The NASCAR Cup Series will join the Truck and Xfinity Series on the Daytona Roval this week. Each series will run the race without any practice. This is either going to be a great show or a complete disaster. This is a good week to save your allocations with your top drivers and use some of the mid-tier drivers that you do not plan to use at Dover.
I often hear the saying, “When it seems too good to be true, it usually is.” That came into play last weekend at Michigan. After a nearly perfect race on Saturday, the picks crashed and burned Sunday when Brad Keselowski lost control of his car and took out his teammate, Ryan Blaney. He also took out 33% of my team. The picks are still beating 99.5% of the competition and we have some races to make up the points.
Here are my picks for the Go Bowling 235 ….
STARTING DRIVERS
Kyle Busch: Kyle Busch was four wins on the road courses on his resume. He also competed in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona this year. It was his second time competing in that race so Busch will have some knowledge of the track. Busch desperately needs a win before the playoffs begin and he is really motivated by stats. He likes the fact that he has won on every track so he will be extra motivated to scratch the Daytona Roval off his list. There is a lot to like about the No. 18 Sunday
Kyle Busch: Damn it was tough to click on Kyle Busch’s name this week. How many times do I need to get burned by Rowdy before I learn my lesson? I guess one more time. Busch “should” be a good pick this week and I have three allocations left with him. Busch has finished 6th, 5th, 3rd and 4th in his last four races at Michigan. Busch finished 2nd at Auto Club in March. I am hoping he can have a similar run Saturday.
Kurt Busch: Kurt Busch is a good road course driver. He has finished six of his least eight road course races in the top 10. He also finished 5th at the Charlotte Roval in 2018. Busch does has some experience on the Daytona Roval but it has been a while ago. I still expect Busch to run much of this race in the top 10, score some Stage points and be a good pick for our team.
Jimmie Johnson: No driver in the field has as much experience on the Daytona Roval as Jimmie Johnson. He has competed in seven Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona races and finished second in 2005 and 2008. Johnson had a great chance to win the inaugural Charlotte Roval race in 2018 but he spun out trying to pass Martin Truex Jr. on the last turn. Johnson returned to the Charlotte Roval and finished 9th last year. He should finish in the top 10 Sunday.
Clint Bowyer: Clint Bowyer has been good on the road courses and even better on the Roval tracks. Bowyer has the second-best average finishing position on the road courses and he finished 3rd at the Charlotte Roval in 2018 and 4th last year. He said on SiriusXM NASCAR Radio this week, “I’m a weird driver. Everyone knows that. So it should not surprise anyone that this funky track fits my driving style. This is our best chance to win a race before the playoffs. Bowyer should run most of the race in the top 10, score a lot of Stage points and be a good pick for your Fantasy NASCAR team.
Matt DiBenedetto: Matt DiBenedetto showed last year that if he is given a good car, he can compete for a win on the road courses. DiBenedetto finished 4th at Sonoma, 6th at Watkins Glen and 11th at the Charlotte Roval. His 7th place average finishing position was 4th best and his 94.7 Driver Rating was 6th best in the Series. This is a good race to use an allocation with DiBenedetto.
GARAGE DRIVER
Chase Elliott: Chase Elliott has been the best driver on the road courses for the past two seasons. He won the last two races (Charlotte Roval and Watkins Glen) and he finished 6th at the Charlotte Roval and won at Watkins Glen in 2018. I would like to save Elliott for the two races at Dover but if he gets to the front and starts dominating this race, I will put the No. 9 car into my starting lineup.
Good luck this week!
*Stats from Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet Pro and NASCAR Media.
** Photos from NASCAR Media
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