NASCAR Fantasy Pick'Em: 2010 Coke Zero 400

This weekend’s Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona, the Coke Zero 400, will mark the 18^th race and the halfway point in the season. We’ve come a long way from the season-opening Daytona 500, and a lot of the season's storylines have changed.

We’ve gone through stories questioning Jimmie Johnson, wondering if Joe Gibbs Racing is now the best team in NASCAR, and thinking that Jamie McMurray is the year’s surprise contender based on his Daytona 500 win.

Nobody can make judgments week to week anymore with the field this tight, though we’ll continue to do so anyway.

So who’s a smart pick heading into Daytona?

Junior Nation, get on your feet—your man is the real deal at this track and you know it.

Dale Jr. has the best average finish of any winning driver at Daytona, a 14.9, and of course the two victories that everyone remembers. He finished second in this year’s 500, and he’s been slowly creeping up the standings this year. He's currently in 13^th and only three points out of the Chase. Daytona could be the game changer he needs to get him back in the playoffs.

Elliott Sadler has been relatively strong the past few years at Daytona, scoring two of his four top-fives and six of his nine top-10s since the 2006 season. He led laps in the past two Daytona 500s as well, so it’s clear that he can run up front and challenge for the victory, and not just fall into top spots after dodging wrecks.

Clint Bowyer’s 12.3 is actually the best average finish of an active Cup driver at Daytona, but his lack of wins do knock him down a rung on the ladder. He’s only failed to complete one of 1607 possible laps in his nine career starts, led 96 circuits, and has only two finishes outside the top 20. Bowyer’s a reasonable pick if you’re going for someone who should be there at the end.

Kevin Harvick, the Cup points leader, has only one win at Daytona, the 2007 Daytona 500. However, he’s been a superspeedway star this season, leading 41 laps in this year’s 500 and winning at Talladega in a dramatic last-lap battle with Jamie McMurray. The 29 team has been impressive all year in maintaining the points lead, and Daytona should not be an obstacle.

Finally, it’s hard to believe that Mark Martin has never won a points-paying Daytona race, but in 50 starts, it’s the truth. He did win the pole for this year’s 500, however, and led a handful of laps in that event. The law of averages says that things will eventually go his way.