Daily Fantasy NASCAR Hot-Starts: Coke Zero Sugar 400

The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series makes its way back to Daytona International Speedway for Saturday night’s Coke Zero Sugar 400. The green flag flies at 7 p.m. ET on NBC. It’s the latest race for FanDuel’s daily fantasy NASCAR contest.

Play at fanduel.com/frontstretch this weekend and you could win $450 cash! First prize also includes a COMPLETE Pocono Weekend experience for the Gander Outdoors 400 at the end of the month.

• (2) 100 Level Sunday Tickets for the race
• (2) Pit/Paddock Passes
• (2) Pre-Race Concert and Driver Introduction Passes
• Total value = $260

This contest is limited to 100 entries and they’re going fast… sign up today!

Here are the rules for FanDuel’s new Daily Fantasy NASCAR game.

FanDuel has put more emphasis on finishing position than other DFS sites. For this reason, FanDuel allows you to look at the entire field instead of just dominators and big movers.

Also, with only 0.1 points awarded for each lap led by a driver, the need for a dominator is less important when building a winning lineup. The 160-lap race will only have a total of 16 points up for grabs in this category. Take note when building your roster and focus on mid-pack drivers who can climb up toward the front on race day.

Here are three drivers that are primed for a big fantasy night at Daytona.

Aric Almirola ($10,100)
Starting Position 26th

Almirola is no stranger to starting deep in the pack at Daytona. In the Daytona 500 back in February, he started 37th and was a half-lap from winning the race.

In fact, Almirola is a sneaky good restrictor plate racer. He won this race in 2014 and has only finished outside the top 15 at Daytona once at since then. In his only attempt at the track in 2017, he finished fourth from the 15th starting position.

He is having a career year and it would no longer be a surprise if he were to win Saturday night.

Paul Menard ($9,000)
Starting Position: 30th

Menard has finished sixth or better in the last three Daytona races. He set a career best finish of third in this race a season ago. That finish was sandwiched between a fifth place in the 2017 Daytona 500 and a sixth place finish earlier this season.

What sticks out about Menard’s success the past couple years is his starting and finishing position differential. In those three races his average starting spot was 24.3, while his average finishing position was 4.6. This is huge when looking for value on FanDuel.

Daniel Suarez ($8,000)
Starting Position: 32nd

Suarez has not been quite as lucky as the two drivers mentioned before him. In three career starts at Daytona he has finishes of 29th, 17th, and 37th. The reason he is a hot-start this week is because he starts at the back of the pack in 32nd.

The Joe Gibbs Racing stable were off the pace in qualifying, the fastest being Kyle Busch who will start 15th. This leads to believe that the cars are set up more for handling in the race than straight line speed. When it comes to pack racing, the car needs to be as stable as possible. This set up could be a big advantage for the second year cup driver. Also, his $8,000 salary allows room for more elite drivers if so desired.

Post-Qualifying Lineup Example