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Daytona International Speedway
Daytona Beach, FL | Saturday, July 2nd, 2016
Time: 7:45 PM EST | Live on NBC
Sonoma Recap-
'Smoke will Rise' Smoke did rise this weekend, as Tony Stewart ended an 84 winless streak. What a huge win it was, Tony Stewart pitted earlier then anyone else, needed a caution and got one to put his #14 car up front. He was strong on the 2 restarts, wheel hopped twice into Turn 7, got passed on the Final Lap only to pass Denny Hamlin in the final corner to claim victory. This now means, Smoke only needs to finish inside the top 30 in points by Richmond to be in the 2016 Chase for the Sprint Cup in his swan-song season. It was another good day for the Dick Trickle Fantasy team, finished 2nd and if it wasn't for a little birdy in my head from North Dakota, it would've been a bad day. I swapped out Clint Bowyer for Tony on early Sunday morning, Clint had a mechanical failure on Lap 6. I went with Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, AJ Allmendinger and Chris Buescher yesterday. Ku. Busch finished 10th, was really surprised that he was a none factor all day, Allmendinger had a great run going till that last pit stop where he had to serve a penalty and restart 33rd (he finished 14) and Chris Buescher finished 30th.
This week we head to the Birthplace of NASCAR, Daytona International Speedway. Another wildcard race, where its anyone's flag to capture. BUT, I believe this trend of different winners continues. Tony Stewart become the 6th different winner in a row with his win yesterday and I believe (Insert Name Here) will take the top spot this Saturday Night. So lets get to my picks for this weekends race.
Group A-
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (DUH!)
He is my early week favorite, and quite honestly as long as there isn't a zombie apocalypse I'm not going to change that. Senior was the best and Junior is close behind him. Won here last July. Despite his 39th in the 500 this February, he hasn't placed worst then 15th since 2012 in point races here. Can Junior become the 7th different winner in a row? I believe so!
Kevin Harvick
Since joining SHR in 2012, Happy has one finish of 39th. But the other finishes consist of a 13th, 2nd and two 4ths. Won this race in July of 2010 from the pole and is the 2007 Daytona 500 winner. I believe he is due, but its going to be hard to pick against Jr this weekend.
WE2W4- Jimmie Johnson, Denny Hamlin
Sleeper pick- Kurt Busch
Group B- (this group was difficult this week)
Austin Dillon
In the 5 point races at Daytona, Dillon hasn't finished worse then 14th, finished 7th last July (through the air) and 9th in this seasons Daytona 500. Dillon also qualifies well which is key to start up front here. Look for Dillon to challenge for his first career win.
Ryan Newman
Dillon's teammate, Ryan Newman is consistently running well this year. He is a good restrictor plate racer. He finished 11th in this years 500 and 8th last July. After his good run at Sonoma he will have the confidence it takes to take on Daytona.
Kasey Kahne
If you haven't noticed by now, my team so far consists of only Team Chevy drivers. Toyota ran well yesterday at Sonoma but I believe the Chevrolets are on the upswing to give them a run for the money. That certainly helps out Kasey Kahne. He finished 13th here in February. Look for Kasey to continue to right the ship this Saturday.
Greg Biffle
Ok so I broke the whole Chevy thing now, Greg Biffle believe it or not is a good restrictor plate racer, because he is patient. He only has 3 DNFs in is whole career here at Daytona. He won here as a rookie for Jack Roush in 2003. He carries an average finish of 15.71 at Daytona and I believe he continues that trend this weekend.
WE2W4- Carl Edwards, Martin Truex
Sleeper Pick- Paul Menard
Group C
David Ragan
I've done this before, I used Ragan a couple years back at Talladega when he was driving for Front Row. They were the underdogs and that day the underdogs beat the big boys. Not saying he will win this weekend but this is the last shot for those small car operations. David Ragan is a good restrictor plate racer, he won this race back in 2011 driving for Roush Racing. He finished 11th in this race a year ago, look for Ragan to be up front.
Regan Smith
Smith hasn't ran the July race at Daytona since he was driving for Furniture Racing. But, he finished 8th in this years Daytona 500 and 16th in last years 500. He also has been a common pick for those people that are saving Elliot and Blaney for the homestretch of the season.
WE2W4- Chase Elliot
Sleeper Pick- Ryan Blaney
These weeks are tough, this type of racing makes your picks lucky or unlucky. If your drivers avoid the big one(s) then your going to be alright. Look for a lot of drivers that don't qualify up front go to the back and those that qualify up front stay there. This pack racing puts even the fans on the edge of their seats imagine being in one of those stock cars!
There we have it, another week in the books. Thank you to all of you that read this. I enjoy the crap out of this stuff! Please Like, Comment, and Share on Facebook or Twitter. Good luck to those in fantasy leagues this week. This race is going to be fun!! Happy Birthday America!!
Until Next Time...
God Speed
Booger
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