2018 NASCAR Week 1: Daytona

Daytona 500

Daytona International Speedway

By Richard Tix

What to Watch For?

New Faces in New Places (or Numbers)

• Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Matt Kenseth are out and new fresh faces are in. It's just another step in the changing NASCAR scene the last few years (Stewart, Gordon, Biffle, etc all out of full time rides). So, who will step into the spotlight and take over as NASCAR's next star? A Daytona 500 win for Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, or Ryan Blaney would take them to the next level. Speaking of, Elliott changed to the number nine, Blaney moved to an official Team Penske car (No. 12), and a bunch of other changes were had. The 500 will give us as fans a chance to fully catch up on the moves and start adjusting to the new places drivers landed.

The New Chevy Camaro

• Sure, Daytona won't be much of an early season test for the new Camaro as that test will come when we head to Atlanta in week two. However, that doesn't mean we can't keep an eye on them and how nice they look on the banks of Daytona! Can a Team Chevy driver bring home a win in the first race for the brand new Camaro? Keep and eye on Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Larson, and the underdogs Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray.

**This section is just a quick look at some of Cup drivers latest finishes. This is not a tool for fantasy purposes and NBTW only is looking at end results. No deep statistic's are involved, but rather it is just a quick way to get ready for the race and get caught up on who has finished well at each track**

The Good

• Joey Logano - JoLo has thre straight top tens in the Daytona 500 including a win (2015). He has been a strong starter so expect a bounce back early in 2018.
• Denny Hamlin - Hamlin won the 2016 Daytona 500 and has five top tens in the last eight races at DIS. 
• Kevin Harvick - Harvick has had three straight rough finishes at DIS, but the three before that were finishes of 4th, 4th, and 2nd. He hasn't won at DIS since 2010, and his only Daytona 500 win was in 2007, but he should be a favorite heading into 2018.

The Middle

• Clint Bowyer - Bowyer has an average finish of 15.6 (which is the third best of current full time 2018 drivers), yet only has two top tens in his last four and has never won at DIS. But, he plays it safe and could find himself with a shot at it late.

The Bad

• Martin Truex Jr - Truex really hasn't fared will here at DIS in his career. In his last 15 starts at DIS he only has two top tens and five top 15's.
• Jamie McMurray - JMac does have two DIS wins but he also doesn't have a top ten since 2013 (eight races).
• Kyle Larson - Lot of bad luck included in Larson's stats, but only two top tens in his eight career DIS starts. Five times Larson finished 29th or worse in those eight races.