NASCAR trades the East Coast for the West, moves from the 2.5-mile Daytona International Speedway for the 2-mile Auto Club Speedway, and the difference could not be greater. This is a track on which drivers can control their own fate in the Wise Power 400 unlike the lottery that is the Daytona 500. There are still a lot of questions to be answered this week, however, as drivers and teams shake down the Next Gen car.
When NASCAR implemented stage racing in 2017, they changed how drivers and teams approached each weekend. With race points on the line and a playoff bonus point for winning stages, drivers must decide if it is worth racing hard to win the stage, or if they want to employ some other strategy.
The free-to-play NASCAR Pick ‘Em game is simple to play, but with equally matched drivers in each stage, it’s not always easy to determine who will lead their group. Each week, players pick one of four drivers to finish best in Stage 1, Stage 2, and when the checkers wave.
Participants can compete for weekly cash prizes, with a $10,000 jackpot available for any participants who earn a perfect score. There will also be at least $1,000 awarded each week in guaranteed cash and prizes, even if there is no player with a perfect score.
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Best Finish, Stage 1
Matchup: Alex Bowman, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Tyler Reddick
Keys: With only a couple of races’ worth of data to look at, there is not a lot to go on. A couple of drivers earned points in the four stages run in 2019 and 2020, but they are not at this level. Kevin Harvick and Brad Keselowski earned points in three stages, however, and that puts them on your radar screen.
Edge: Keselowski. He had a strong Daytona 500 and that momentum should carry forward into at least the first stage. Reality will settle in and he will run mid-pack in the next few races, but that won’t happen this week.
Best Finish, Stage 2
Matchup: Ryan Blaney, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano
Keys: The two drivers with points in all four stages of the last two races can be found in this group - and with 29 points for Blaney and 25 for Busch, they are evenly matched. Joey Logano is no slouch either and always seemed to find his way into the top 10 in 2021’s stages, making this a tough stage.
Edge: Busch. He gets the nod because he has a pair of stage wins to Blaney’s one. With practice and qualification reintroduced to the schedule, Busch should run with the leaders from green till checkers.
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Best Finish, Final Stage
Matchup: Chase Elliott, Kyle Larson, Austin Cindric, Bubba Wallace
Keys: You can drop out the two youngest drivers: Cindric will finish reasonably well and Wallace has an affinity for this track type, but ultimately the battle will come down to the Hendrick teammates in the closing laps.
Edge: Larson. It’s hard to bet against Larson. He was great on intermediate tracks last year and even in less powerful equipment, has recent wins on the 2-mile tracks. Look for him to dominate throughout the 400-miler.
Top-three, Race Results
We picked Larson in this week’s Cheat Sheets and nothing has happened to change our mind. Look for a surprisingly strong Keselowski to finish second and for Hendrick to place at least three drivers in the top five. Elliott is our pick for third.
