Well this is it… This is the last race of the regular season for the Cup Series and the last chance for drivers to secure a spot in the playoffs. As if the racing at Daytona wasn’t crazy enough; now NASCAR is going to put half of the field in a “win or go home” situation. This could and probably will get ugly. That means this is the perfect race to save your top drivers in the Fantasy NASCAR games which limit the number of times you car start a driver.
15 of the 16 spots are already secured for the playoffs. Kyle Larson, Martin Truex Jr., Kyle Busch, Chase Elliott, Alex Bowman, William Byron, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski, Kurt Busch, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola and Michael McDowell are in the playoffs because they won a race this season. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick are in because they secured a spot on points. That means Tyler Reddick and Austin Dillon will fight for the last spot on points. That is “If” a driver outside the top 16 doesn’t win Saturday night. Reddick and Dillon have a lot to race for so they will be good fantasy picks this week (If they can handle the pressure).
The rankings this week are not a prediction of how the drivers will finish the race. The rankings are simply a guide to tell you which drivers will be the best picks for your Fantasy NASCAR lineups Saturday night.
I used the driver ratings from the last five Superspeedway races, the average finishing position from the last five Superspeedway races. I also used the driver ratings from the last three races at Daytona and the average finishing position in the last three races at Daytona. I then added some value to the drivers who are in a must win situation. I think some of the drivers who are already locked into the playoffs may drop to the back if it gets too crazy up front.
Here are the Driver Rankings for the Coke Zero 400…
| 1. Denny Hamlin |
| 2. Ryan Blaney |
| 3. Austin Dillon |
| 4. William Byron |
| 5. Matt DiBenedetto |
| 6. Brad Keselowski |
| 7. Bubba Wallace |
| 8. Ricky Stenhouse Jr. |
| 9. Kevin Harvick |
| 10. Chris Buescher |
| 11. Michael McDowell |
| 12. Ryan Newman |
| 13. Joey Logano |
| 14. Chase Elliott |
| 15. Ross Chastain |
| 16. Kyle Larson |
| 17. Kyle Busch |
| 18. Ryan Preece |
| 19. Aric Almirola |
| 20. Christopher Bell |
| 21. Tyler Reddick |
| 22. Corey LaJoie |
| 23. Kurt Busch |
| 24. Alex Bowman |
| 25. Erik Jones |
| 26. Justin Haley |
| 27. Kaz Grala |
| 28. Cole Custer |
| 29. Martin Truex Jr. |
| 30. Chase Briscoe |
| 31. Landon Cassill |
| 32. Cody Ware |
| 33. Joey Gase |
| 34. Anthony Alfredo |
| 35. Daniel Suarez |
| 36. B.J. McLoed |
| 37. Quin Houff |
| 38. Josh Bilicki |
| 39. James Davison |
| 40. David Starr |
* Photos from NASCAR Media
If you need any further advice with your team, look for me on Twitter @MrFantasyNASCAR
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