PixelatedPICK: 64th Daytona 500
DAYTONA BEACH, Florida (February 20, 2022) – A new season of NASCAR has arrived and after a longer than I expected hiatus, so is the PixelatedPICK. Once again, I’ll be using the NASCAR Fantasy Live platform as a means to share my picks and have a little fun along the way.
For 2022, NASCAR has changed the game up a little bit, removing a straight up race pick, team pick and manufacture pick. In their place are driver matchups putting a series of four sets of drivers head to head from which you pick which driver will prevail over his/her matchup each race for a 10 point bonus, maximum of 40 points possible.
I’m not yet sure if I want to take my picks that far, though I will make my matchup picks each week and that will of course be visible in the lineup screenshot each week.
Additionally, I’m not going to participate in any particular league, instead going fully independent to see where I will rank among the comprehensive total of fantasy players. I look forward to seeing where I rank come the season’s end.
As customary, there are five starter picks each week, with each driver being available up to 10 times in the 26 week regular season, then again available an additional five times during the Playoffs. Rounding out the picks each week is a garage pick that if used, must be by the end of Stage 2 each of each race.
My strategy makes picking easy, and hopefully will prove to be effective over the course of a long NASCAR season.
It’s simple, really. I’ll pick the five drivers that are highest in the points standings and have available races to use. This is simple for race two at California, as I’ll simply pick the top five finishers from today’s Daytona 500.
Additionally, since there isn’t an option to pick the race winner, I’m going to use a random driver generator; Steve Luvender’s Random Fantasy Racing (https://randomfantasyracing.com/). This will make up my sixth pick, and my official “PixelatedPICK” I suppose.
For Daytona, as there are no points accumulated yet this season, I will use another standardized set of metrics to fill part of my roster, and have a little fun picking a couple of drivers that I normally wouldn’t be picking over the course of the year.
The first pick will go to the previous season’s Cup Series Champion. Pick number two goes to last year’s Daytona 500 Champion, and the third pick is my random fantasy racing pick. Then, a couple of outliers that could make some noise in a race where if you start the race, you can win the race.
Kyle Larson: As the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Champion, Larson is my first pick of 2022. Spoiler: he is also my pick to be the Serie Champion for this season as well. At Daytona, and well every super speedway, picking Larson is risky, as his stats at the big tracks are less than stellar. Those numbers, however, span the time that Larson drove for Chip Ganassi, with only four starts in the very capable Hendrick Motorsports equipment. That equipment has put Kyle Larson on the pole for this year’s Daytona 500, and while there hasn’t been a polesitter that’s won the 500 since Dale Jarrett in 2000, I’d rather start first than anywhere else.
Michael McDowell: Yes, Michael McDowell picked up his first career win by bypassing the chaos ahead of him at the end of last year’s Daytona 500. Yes, McDowell is driving for a Front Row Motorsports team that most feel only has the chance to win at these crapshoot super speedway races. And yes, repeat 500 winners are rare. But that’s okay, because Michael McDowell has always been a solid and capable super speedway racer. I’m looking forward to a strong run for him once again this year.
Bubba Wallace: He’s my Random Fantasy Racing pick of the week. He’s finished second in the “Great American Race” and is driving for a three time Daytona 500 winner in Denny Hamlin. He won at Talladega last fall and while many are quick to say it was only because the race was rain shortened, I am always quick to respond. Bubba Wallace drove to the front of the field, took the lead and held onto the lead prior to the caution flying for rain. He didn’t assume the top spot after others pitted, nor did he emerge the leader after a crash. He raced his way to the lead. And can do so again on Sunday.
Justin Haley: Speaking of rain winners, Justin Haley falls into that category, winning for Spire Motorsports in the 2019 summer race at Daytona. Beyond that, however, Haley has two super speedway wins in the Xfinity Series driving for Kaulig Racing, who have shown time and time again their strength at these types of venues in recent years. In 2022, Haley moves up to the Cup Series full time with Kaulig, and that pairing could surprise a lot of folks.
Cody Ware: Okay, this is a pick that is simply because I really want to see an underdog prevail. Cody Ware hasn’t had the most robust record in the NASCAR Cup Series yet his family run Rick Ware Racing team is showing promising improvement to start the 2022 season. They are banking on the new Gen 7 racecar and NASCAR’s NextGen era to serve as a clean slate. A new technical alliance with Stewart Hass Racing doesn’t hurt either. RWR cars showed impressive speed at the Clash at the Coliseum and Ware in particular has been in the top half of the speed charts all week in Daytona. I’m big on Rick Ware Racing doing some big things this year.
Erik Jones: Rounding out my picks, I’m putting Erik Jones on reserve as my garage pick. In his second year with Richard Petty, the former Snowball Derby winner is part of a team that goes into this season with a surge of backing and support from a merger with GMS Racing to form Petty GMS Motorsports. This brings on Ty Dillion in the number 42 as Jones’ teammate. Oh, and let’s not forget that Jones’ has won in Daytona, winning the July 2018 race driving for Joe Gibbs Racing.
Those are my picks, who are yours?
- By: Daniel Vining, Twitter: @danielvining
- Screenshot: NASCAR Fantasy Live
