NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Daytona 2 Coke Zero Sugar 400

 

Martin Truex Jr. passed the Mr. Monday moniker to Tyler Reddick last week at the FireKeepers Casino 400 at Michigan International Speedway. It was Reddick's second victory of the season and seventh of his Cup Series career. The win was Toyota's first in the Cup Series at Michigan since 2015 when Matt Kenseth took the checkered flag for Joe Gibbs Racing.

The win culminated what would be an emotional week for Reddick since his mentor and dirt racing legend Scott Bloomquist died in a plane crash three days before. Reddick now sits first in the driver's standing, 10 points in front of Chase Elliott. In third and fourth are Kyle Larson and Ryan Blaney.

Denny Hamlin dropped from third to to sixth in the standings after NASCAR levied an L2 penalty to the No.11 team on Thursday as a result on issues with the No.11's winning Bristol engine. Both team owner Joe Gibbs and Hamlin were each docked 75 points and 10 playoff points, while crew chief Chris Gabehart was fined $100,000.

 

Hamlin has a knack for Daytona with his three wins, 11 Top 5s, 12 Top 10s and the fourth best average finish. Don't be surprised if he races with a little something to prove this weekend.

This Week's Pick Strategy: I'm going heavy on Hendrick Motorsports this weekend with a sprinkling of Team Penske drivers. Don't be afraid to add a desperado driver looking for their first win this season or a ride next year. After all, Daytona can be the great equalizer!

Drivers with Most Top 10s in the Last Five Years:
By Race
All with 3 - Alex Bowman, Chris Buescher, Chase Elliott, and William Byron

All with 2: Bubba Wallace, Justin Haley, Tyler Reddick, Corey LaJoie, BJ McLeod, Martin Truex Jr., Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, and Brad Keselowski

By Track
All with 5: Ryan Blaney, Chase Elliott, and Chris Buescher

All with 4: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Alex Bowman, and Corey LaJoie

 

Last Year's Pole Winner: Chase Briscoe

 

Last Year's Race Winner: Chris Buescher

The Likely Suspects: Look for these driver to run well on Saturday night at Daytona: Chris Buescher, Alex Bowman, Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, William Byron, and Austin Dillon.

My 2 Cents: This week's no-brainer pick is Chris Buescher. My next picks are Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, Bubba Wallace, Alex Bowman, and Joey Logano. I will round out my team with Corey LaJoie and Noah Gragson.

My Final Four: Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, Joey Logano, and Corey LaJoie.

Points to Ponder:

• Chase Elliott (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2017, and July 2018) and Alex Bowman (Feb. 2018, Feb. 2021 and Feb. 2023) leads all active series drivers in poles at Daytona with three each.
• Denny Hamlin (Feb. 2016, Feb. 2019, Feb. 2020) leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in Daytona wins with three. 
• A total of 26 of the 154 NASCAR Cup Series races at Daytona International Speedway have been won from the pole or first starting position (16.8%) – the most proficient starting position in the field.
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Daytona in the NASCAR Cup Series with 16 victories. 
•  Denny Hamlin leads all active Cup Series drivers in Top 5 finishes at Daytona with 11 and leads all active series drivers in laps led at Daytona with 676 laps led out of 6,284 laps completed (10.8%) in 37 starts. He ranks eighth on the all-time list.
• Kyle Busch leads all active drivers in runner-up finishes at Daytona with four (2019, 2016, 2007, 2006) and is tied with Denny Hamlin in Top 10s with 12 each.
• John H. Nemechek leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Daytona with a 9.667 in three starts.
  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your initial picks by 4:05 p.m. ET on August 23rd, and your final picks by 7:30 p.m. ET on race day, Saturday, August 24th.

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 17 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet. When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.