2020 Daytona 500: NASCAR Picks, Predictions, and Preview - 2/16/20

2020 Daytona 500

Sunday February 16, 2020 2:30pm EST

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 We begin the season with the NASCAR version of the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500. Daytona is at the top of the list to win for these drivers and teams, and we can expect some aggressive racing on Sunday. That said, will the chalk prevail, or will a large priced long shot come through and take the checkered flag?

Here are a few drivers to consider for the Great American Race.

Joey Logano- +1000- Logano is the favorite to win Daytona 500, and rightfully so. Logano could move to the top spot early and lead a great bit of this race. Joey has an average driver rating of 89.9 over the last 4 races here at Daytona, which is 4th best among active drivers. Will not surprise me at all to see the 22 in victory lane Sunday.

Kyle Busch +1000- yeah yeah, call me a chalk donkey all you want, but I will have a couple units on KB this weekend. Kyle has won pretty much every race imaginable at Daytona, but never the Daytona 500. Coming off that championship run 2019, no better way to get 2020 under way. Last year KB ran 189 of 200 laps inside in the top 15 during this race, finishing 2nd to his teammate Denny Hamlin.

 William Byron +2000- Byron finished 2nd in the July race here last year. Average driver rating at Daytona of 83.1 since the 2018 season is 7th best among active drivers. As a very poised driver, I think William will be turning some heads this year. I consider Bryon a dark horse pick in the Daytona 500.

Matt DiBenedetto +2500- Matt made the switch from the 95 car over to the famous Wood Brothers #21. I believe this is a bump up for him, as this is an opportunity to ride in better equipment. Matt has 2 top 10 finishes here at Daytona, in the last 4 races here. On top of that, Matt led 49 of 200 laps in last year’s Daytona 500. Unfortunately, Matt was caught up in the big crash. I like Matty D as a longshot to win this weekend.

 Michael McDowell +8000- McDowell is another longshot play I have in the Daytona 500. Michael has 7 top 15 finishes here at Daytona dating back to 2016. McDowell’s average driver rating over the last 4 races at Daytona is 8th best among active drivers at 81.7. McDowell will likely hang around the back of the pack to stay out of trouble. Then, with 50 laps or so to go, put the hammer down. Look for McDowell to be knocking on the door for a win in crunch time.

The pick in this article is the opinion of the writer, not a PickDawgz site consensus.

Mitch's Take...

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