final green flag pit cycle, Preece ran in 3rd. On lap 156 just prior to his demise, Preece was in 14th. In the 2023 Daytona 500, Preece looked pretty good, but his race wasn’t incident free. In the race, Preece finished 2nd in Stage #1, led 4 laps, was running in 5th on lap 170 but then shortly after that on lap 180 following a round of green flag pit stops, he was caught up in a multi-car crash (36th). In 2021 when he next most recently raced, Preece swept the top 6, with finishes of 4th and 6th.

Shane van Gisbergen 
Daytona 500 Bottom Line – Shane van Gisbergen had a short Cup debut at Daytona last summer which ended with an engine failure just after the mid-point (35th). That said, I wouldn’t be surprised if he sneaks in a good finish if he avoids trouble. SVG didn’t run that bad when he decided to actually “race” and to conclude the 2024 season at big superspeedways, he finished 15th at Talladega.
Daytona Track History – Last summer at Daytona in his only Cup start at this track, SVG’s engine expired on lap 81 which led to his 35th. Just prior to his demise, he was actually running as high as 8th. Last year in the Xfinity series, SVG had finishes of 12th and 25th.

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