This week’s Monster Energy Cup race is the Coke Zero 400, which is the second race of the year at Daytona International Speedway. What is interesting for those who are playing NASCAR fantasy is that 11 different drivers have won at least one race this season. Parity is at a high right now and there isn’t a single driver who is dominating week-in, week-out. That number could climb even more as there are still seven drivers who have collected at least five career wins that have yet to grab the checkered flag this season. That’s what makes playing NASCAR DFS so much fun this season as anything can happen.
For what it’s worth, keep an eye on Jamie McMurray has two career wins at Daytona, even though his average finish is 23.7 is by far his worst. He’s been an intriguing pick by some people, but he wasn’t a choice for us. Keep in mind that Brad Keselowski is the defending champion, but he too is being left off this week’s DraftKings list. Here’s a look at who we’re riding with for the Coke Zero 400 this Saturday.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. – $10,300
Start with Earnhardt Jr., who is retiring from full-time racing after this season, so this will be his “last” start at Daytona (he’ll back, at Daytona at least). He has struggled this season, but he does have back-to-back top-10s going, and even though he was 37th at the Daytona 500, “Junior” is well versed here. He has four wins at Daytona, including two in this race, and a 14.3 finishing average in 35 career starts. This would be arguably the biggest win of the season in NASCAR.
Joey Logano – $10,000
Logano has a finishing average of 16.2 in 17 starts at Daytona, including a win in the 2015 Daytona 500, and he finished sixth in that race to start the season. Logano had a three-race slump going, but has since finished third at Michigan and 12th at Sonoma, so he has improved as of late. Unlike Earnhardt Jr., Logano already has a win (at Richmond), so he can take some chances.
Kevin Harvick – $9,500
Harvick finally got a win at Sonoma, so the pressure is off. He has two wins at Daytona, which came in this race in 2010, along with the 2007 Daytona 500. Harvick finished 22nd at the Daytona 500 in February, but he is still one of the top drivers here with a 16.3 finishing average in 32 starts.
Clint Bowyer – $8,800
Bowyer’s finishing average of 16.5 in 23 starts hasn’t yielded a win yet, and even though he finished 32nd at the Daytona 500, that was his first points race with a new team. He is coming off a second-place run at Sonoma, so look for Bowyer to ride that momentum to a solid finish this week.
Bowyer enters the week in 11th place in the NASCAR standings, so he needs to make up a little bit of ground to make the chase. He is currently chasing Joey Logano, who holds the 10th spot with 434 points. Bowyer is just seven points back and a win this week would obviously give him a huge boost.
Matt Kenseth – $8,700
Kenseth has a finishing average of 18.8 in 35 Daytona starts, which includes two Daytona 500 wins in 2009 and 2012. He finished dead last in the Daytona 500 in February, but that won’t happen again. Also, Kenseth, like Bowyer and Earnhardt Jr., needs a win badly. Look for this usually-conservative driver to take a chance or two to get the checkered flag.
Austin Dillon – $7,900
Dillon might be the best value pick you find all year for DraftKings in NASCAR, but it is a restrictor-plate race and anything can happen. In eight starts at Daytona, Dillon has a finishing average of 12.6 and more importantly, no DNFs. He finished 19th here in February, but Dillon has won since then at Charlotte, so again there is no pressure. He also knows where Victory Lane is at Daytona as he got here in the Xfinity Series summer race, so look for Dillon to make a run at the win this week. He should be much higher at DraftKings, so take advantage of this price.
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