Daytona 500 Advance

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John Hunter Nemechek
Daytona 500 Outlook – John Hunter Nemechek will be a quality mid-tier Daytona 500 dark horse pick. In the Next Gen, Nemechek’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the top ten in the “500” and has a series best 11.0 average finish. I don’t know if the good times will continue but Nemechek’s proven he can grind out solid finishes, even when he shouldn’t.
Daytona History – Daytona has been a great track for John H Nemechek. His career average finish is 11.0, he’s 4 for 6 at finishing in the top 11 and he’s had a result in the top 17 every race. Daytona 500’s have been especially good races, with Nemechek having a 7.7 average finish over his three. Last summer, Nemechek had a pretty un-notable performance and finished 17th. In the race, Nemechek had a 17.6 average running position and ranked 21st in terms of Driver Rating. In last year’s Daytona 500, Nemechek survived the carnage and snuck in a 5th. In the race, Nemechek had a 20.3 average running position but over about the last 40 laps, he ran well and logged laps in the top ten. On lap 185 which is before all the late race carnage ensued, Nemechek was in 10th. In summer 2024, Nemechek caused a crash, spun out late on lap 139 while battling for the lead but escaped with a 15th. In the 2024 Daytona 500, Nemechek didn’t run well but he dodged trouble and finished 7th. In 2020, Nemechek was 2 for 2 at finishing 11th.

Chris Buescher
Daytona 500 Outlook – Summer 2023 Daytona winner, Chris Buescher will be a force to be reckoned with. Buescher’s an elite superspeedway racer and he’ll have a more than capable Ford Dark Horse Mustang underneath him. Last year at big superspeedways, Buescher swept the top ten at Daytona and at Talladega, he was wrecked while leading in both races. In the Next Gen at Daytona, Buescher has the 2nd best average finish (11.6), the 2nd best Driver Rating and the 2nd best average running position.
Daytona History – Chris Buescher has been elite at Daytona. Buescher’s a recent winner (summer 2023) and since 2023, Buescher has a series best 8.3 average finish, he’s 5 for 6 at finishing in the top ten and in 3 of the last 6 races, he’s earned the best Driver Rating. Currently, Buescher has three straight top tens which ranks as the longest top ten streak in the series. Last summer, Buescher was fast and finished 7th, which might very well underrate him since Logano spun across his nose in the closing laps while battling for the lead, which appeared to do a little damage to the #17. Additionally, Buescher earned the best Driver Rating and had the 4th best Average Running Position (11.0). In last year’s Daytona 500, Buescher finished 6th in Stage #2, earned the 8th best Driver Rating and then finished 10th overall. In summer 2024, Buescher placed in the two opening Stages (3rd and 9th), led 10 laps, had a 10.7 average running position and then finished 10th overall. In the 2024 Daytona 500, Buescher finished 18th (15.6 average running position). In 2023, Buescher was 2 for 2 at earning the best Driver Rating and came home with results of 1st (summer, 5th best average running position, led 2 laps) and 4th (Daytona 500, led the 2nd most laps (32) and had the 3rd best average running position).