Once again, the NASCAR world sets its collective gaze on Daytona Beach, Florida for the running of the Daytona 500. As the sun sets on another NFL season and MLB has yet to crest the horizon, the NASCAR Fantasy world will put a microscope on Daytona, especially on DraftKings as the site will award its first-ever NASCAR Millionaire Maker. Thus, let’s preview all of the on-track activity for Sunday’s Daytona 500 as well as a preview of what fans and games should expect to see Sunday when making their NASCAR DFS picks and predictions for DraftKings and FanDuel.
NASCAR DFS Today: Daytona 500 Preview, Picks & Predictions
Daytona 500 Odds, Past Winners & Where to WatchÂ
- Track: Daytona International Speedway
- Location: Daytona Beach, Fla.
- Length: 2.5-mile (asphalt)
- Banking: 31 degrees in the turns, 18 degrees in the tri-oval, 2 degrees on the back straightaway
- Race Distance: 200 laps
- Dominator Points:
- DraftKings: 50 – laps led, 80 – fastest laps
- FanDuel: 20 – laps led
- Past winners: Michael McDowell (2021), Denny Hamlin (2020), Denny Hamlin (2019)
- Betting favorite: DraftKings Sportsbook – Denny Hamlin +850, BetMGMÂ – Denny Hamlin +800
- Entry List: All 36 Chartered Teams plus Jacque Villeneuve, Kaz Grala, Greg Biffle, JJ Yeley and Timmy Hill
- Weather: High of 74, partly cloudy
- Watch: FOX (2:30 PM Eastern)
- Listen: MRN (MRN.com, NASCAR.com, NASCAR Sirius/ XM Channel 90)
2022 Daytona 500 Schedule
- Tuesday, February 15th
- First Practice Session – 5:05 PM
- Second Practice Session – 6:35 PM
- Wednesday, February 16th
- Single vehicle qualifying to set the field for the Duels – 8:05 PM
- Friday, February 18th
- Third Practice Session – 5:35 PM
- Saturday, February 19th
- Final Practice Session – 10:30 AM
- Sunday, February 20th
- Inspection – 9:30 AM
- Daytona 500 green flag – 2:30 PM
Daytona 500 NASCAR DFS Preview
Despite this being the first superspeedway race of the Gen-Seven era, judging by Tuesday evening’s two practice sessions, it appears that this year’s Daytona 500 should look no different than ones from years past. The changes in the body and horsepower have done nothing so far to discourage or prevent drafting. Vehicles of all manufacturers, Toyotas in the first practice and Fords in the second session, were able to leave the pits in four or five-car trains and lay down the fastest times compared to single-car or two-car tandems.
Compared to last year’s second practice session that saw Brad Keselowski claim the top fastest lap at 45.826 seconds/196.395 MPH, metrics are down as Ryan Blaney topped the chart at 46.732 seconds/192.588 MPH. Chances are these drops in time and speed will have a negligible impact on the quality of the product on television, as a one-second difference from last season should not even be noticeable when all 40 cars are running together. As far as DFS implications go, much ink has already been spilled about the peculiarities of this event and how one has to adjust their weekly process to fit this event. For those new to NASCAR DFS, be sure to check out the NASCAR Fantasy picks and predictions for the first-ever DraftKings Millionaire Maker Contest, and more discussion about Daytona and superspeedways in general.
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