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NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview: 2010 Daytona 500 from Daytona International Speedway

by Eric McClung, Special To NASCAR news, fantasy racing advice and statistics On Pit Row

Follow @ericmcclung on Twitter for NASCAR, IndyCar, golf and various other fantasy sports picks.

February 11, 2010 6:34 am CST 1 Comment

The wait is nearly over. The 2010 edition of the Daytona 500 will soon be at hand. I’m back with On Pit Row for another round of the NASCAR Fantasy Racing Preview. Before we get to the rankings there are some notes to go over:

• My five-part Fantasy NASCAR Primer Series covers Allocation leagues, Draft leagues, Salary cap leagues, Changes to Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing driver lists and look inside a first-of-its-kind expert fantasy draft

• A shout out to the Onebadwheel Fantasy NASCAR Racing Cheat Sheet. Darren has put together a great tool that no fantasy player will want to be without.
• Another shout out to the guys at Running3Wide who are offering perhaps the widest selection of fantasy NASCAR games out there.

On Pit Row has several groups for you to battle against other fantasy players! Some groups already filled up so we are opening up more.

• Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing ID# 26538, password “daytona”
• ESPN Stock Car Challenge
• FOX Sports Auto Racing Challenge (salary cap) ID# 9138

Before we get to the ranks, I’ve built two NASCAR Fantasy Tools based on the results from last year.

• 2009 Average Finish at Daytona Speedweeks
• 2009 Average Finish at Restrictor Plate Races

After reviewing these tables one thing is very clear, plate racing is crazy and unpredictable. When it comes to your fantasy lineups come out of the gate with some curveballs. Elliot Sadler, Brad Keswlowski, David Ragan were the Top 3 drivers in plate races last year and A.J. Allmendinger was among the best drivers during speedweeks.

Here’s an explanation of the highlighted text in the rankings. Download a printer-friendly version here.

• Y! A/B/C - The top options in the Yahoo! Fantasy Auto Racing game by driver list.
• Value play - Sneaky plays at this week’s track. Drivers to consider as low-rent salary cap options or alternatives in allocation formats.

