This week it’s all about place differential points in the FOX Fantasy Auto game, which means there’s really no reason to even consider the drivers that qualified inside the top 10 for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400…well, except for maybe Denny Hamlin. The races at these big restrictor plate tracks are so unpredictable that it’s not really possible to lean on a driver for a bunch of finish points, like we can at other race tracks. Literally any driver could be on the table as a possible Fantasy NASCAR pick this weekend, and that means there are plenty of possible roster combinations that you could put together. Our philosophy at Daytona has always been to set a roster and enjoy the race, and that’s exactly what we’re doing this week.
Clint Bowyer’s in-car fire really ruined our FOX Sonoma roster, but we still left wine country with a somewhat-decent 133 points. We wrapped up the Spring Segment with 2,804 points and in 1,179th place overall (3rd in our private league). The Summer Segment starts this weekend with the Coke Zero 400.
FOX Fantasy Auto Picks for the Daytona 2 Coke Zero 400
Kevin Harvick ($14,200) – Another week and it’s another big price to pay for Kevin Harvick, but with this guy putting up the point totals he does in this game, the pricing kind of makes sense. Once again this #4 team wasn’t stellar in qualifying and Harvick will roll off the grid from 21st when we go green Saturday night. For what it’s worth, he started 34th in this race one year ago and ended up finishing 4th. That race is part of Harvick’s three-race streak of top 5 finishes here at Daytona, and with the way his crew chief, Rodney Childers, was talking on Twitter, they very well make it four in a row this weekend. With thirteen top 10 finishes in the first sixteen Sprint Cup races this season, Harvick is about as reliable as they come from a Fantasy NASCAR perspective, and should be one of the top FOX Fantasy Auto point-earners in this year’s Coke Zero 400. As of this post, just about 25% of the teams had Harvick on their roster, and we expect that to continue to rise as we get closer to rosters locking.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. ($11,500) – Even before qualifying was overwith, almost 2/3rds of the FOX Fantasy Auto game had Dale Earnhardt, Jr. on their team. We expect that number to get even higher before the race on Saturday night thanks to Junior’s 16th-place qualifying effort. This isn’t a pick that we’re overly fond of because we’re actually not taking the #88 on many teams this week on purpose. So many Fantasy NASCAR players are going to pick Junior at Daytona, and if he wrecks again–he has in both plate races ran thus far in 2016–that opens the door to make up some major ground on the competition. However, our FOX Fantasy Auto team is doing pretty well this year, so we’re just going to go with the crowd with this one. Junior is a four-time winner here at Daytona and starts 16th on Saturday night, meaning there’s definitely room for some place differential points. If you’re looking for an alternative pick here, Joey Logano would be a solid choice as well as Chase Elliott–and both would give you a little more cap room to work with as well.
Denny Hamlin ($8,700) – We’re going for place differential points this weekend, but seriously, Denny Hamlin at $8,700? You can’t pass that up. The #11 Toyota will roll off the grid from 9th once the Coke Zero 400 gets going and should be a contender for the win when the checkered flag flies. There’s no such thing as a “sure” Fantasy NASCAR pick at Daytona, but Hamlin has been about as close as you can get over the last five races. During that span, he’s never finished worse than 6th, and he finally capped it off with a win here in this season’s Daytona 500. Hamlin’s crew chief thinks that they have a car similar to that Daytona 500 car this weekend, and if it’s anything close to that, Denny will definitely have a shot at a top 5 finish on Saturday night. He starts 9th, which leaves a little room for place differential points.
Regan Smith ($5,200) – Why not? Smith is going to start dead last for Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400 but that’s because he never made a lap during qualifying. And if we’re going for place differential points, he is honestly a great option. A lot of people have their eyes on Regan Smith this weekend as a potential sleeper, and for good reason: over his last three starts at Daytona, Smith has finished 8th, 16th, and 7th. A finish anywhere near those three would be great for our FOX Fantasy Auto team this weekend. If you want to have a safer driver on your team in this spot, jump up and grab Tony Stewart or Danica Patrick, but we’re daring to be different–and as of this post less than 1% of FOX teams have Regan Smith picked.
Jamie McMurray ($9,400) – Here’s another guy that isn’t on very many rosters. As of this post, only 6.5% of FOX teams had Jamie McMurray on them, but he has plenty of upside this weekend at Daytona–even at that pricey point of $9,400. Essentially we’re trying to catch lightning in a bottle twice with Jamie Mac, as he was on our FOX roster back at Talladega, when he started 30th and finished 4th. In Saturday night’s Coke Zero 400, McMurray is going to roll off the grid from 29th. Jamie is definitely a capable restrictor plate racer and is a two-time winner here at Daytona International Speedway. He finished 15th in this race one year ago and has ended up 17th or better in four of the last six races at this track. Another driver you could put in this spot is Paul Menard–who starts a row ahead of McMurray in 27th–or Chase Elliott, who starts 24th and still might make our team.
