Yeah, yeah. Everybody loves short-track racing. Just like everybody loves Kung Fu fighting. But after a damp week banging around Loudon, it's great to be heading back to a superspeedway in the sun. Especially Daytona, the Track Where It All Began. There is no finer sight in motorsports than 43 gleaming cars going three- and four-wide through massive, high-banked turns. Throw in the Independence Day festivities, plus an old-school, Saturday night race under the lights and it's enough to make you not care who wins. Just kidding. We always care who wins. In fact, while you've been at the store stocking up on beer and fireworks for the big holiday, we've been looking at picks for NASCAR's version of the Midsummer Classic.
KYLE BUSCH
You'd have to be a moron not to like Baby Busch, no matter what he's driving. The guy is so hot right now he could win a Gumball Rally in a golf cart. Vegas likes Busch too, installing him as a 9/2 favorite this weekend. Don't bet on it. In restrictor-plate races you need help drafting late. No one in that garage is about to jump out of line to help Kyle Busch win a race. Figure that No. 18 car for a solid top-10, but no visit to Victory Lane this week.
TONY STEWART
Everybody called Stewart's finish at New Hampshire "bad luck." After all, he led late and finished 13th only because the rain didn't come soon enough, right? Bad luck? BS. Stewart and crew chief Greg Zipadelli saw the same weather forecast as everyone else. They gambled and lost.
That's not magic. It's racing. Stewart is also dealing with questions about where he'll spend the rest of his career, which can't be helping him focus. Sure, Tony has 12 wins at DIS — including two in the Coke Zero 400, plus a bunch in the dearly-departed IROC Series. Sure, the Gibbs cars have been super-fast and handle well in the heat. We'll still pick the Home Depot team 25th.
JEFF BURTON
Burton must have cheered when Juan Pablo Montoya knocked Kyle Busch out of last weekend's New Hampshire race. The crash put Jeff just 64 points from the overall lead. Okay. Maybe Burton didn't cheer. He's too nice a guy for that. He also might be too nice a guy to win the Chase, but that's another story. We're not in love with the RCR cars at superspeedways. With his 13th-place at the Daytona 500 and a 12th-place at Talladega, Burton give us no reason to change our minds. We've got the No. 31 Chevy for another conservative, respectable, we-just-want-to-make-the-Chase top-15.
DALE EARNHARDT JR.
There's no doubt that NASCAR's most popular driver loves this big, wide track. In 17 Cup starts at Daytona, Junior has won twice. He has six top-five finishes and ten finishes inside the top-10. Nice. He's also completed 2,933 of 2,997 laps, almost 98 percent -- which is sort of like hitting free throws or never two-putting. The question is: will Junior go for the win or lay back for a strong points finish? Right...
Who are we kidding? There's no question about it. A Saturday night race at historic Daytona? Over the Fourth of July weekend? He won't lay back. He'll put on a show and be the only Hendrick driver in the top five.
We'd pick him to win, but that would just be pandering.
DENNY HAMLIN
He will be a popular choice. Shun him. In five starts at Daytona, Hamlin has no wins, no poles. He's never even finished in the top-10. Also, he's proving to be kind of a jerk who won't admit when he screws something up. We don't care how fast the Gibbs cars are, you need help to win at superspeedways (see Kyle Busch) and Hamlin won't get it this week.
BRIAN VICKERS& DAVID RAGAN
If you need lower-tier drivers to round out your fantasy team, take a flyer on these two. Vickers is a 35-1 shot who currently sits 16th overall, but has four top-10 finishes and run especially strong since All-Star Week in Charlotte. Toyota-haters may not like it, but Red Bull is on the rise. Ragan could be undervalued in a lot of leagues. The No. 6 AAA Ford sits 17th, but he's just 128 points from the last Chase spot with weeks left to go.
THE FIELD
Finally, if you still can't pick a driver, cheer out of naked greed.
Root for either Stewart, Burton, Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Mark Martin, Greg Biffle, Elliott Sadler, Jamie McMurray, Bobby Labonte, Michael Waltrip, Clint Bowyer, David Ragan or Terry Labonte. If any one of the 13 Coke-sponsored drivers wins the race, every fan in America can get a coupon for a free, 20-ounce bottle of diet pop. Happy days are here again.
