Daytona Coke Zero 400 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions / The Low Tier

Ryan Preece
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – Ryan Preece will be a driver to watch at Daytona as he vies for the Playoffs, but it’s been quite brutal to him. In the Next Gen, he’s finished 23rd or worse in 6 of the 7 races and has a 28.6 average finish. That said, he’ll be operating in Hail Mary Mode and there’s no doubt the #6 and #17 will be dedicated wingman. At Daytona, Preece ran well in both 2025 races, and he also had a runner-up at Dega last spring before getting DQ’ed, so he’s capable of coming up big if he can avoid trouble, for a change. At Daytona over his thirteen starts, Preece has 3 top tens, 7 DNF’s and a 24.3 average finish.
Daytona History – Ryan Preece has historically been a “Hero or zero” at Daytona but lately, times have been rough and in 6 of the last 7 races, he’s finished 23rd or worse, with four of those bad results being in the 30’s. In this year’s Daytona 500, Preece had a quiet afternoon. In the race, Preece finished 25th, had a 22.6 average running position and ranked 26th for Driver Rating. Last summer, Preece was a contender to win but got shuffled out of line late and finished 14th. In the race, Preece finished 8th in the two opening Stages, led 3 laps, had the 2nd best average running position (9.3) and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. In last year’s Daytona 500, Preece flipped late and finished 32nd. In the race, Preece led 6 laps, spent some time running near the front, was in 12th on lap 195 but then later that lap he was caught up in a “Big One”, leading to his poor result. In summer 2024, 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.” In February 2024, 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, he was caught speeding on pit road. Then late in the race, Preece was caught up in the late “Big One”, leading to his 23rd. In summer 2023, Preece flipped late and finished 31st. 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 three races prior to that, Preece had finishes of 36th, 4th and 6th.

Shane van Gisbergen
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – With Daytona being the Playoff cut-line and SVG above it, I would look for him to drive a conservative race, avoiding trouble at all costs and doing as little as needed to advance. Daytona hasn’t been kind to him and overall, SVG’s 3 for 4 at finishing in the 30’s, and by no chance does he want to risk another bad result. When it comes to racing at big superspeedways, it appears that SVG is starting to figure things out and over the last four races minus this year’s Daytona 500, his average finish is 15.7.
Daytona History – At Daytona in the Next Gen over his four starts, SVG ranks 31st for Driver Rating and his average finish is 28.5. In February, SVG had his typical Daytona race and trouble wasn’t far. In the race, SVG finished mid-pack at the conclusion of Stage #1, ran great and logged some laps in the top 5 in Stage #2, was in 5th on lap 120 but then on lap 124 he was caught up in the “Big One”, which led to his 30th. He was able to continue logging laps, but his competitive afternoon was over. Last August, SVG finished 16th, led 6 laps, had a 20.2 average running position and then ranked 27th in terms of Driver Rating. In last year’s Daytona 500, SVG started in the back, had a 29.2 average running position and then finished 33rd. I’m fairly certain he was involved in an accident along the way. In summer 2024 in a pre-rookie start, SVG’s engine blew up on lap 81 which led to his 35th. Just prior to his demise, he was running as high as 8th.

Ty Dillon
Daytona Fantasy Outlook – Ty Dillon is a driver deep on the depth chart who I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised to see sneak in a good finish. Dillon has finished between 11th to 14th in 3 of the last 4 races and in the Next Gen minus 2023 #1 his average finish is 15th, and he’s 4 for 6 at finishing in the top 14. Since 2025 at big superspeedways, Dillon has finished between 13th to 14th 50% of the time but in the other 50% he’s finished in the low 20’s. In 2026 over the two visited, Dillon has a 13.5 average finish.
Daytona History – Daytona has been one of Ty Dillon’s better tracks and in 4 of his 7 Next Gen races, he’s finished between 11th to 14th. In February, Dillon snuck in a 14th. Additionally, Dillon had a 21.8 average running position and earned the 22nd best Driver Rating. Last summer, Dillon finished 22nd, led 9 laps, had the 16th best average running position (17.2) and earned the 19th best Driver Rating. Last February, Dillon snuck in a 14th (20.5 average running position). In 2024, Dillon didn’t compete in either race. In 2023, Dillon finished 11th in the summer and then his engine blew up early in that Daytona 500 (40th). Over his seven starts prior to that, Dillon had results of 18th, 11th, 22nd, 30th, 4th, 6th and 6th.

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