The Cup Series travels back to Daytona for another race on a Superspeedway track. This race will go a long ways in determining how our Fantasy Live lineups finish the regular season. The races at Daytona are about 70% luck and 30% skill. I will pick the best drivers based on the stats (skill) and then we are going to need a lot of luck in the race. The picks have been hot for most of the season, so if the luck does go our way, it could be one of my best seasons in the Fantasy Live game. If our drivers crash out of the race, it will still be a good season, but not historically good. Keep your fingers crossed, rub your rabbits foot and make sure you do not walk under any ladders before the Coke Zero 400 Saturday night.
How frustrating was it to watch our drivers at Michigan. Kyle Larson had the fastest car in the race, but his team gave up their track position to start Stage 2 out front. He got loose in traffic and crashed. Martin Truex Jr. also had a fast car, but his bad luck continued when he got a flat tire and got into the wall. Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain had fast cars and Wallace was collected in the Larson wreck and Chastain spun out while running in the top 10. I could not believe the picks moved from No. 72 overall to No. 56 overall. We need to great races in order to finish inside the top-25 this year.
CUP SERIES PRACTICE
NASCAR eliminated practice at the Superspeedway tracks. The teams lined up for qualifying Friday evening and then they will race Saturday night without any time to shake down their cars. Hopefully our drivers can start the race without any gremlins in the car.
FANTASY LIVE STRATEGY
There are two races left in the Fantasy Live regular season and I need to save my top drivers who I have allocations left with for Darlington. I will use the drivers who have a history of finishing up front at the Superspeedways and especially at Daytona. I will focus my picks on how the drivers have performed in the Gen-7 car at the Superspeedways, because this car drafts differently than the old generation of stockcars.
One way we can select our drivers is by looking at their average finishing position at Daytona and how many Stage Points they average in these races. Some drivers like to run up front and go for the Stage Points and others like to ride around the back to make sure their car is in one piece at the end of the race. Once a drive scores Stage Points in the race, they cannot be taken away. This makes the drivers who score the most Stage Points the safest picks for our Fantasy Live lineups, because they will have some points in the bank, even if they crash in the race.
Here are the driver’s average finishing positions in the five races at Daytona using the Gen-7 car and the average Stage Points they score in these races….
FANTASY LIVE PICKS FOR DAYTONA
ALEX BOWMAN (5): Bowman has the best average finishing position in the Gen-7 car on the Superspeedways. He finished 5th in this race last year and Bowman finished 2nd in the Daytona 500 this year. He also finished 5th at Talladega this year. That is a lot of top-five finishes. The stats say to play Bowman at Daytona so I will listen to them and use the No. 48 car in my Fantasy Live lineup.
BUBBA WALLACE (5): Wallace could really use a win to take the pressure off of him next week at Darlington. He just may get it. Wallace has the best average finishing position at Daytona in the Gen-7 car (from the drivers with more than one start). Wallace led 3 laps, scored 7 Stage Points and finished 5th in the Daytona 500. He also won at Talladega in 2021 and he has three 2nd-place finishes at Daytona (2018, 2021 and 2022). I am sure Wallace will get a lot of help from Denny Hamlin and Tyler Reddick in this race. That should make the No. 23 car one of the best picks Saturday night.
MARTIN TRUEX JR. (2): Everyone knows that Truex has never won on a Superspeedway track, but that does not mean he is a bad pick this weekend. Truex loves to run up front and he has averaged the most Stage Points in the Gen-7 car at Daytona (10.8). Once the No. 19 car earns those points, they cannot be taken away. That makes Truex a safe driver, even if he crashes Saturday night. I have two allocations left with Truex and I plan to use both of them before the end of the regular season.
AUSTIN CINDRIC (8): Cindric has been really good at qualifying up front at Daytona and at finishing up front at Daytona. Cindric is already locked into the playoffs with his win at Gateway, but I still expect the No. 2 car to work well with Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney in the race Saturday night. Cindric is at his best on the Superspeedway tracks, so I will use him as my Fantasy Live pick at Daytona.
CHRIS BUESCHER (9): Buescher is on the playoff bubble, so he could really use a win to take the pressure off the No. 17 team in the final race at Darlington next week. Buescher won the Coke Zero 400 last year. Could he do it again Sunday? Buescher is going to get a lot of help from Brad Keselowski in the race Saturday night. I would not be surprised if Buescher is running up front in the final laps of the Coke Zero 400 at Dayton.
(GARAGE PICK) KYLE BUSCH (7): Busch is in a must win situation, so the No. 8 team will be very aggressive with their strategy in the race. Busch led 12 laps, scored 12 Stage Points and finished 12th in the Daytona 500 (good for 37 points in the Fantasy Live game). He also finished 3rd at Atlanta this year. I will have Busch in the Garage as an insurance policy Saturday night.
Good luck and be sure to follow me on X (Twitter) @MrFantasyNASCAR. I will send out a Tweet during the race to let you know if I plan to swap out one of my drivers for my Garage pick.