The NASCAR Cup Series will stay in Daytona this week, but this time the race will be run on the road course. 21 of Cup Series drivers just competed on this track last Tuesday in the Busch Clash race. Now we will get to see 40 cars beating and banging their way through the 14 turns on the 3.6-mile track.
Last Race: No luck at all for my One & Done pick in the Daytona 500. I had a choice between David Ragan and Jamie McMurray. I went with Ragan because I thought a Front Row Racing car could win the race. I was right. But I had the wrong damn car. Ragan was involved in wreck on lap 14 and finished 37th. That absolutely sucks, but the good news is that I have had performances like this before and my One & Done picks were able to bounce back throughout the season. I expect the same in 2021.
Here are my picks for the O’Reilly Auto Parts 253 …
My One & Done Pick for Daytona Road Course: A.J. Allmendinger
No driver in the field has as much experience as AJ Allmendinger on the Daytona Road Course. He has competed in eight Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona races and has one win and six finishes in the top-10. Allmendinger will be driving the No. 16 car for Kaulig Racing. The team said they will run all of the Superspeedways races and Road Course tracks in 2021. They do not have a charter or points to fall back on so there is no guarantee Allmendinger will be in the field at the other road course races. For that reason, I will play it safe and use him this week while he a spot in the field. Allmendinger has to start in the back because of the driver change rule but I am not worried about him.
Chase Elliott will be my pick in games where I can use a driver more than one. He is the most consistent driver on the road course. Elliott has won the last four points races on the road course and he came one turn away from winning the Busch Clash last week. I need a bounce-back after Aric Almirola crashed early last week, so I will take the best driver in the field starting on the pole with the No. 1 pit stall.
Good luck this week!
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