NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Daytona 500 Season Opener

Here we are at the opening of the 2026 NASCAR Season. If last night's Craftsman Truck Series race is any indication, we're in for an amazing Daytona 500. I have my eye on Kyle Busch who starts from the pole and was all smiles during qualifying when he showed the field just how much speed and handling his No. 8 Chevrolet had. 

I'm also curious how the new Chevrolet body style and particularly the flatter nose will affect how well Chevys will push and provide stability when being pushed. Perhaps the new style will give elite superspeedway racers like Joey Logano a run for their money. I also can't wait to see if Ryan Blaney and Chris Buecher can continue their Daytona Top-10 record from last year. Stay tuned! 

 

This week's pick strategy: 

I'm going heavy with Fords this weekend. They draft so well together, and with Team Penske's dominance on drafting tracks and RFK Racing's speed this weekend, you really can't go wrong. I will sprinkle in one or two Chevrolets and a key Toyota or two to hedge my bets. 

 

Drivers with Most Top 10s in the Last Five Years:
By Race
All with 3 - Ryan Blaney, Alex Bowman and Chase Briscoe. 
All with 2 - Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace, Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Michael McDowell, Chris Buescher, John Hunter Nemechek, William Byron, Corey LaJoie, Ross Chastain and AJ Allmendinger.

By Track 

Chris Buescher - 6 
All with 5 - Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and Alex Bowman.

Both with 4 - Bubba Wallace and Kyle Busch.

All with 3 - Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Chase Briscoe and Corey LaJoie.

 
Last Year's Race Winner: William Byron

The Likely Suspects: My go-to Daytona elites are Bubba Wallace, Ryan Blaney, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Chase Briscoe, Chase Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, Christopher Bell, Austin Cindric, Chris Buescher and John Hunter Nemechek.

My 2 Cents: Think drafting partners when doing your fantasy picks but know that you don't have to waste two driver starts. For example, Joey Logano is a great pusher, and he works well with Ryan Blaney. Instead of picking both of them, perhaps pick one of them and another Penske or Ford driver driver like Austin Cindric or Chris Buescher.

My no-brainer pick is William Byron. My next picks are Ryan Blaney, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Bubba Wallace. I'll round out my roster with John Hunter Nemechek and Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

My Final Four: William Byron, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher and John Hunter Nemechek.

Second-Look Driver: This week my sleeper pick is John Hunter Nemechek because he has a knack for drafting tracks and is sneaking good at the Daytona 500. He has the best average finish among active drivers with more than one start (7.7) and has three starts in the Daytona 500. In his four starts at Daytona International Speedway since February 2023, he has earned one Top Fives and two Top 10s for an average finish of 11.0, the third best, just 0.5 points in front of Christopher Bell's 11.5 and 2 points behind Justin Allgaier's 9.0. Keep an eye on Nemechek tomorrow.

 

Points to Ponder:

• Eight of the 43 NASCAR Cup Series DAYTONA 500 winners are active this weekend, led by Denny Hamlin with three wins (2016, 2019, 2020), followed by Jimmie Johnson with two, and William Byron, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Austin Cindric, Michael McDowell, Austin Dillon and Joey Logano with one win each.
• Denny Hamlin (2016, 2019, 2020), Jimmie Johnson (2006, 2013) and William Byron (2024, 2025) are the only three active drivers to win multiple DAYTONA 500 races.
• Hendrick Motorsports leads the NASCAR Cup Series in DAYTONA 500 wins with 10.
• Nine different manufacturers have won the DAYTONA 500, led by Chevrolet with 27 victories, followed by Ford (17). 
  
• The pole position in the Daytona 500 field has produced more winners (nine) than any other position (13.43%). 
• In total, eight active drivers have finished as runner-up in the DAYTONA 500. Bubba Wallace (2018, 2022), and Ryan Blaney (2017, 2020) lead all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in runner-up finishes in the DAYTONA 500 with two each. Tyler Reddick finished runner-up last season. 
•  Denny Hamlin and Jimmie Johnson lead all active drivers in DAYTONA 500 Top-10 finishes with eight; followed by Joey Logano with four and Bubba Wallace with three.
•  Jimmie Johnson leads all active drivers in DAYTONA 500 Top-10 finishes with nine. 
•  Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in laps led in the DAYTONA 500 with 496 laps led in 20 starts – and he is ranked fifth on the all-time lap leaders list of the race.
• John Hunter Nemechek has the best average finish among active drivers with more than one start (7.7); he has made three appearances in the DAYTONA 500.

If you are playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your final picks by 1:30 p.m. ET tomorrow.  Enjoy the race, and good luck with your fantasy team. 

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 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.