Who knew that Brilliant Pick Kevin Harvick would sweep the weekend in Michigan? I mean, we knew he’d win at least one of the races, but both? What a season for the No. 4 team!
Will he keep the streak alive this weekend? When Daytona gets a road-worthy transformation, and the drivers run it for the first time with no practice and no qualifying, who will reign victorious? Though fantasy lineups are tricky with no past history to draw upon, we’ll keep an eye on the drivers who adapt easily to new tracks and those who have good numbers at the other road courses in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Here’s my NASCAR fantasy advice guiding you to the Brilliant, Bold, and Bonkers drivers for the first-ever road course at Daytona International Speedway—the GoBowling 235:
Brilliant – These NASCAR drivers have the best shot at winning in in Daytona
Kevin Harvick
Aside from the fact that Harvick is on the hottest streak in NASCAR, here’s why I think that he’s a top-pick at the Daytona Road Course.
Performance History at road courses since 2017: One win and an average finish of 6.9
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Two top-10s, including one third-place finish.
History in Sonoma: One win and six top-five finishes. Harvick hasn’t finished outside the top-10 here since 2014.
History at Watkins Glen: One win and three top-five finishes.
Martin Truex Jr.
Truex has great stats on road courses and he’s on a bit of a hot streak right now. He has an opportunity to make fans of the No.19 team very happy this weekend if he can pull out a win.
Performance history at road courses since 2017: Three wins and an average finish of 8.1
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Came up with a seventh-place finish last season.
History in Sonoma: Three wins—two of them were the last two years in a row.
History at Watkins Glen: He has a win here and finished in second place the last two years running. Hasn’t finished outside the top-10 here since 2015.
Chase Elliott
Is it surprising that Chase Elliott has such great numbers on road courses? Expect him to continue this hot streak on Sunday.
Performance history at road courses since 2017: Three wins and an average finish of 8.9
Notable History at The Roval in two races: One win and a 6th place finish.
History in Sonoma: One top-five and two top-10s.
History at Watkins Glen: Finished in the top-spot the last two years in a row.
Bold – These are my NASCAR sleeper picks
Clint Bowyer
If Clint can stay out of trouble and keep a cool head, he has a great shot at a victory at the Daytona Road Course.
Performance history at road courses since 2017: Averages a 7th place finish between all road courses.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Finished inside the top-five at both Roval races.
History in Sonoma: One win and eight top-five finishes.
History at Watkins Glen: Bowyer has finished inside the top-10 five times at The Glen.
Ryan Blaney
Blaney is having a great season, and he has some pretty good stats on road courses. Let’s see if he can get the win he’s been so close to in recent weeks.
Performance history at road courses since 2017: One win and an average finish of 10th at road courses.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: One win and an eighth-place finish.
History in Sonoma: Two top-10s – one of them a third-place finish last July.
History at Watkins Glen: Two top-10s with a fifth place finish last August.
Denny Hamlin
With Harvick sweeping the weekend in Michigan, Hamlin has some catching up to do, either this weekend or next, if he has a good car to do it with.
Performance history at road courses since 2017: Average finish of 8.9.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Not the best – he finished inside the top 20 but outside the top 10.
History in Sonoma: Four top-five finishes and three top-10s.
History at Watkins Glen: One win and four top-fives, with a third-place finish last August.
Bonkers – Stay away from these NASCAR drivers in your fantasy lineup this week
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Probably the worst type of track for Stenhouse. Keep him out of your NASCAR fantasy lineup until Daytona goes back to classic form.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s.
History in Sonoma: Zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s.
History at Watkins Glen: Zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s.
William Byron
A year or two down the road and this kid might become a bold pick on a road course. For now, he doesn’t have the experience he needs to run with the drivers who do.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Zero wins, zero top-fives, one top-10.
History in Sonoma: Zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s.
History at Watkins Glen: Zero wins, zero top-fives, one top-10s.
Ryan Newman
He’s not terrible on road courses, but he’s not good enough to come out on top in a critical weekend.
Notable History at The Roval in two races: Zero wins, zero top-fives, zero top-10s.
History in Sonoma: Zero wins, two top-fives, eight top-10s.
History at Watkins Glen: Zero wins, one top-five, three top-10s.
