Due to rain at the track on Friday, the two scheduled practice sessions for the weekend were cancelled, which left us setting our Yahoo! rosters before any of the cars even got on track. If that’s going to happen at any race track, though, the best option would be Daytona (or Talladega). Honestly, practice speeds don’t mean a whole lot at the restrictor plate venues, and neither does starting position. Our strategy at these big superspeedways has always been to set your roster and hope for the best, then get back to the “real” Fantasy NASCAR next week. Enjoy the 4th of July weekend and GOOD LUCK at Daytona.
Last week at Sonoma, we avoided the Clint Bowyer last-place finish and walked away with 302 points. That bumped our Fantasy Racing Online Yahoo! team up to the 55th percentile overall. It’s been a rough Fantasy NASCAR year so far but it’s getting better.
Yahoo! A Group Pick and Final Rankings for Daytona 2
Denny Hamlin was our pick in the A Group all weekend long and we’re not changing now. Like we said in our Preview, the only reason we had Matt Kenseth on our team this week was for potential qualifying points, which didn’t happen. Looking at the last five points-paying races at Daytona, Denny Hamlin has finished 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and 2nd. There hasn’t been a more consistent finisher than him over that span, and while that streak is going to come to an end sometime, we believe you have to keep picking him here at Daytona until it does. Apparently the masses don’t agree with us, though, because Hamlin is only on 19.7% of Yahoo! rosters this week. We’re really not sure why so many decided against the #11 Toyota for Daytona 2, but we’ll gladly take this opportunity to have our A Group driver be one of the lesser-picked in the game. We’re starting Daytona 500 champion Denny Hamlin in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400.
Kyle Busch starts 3rd on Saturday night and should be able to grab those 10 points for leading a lap. It might be worth starting him if you have him, assuming you have 7 starts or more left. We’re not sold that the #88 Chevrolet is that great of a handling car on the plate tracks this year, and for that reason we’re staying away from Earnhardt, Jr. in a lot of leagues. Kevin Harvick and Kurt Busch should both be solidly inside the top 10, as should Joey Logano.
Final A Group Rankings: (1) Denny Hamlin, (2) Kyle Busch, (3) Kevin Harvick, (4) Dale Earnhardt, Jr., (5) Joey Logano, (6) Kurt Busch, (7) Jimmie Johnson, (8) Matt Kenseth, (9) Brad Keselowski
Yahoo! B Group Picks and Final Rankings for Daytona 2
The Roush-Fenway Fords of Greg Biffle (pole) and Ricky Stenhouse, Jr. (4th) had great qualifying runs on Friday, and if you have either (or both) of those guys on your roster, you may as well start them. Neither Biffle or Stenhouse like to stay up front for the whole race, but you can’t pass up those (probable) 10 bonus points for leading from The Biff, and Stenhouse might be able to get up there as well. Austin Dillon qualified 6th and is a solid top 10 threat every time we come to Daytona. Since joining the Sprint Cup Series full time he has never finished worse than 14th here.
Carl Edwards starts on the outside pole for the Coke Zero 400 and we all know how strong those Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas have been on the restrictor plate tracks this season. We fully expect him to be a legitimate threat all race long. Tony Stewart qualified 19th this week after that awesome win at Sonoma, but you have to wonder how much he is going to push it on race day–especially at a track like Daytona. Essentially Smoke is now points racing to get in the top 30 on points to make The Chase.
As far as our B Group drivers this weekend, we have to choose between Trevor Bayne, Aric Almirola, Kasey Kahne, and Jamie McMurray. They start 13th, 14th, 18th, and 29th, respectively. That qualifying effort by Jamie McMurray has already taken him off the list in our eyes. Yeah, where you start doesn’t mean a whole lot here at Daytona, but it does have a little merit. Also, Kasey Kahne has had some good runs here in his career, but hasn’t had a good July Daytona race since the 2012 season.
So that means we’re going with Trevor Bayne and Aric Almirola as our two B Group drivers for the Coke Zero 400. Bayne and that #6 team has shown some major improvement this season and has finished 17th or better in seven of the last ten Sprint Cup races. He’s won here at Daytona before and finished 9th in last year’s July race, and the #6 Ford came home 10th at Talladega back in May. Additionally, all three Roush-Fenway Fords showed good speed in qualifying this weekend, which is a good sign for Saturday night. As far as Aric Almirola goes, he won this race back in 2014 and has finished 15th or better in three of his last four Daytona starts. This is the week to take some abnormal Fantasy NASCAR picks, and that’s exactly what we’re doing–while start saving as well.
Final B Group Rankings: (1) Carl Edwards, (2) Austin Dillon, (3) Martin Truex, Jr., (4) Greg Biffle, (5) Kasey Kahne, (6) Ryan Newman, (7) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., (8) Trevor Bayne, (9) Tony Stewart, (10) Kyle Larson, (11) Aric Almirola, (12) Jamie McMurray, (13) Paul Menard, (14) Danica Patrick, (15) A.J. Allmendinger, (16) Casey Mears, (17) Clint Bowyer
Yahoo! C Group Pick and Final Rankings for Daytona 2
Our strategy in the C Group this weekend was pretty much the exact same as our strategy in the A Group: one driver to start, one driver for potential qualifying points. Those two were Landon Cassill and Chase Elliott, respectively. We honestly see no reason to start Chase Elliott or Ryan Blaney in Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400. Yes, they’re the best picks in the C Group this weekend, but their starts are much too valuable in the rest of the races coming up in 2016. It’s not uncommon for one or two C Group drivers to finish inside the top 15 at Daytona and Talladega, and while that would be awesome to get out of Landon Cassill on Saturday night, we just want him to finish the race. If that happens, we’ll be happy. Cassill finished 23rd in this year’s Daytona 500 and came home 11th at Talladega. He starts 34th on Saturday night.
A lot of people are drooling over Regan Smith this weekend because his last three finishes at Daytona have been 8th, 16th, and 7th. Only one of those races was he in a less-than-mediocre car, though. He’s going to be starting the Coke Zero 400 from dead last, so he’s worth a plan in leagues that award points based on place differential (and Yahoo! if he’s your only option). Chris Buescher qualified best (25th) of the C Group drivers not named Elliott or Blaney but his two restrictor plate finishes this year have been 39th and 37th. David Gilliland is probably the best C Group “start save” pick this weekend, as he qualified 28th and finished 17th in his only other start this season at Talladega, but you have to question his equipment.
Final C Group Rankings: (1) Ryan Blaney, (2) Chase Elliott, (3) David Gilliland, (4) Landon Cassill, (5) David Ragan, (6) Brian Scott, (7) Regan Smith, (8) Chris Buescher, (9) Michael McDowell, the rest
