We are inching closer and closer to the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs, so every race moving forward is going to have critical implications to almost all drivers. This coming weekend, the series returns to the Daytona International Speedway for the 2019 edition of the Coke Zero 400. Read on for a breakdown of some of the drivers expected to rev their engines at the said track.
It’s been a while since Busch had a relatively ugly performance this season, so we should just be giving him a pass for finishing 22nd in Chicago over the weekend. That result also snapped Busch’s five-race streak of finishing no worse than fifth. But that’s a minor setback that shouldn’t at all diminish the way we look at Busch this season. He’s probably just set himself up for a huge bounce back at the Daytona International Speedway, where he’s ruled before. In 28 career races at the track, Busch has won just one race, which was the 2008 edition of the Coke Zero 400. While that’s definitely a long time ago, it’s worth noting here that Busch was the runner-up at this year’s Daytona 500. With the form he’s flashing this season, it’s fair to assume that Busch is going to have another strong performance there this coming weekend.
Denny Hamlin
Hamlin has been up and down of late. He was sixth at Pocono, then went 11th at Michigan. He followed that up with a fifth-place finish at Sonoma before a disappointing 15th-place at the Chicagoland Speedway over the weekend. But what makes Hamlin such a tasty bet for the 2019 Coke Zero 400 is the fact that he won his last race there, topping the field during the 2019 Daytona 500. Moreover, Hamlin has finished inside the top five in five of his last nine appearances at the Daytona International Speedway.
SLEEPERS
Erik Jones
Jones is still chasing for his first win of the season, but it seems that it’s just a matter of time before he gets it. He’s finished inside the top 10 in three of his last four races, including last weekend’s trip to Chicagoland Speedway in which he finished seventh. That stretch also includes a third-place finish at Pocono early last June. And there’s arguably no track which screams more of impending success for Jones than the Daytona International Speedway, where he’s finished third and first in his last two races. He won the Coke Zero 400 race in 2017.
Austin Dillon
Dillon showed well in his last race, finishing 10th at the Chicagoland Speedway. It was his first top-10 finish in five starts, and he could do it again at the Daytona International Speedway, where he’s won before. Dillon was the winner of the 2018 Daytona 500. He also owns a solid 13.58 career average finish in 12 career races at the track.
LONG SHOT
Bubba Wallace
There are not many exceptional things Wallace has done this season, but he might just have one in Daytona Beach. Wallace, who finished 25th in Chicago last week, has one top-five finish and three top 20s in four career races at the Daytona International Speedway.