1. Kyle Busch… Won at Daytona 7/08. Best driver rating (116.68) at Daytona over the last three years. Y! A-1
2. Tony Stewart… Three-time winner at Daytona (’09, ‘06, ‘05). Won last year’s July race, eighth at the Daytona 500. Y! A-2
3. Jimmie Johnson… Won ‘06 Daytona 500, only two Top 20s in the seven races since– runner-up in July race. Y! A-3
4. Matt Kenseth… Won last year’s Daytona 500, eighth in the July race. Y! B-1
5. Jeff Gordon… Six-time winner at Daytona (’05, ‘04, ‘99, ‘98, ‘97, ‘95). Average finish of 27.5 in the last four races, only one Top 15. Y! A-4
6. Kurt Busch… Six Top 10s with five Top 5s over the last seven races at Daytona. Average finish of 5.3 since ‘08.
7. Kevin Harvick… Won ‘07 Daytona 500, runner-up last year. Won second straight Bud Shootout. Y! B-2
8. Dale Earnhardt Jr…. Two-time winner at Daytona (’04, ‘01). Average finish of 33.0 last year, 8.5 in ‘08. Y! B-4
9. Mark Martin… Had the most laps in the Top 15 in last year’s Daytona 500, finished 16th.
10. Juan Pablo Montoya… Average finish of 15.5 in ‘09 plate races. Finished a career-best ninth in July race at Daytona.
11. Kasey Kahne… Average finish of 7.5 at Daytona from ‘07-’08, 22.0 last year. Runner-up in Bud Shootout. Y! B-5
12. Denny Hamlin… Finished a career-best third in last year’s July race at Daytona, no Top 10s in seven prior starts. Average finish of 22.3 in ‘09 plate races.
13. Greg Biffle… Won at Daytona 7/03. Fourth-best average finish in ‘09 plate races (12.3).
14. Clint Bowyer… Finished a career-best fourth in last year’s Daytona 500. Y! B-6
15. Brian Vickers… DNF (crash) in last year’s Daytona 500, tied a career-best seventh-place finish in July. Average finish of 11.5 in ‘08 races at Daytona. Y! B-7
16. Ryan Newman… Won ‘08 Daytona 500, average finish of 30.7 in the three races since. Y! B-8
17. Carl Edwards… Average finish of 20.0 in the Daytona 500 since ‘07, 3.3 in July races.
18. Jeff Burton… Won at Daytona 7/00. Seventh-best average finish in ‘09 plate races (14.8).
19. A.J. Allmendinger… Strong value play. Finished a career-best third in last year’s Daytona 500, 17th in July. Y! C-1
20. Elliott Sadler… Strong value play. Best average finish in ‘09 plates races (10.8).
21. David Ragan… Strong value play. Third-best average finish in ‘09 plate races (12.0).
22. Marcos Ambrose… Finished 17th in last year’s Daytona 500– first career start at Daytona, finish sixth in July.
23. David Reutimann… Career-best 12th place finish at ‘09 Daytona 500. Average finish of 15.7 at ‘09 Speedweeks.
24. Jamie McMurray… Won at Daytona 7/07, average finish of 26.5 in the four races since. Finished third in Bud Shootout.
25. Joey Logano… DNF (crash) in last year’s Daytona 500, finished 19th in July.
26. Brad Keselowski… Started 36th, finished 24th in first career start at Daytona, 7/09. Average finish of 12.2 in four career Nationwide starts (’08-’09).
27. Martin Truex Jr…. Started from the pole, finished a career-best 11th in last year’s Daytona 500– finished 25th in July race. Average finish of 25.0 in ‘09 plate races.
28. Michael Waltrip… Weak value play. Three-time winner at Daytona (’03, ‘02, ‘01), four Top 20s in the 12 races since– finished seventh in last year’s Daytona 500. Y! C-2
29. Bobby Labonte… Weak value play. Average finish of 12.0 at Daytona in ‘08, 21.5 last year. Average finish of 20.3 in ‘09 plate races. Y! C-3
30. Regan Smith… Weak value play. Average finish of 21.8 in ‘09 plate races. Y! C-4
31. Casey Mears… No Top 10s at Daytona since ‘06, only Top 15 was last year’s Daytona 500.
32. Sam Hornish Jr…. Finished 32nd in both Daytona races last year.
33. Reed Sorenson… Long shot value play. Average finish of 14.0 in four career Daytona 500 starts, 32.8 in July.
34. Bill Elliott… Long shot value play. Four-time winner at Daytona (’91 ‘88, ‘87, ‘85). Finished 23rd in last years’s Daytona 500.
35. Boris Said… Long shot value play. DNF (crash) in 7/08. Finished 14th in ‘07 Daytona 500.
36. Robby Gordon… Streak of six Top 15s at Daytona from ‘06-’08, average finish of 28.0 last year.
37. John Andretti… Won at Daytona 7/97. Average finish of 24.0 in ‘09 plate races.
38. Aric Almirola… Started 11th, finished 30th in ‘09 Daytona 500– first career start at Daytona.
39. Scott Speed… Average finish of 33.0 in two career starts at Daytona.
40. Michael McDowell… Started 21st, finished 25th last July– first career start at Daytona.
41. Travis Kvapil… Average finish of 34.3 at Daytona since ‘08 (three starts).
42. Paul Menard… Only one top 15 at Daytona in five career starts. Average finish of 29.0 in ‘09 plate races.
43. Max Papis… No career Cup starts at Daytona– average finish of 4.0 (out of 12) in three IROC starts.
44. Robert Richardson Jr…. No career Cup starts at Daytona. Started 41st, finished 18th in 11/09 Talladega race, his only Cup start. Average finish of 29.5 in six career Nationwide starts at Daytona (’07-’09).
45. David Gilliland… DNFs (crash) at Daytona in his last two starts (7/09, 7/08).
46. Joe Nemechek… Failed to qualify for last year’s Daytona 500, start and parked in July.
47. Dave Blaney… Start and parked in July race at Daytona.
48. Mike Wallace… No Cup starts at Daytona since ‘07.
49. Kirk Shelmerdine… No Cup starts at Daytona since ‘06.
50. Mike Bliss… No Cup starts at Daytona since ‘05.
51. Derrike Cope… Won ‘90 Daytona 500. No Cup starts at Daytona since ‘04.
52. Terry Cook… No career Cup starts at Daytona. Average finish of 12.0 in 10 career Truck series starts (’00-’09).
53. Jeff Fuller… No career Cup starts at Daytona. Average finish of 32.2 in nine career Nationwide starts (’95-’05).
54. Norm Benning… No career Cup starts at Daytona. Finished 10th in ‘09 ARCA race at Daytona.

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