Daytona 500 Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Rankings / Post Duel Predictions
Welcome to 2025! 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.
Daytona 500 Full Field Fantasy Rankings
1) Joey Logano
Start 10th / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium-High
Daytona 500 Outlook – In the Daytona 500, Joey Logano will formally begin his title defense and be tough to beat. Logano’s arguably the premiere superspeedway racer and he’s the perfect combination of smart and aggressive. Logano won the 2015 Daytona 500, and in 6 of the last 10 in this crown jewel race he’s finished in the top 6. In the Next Gen at Daytona, Logano has the best Driver Rating, the best Average Running Position, he’s averaged leading the 2nd most laps per race (19.2) but his average finish is 17.2, which highly underrates him. In 2024 I would argue nobody was better than Logano despite what you’ll see in the results column. Last summer, Logano looked to be the class of the field but finished an asterisk mark 31st. In the race, Logano finished 2nd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, earned the best Driver Rating, led the most laps (34), was tied for having the 2nd best average running position (7.5) but on lap 151 while running near the front, McDowell got airborne and Logano plowed into him. In last year’s Daytona 500, Logano 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. In 2023, Logano finished 5th in the summer and then 2nd in the Daytona 500. In 2024 at big superspeedways over the combined races, Logano averaged leading the most laps per race (30.0), earned the 3rd best Driver Rating, had the 3rd best Average Running Position but had a misleading 28.8 average finish.
DraftKings $9,600 / FanDuel $11,000
2) Kyle Busch
Start 21st / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Daytona 500 Outlook – In the Daytona 500, Kyle Busch will be a top contender as he vies for his first Daytona 500 win. Busch has flirted with victory lane on numerous occasions in this crown jewel race, and he came up just short of victory lane last summer. In the Next Gen at Daytona, Busch has been a standout performer, being tied for having the best Next Gen average finish (9.3), the 3rd best average running position and the 4th best Driver Rating. Last summer, Busch had a great performance and should’ve raced his way to victory lane, but he made bad lane decisions at the end and finished 2nd. Additionally, Busch led 8 laps, earned the 3rd best Driver Rating and had the 4th best average running position (8.3). In last year’s “500”, Busch was a standout performer 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, led 12 laps and had the 2nd best average running position (10.6). In 2023, Busch finished 7th in the summer and then in that year’s “500”, Busch was the leader at the end of regulation, led 6 laps, 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). In the Next Gen at big superspeedways, Busch has 1-win, the best average finish (12.6), the best average running position and the best Driver Rating.
DraftKings $9,300 / FanDuel $13,000
Further Recommended Reading – Daytona Quick Rankings, Daytona Projected Finish Ranges, DraftKings Daytona Playability Value Chart, FanDuel Daytona Playability Value Chart
3) Brad Keselowski
Start 34th (REAR of the field) / Projected Finish Range 1-6 / Dominator Potential – Medium
Daytona 500 Outlook – Brad Keselowski is a super-elite big superspeedway performer who should be high on your radar. He’s a 7-time winner on this sub-track type, and he’s come close to taking home the Daytona 500 crown on numerous occasions. One key attribute I really like about Keselowski is how strong he was at big superspeedways in 2024. Last year on this track type, Keselowski finished 2nd in both Talladega races (probably should’ve won both) and then had problems in both Daytona races while running in 2nd, so he never lacked when it comes to performance. Last summer, Keselowski was stout but finished an asterisk mark 8th. In the race, Keselowski finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 8 laps, had the 6th best average running position (9.1) but then late in the race on lap 144 while battling for the lead during a restart, NASCAR black flagged him for jumping the restart, with little time to recover. In last year’s “500”, Keselowski nearly raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Keselowski consistently ran up front late but then on lap 191 while running in 2nd, Byron crashed him which led to his 33rd. In 2023, Keselowski finished 2nd in the summer, pushing Buescher to victory lane and then in that year’s 500 he 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 the Daytona 500, Keselowski will be starting in the rear of the field in a backup car, but don’t hit the panic button. William Byron won last year’s Daytona 500 in the same situation.
DraftKings $9,200 / FanDuel $12,000
