Well folks, it’s finally here. After three long months of anticipation and changes a plenty, the stars of the Monster Energy Cup Series take to the high banks of Daytona for the great American race, the Daytona 500. Aside from the final race of the season at Homestead, this is arguably the most important race of the season. If you ask any NASCAR driver out there he or she will tell you that this is the hardest track to win at on the schedule. The track is an unforgiving 2.5 mile oval with the possibility of trouble lurking in all four corners and the possibility of “the big one” is always prevalent. Last year, there were four incidents that involved at least five cars. In some cases avoiding the big wrecks is the key to getting a good finish or possibly winning the race itself. For example, last year part time driver Brendan Gaugahn started in thirty-ninth of forty cars but he was able to lurk in the shadows for most of the race and in return he went on to a solid 11th place finish. While missing the wrecks is a big part of success in races like this, it is also important to note that if a driver is involved in a wreck, by no means are they out of contention. Last year’s winner Kurt Busch was involved in one of the many multi-car accidents last year but the team was somehow able to repair the car and get him to victory lane. Another factor that could come into play is team strategy during the three stages. More than likely we will see teammates pit at the same time to avoid one car losing the draft. Look for the Joe Gibbs and Furniture Row teams to be the first to pit. My predictions for the race go as follows: my winner of the race is Brad Keselowski. With a win in the clash last Sunday, automatically he becomes the favorite to win this Sunday. Not only has he been fast this weekend but when it comes to restrictor plate tracks he has been the “Pied Piper” so to speak. Over his career, Keselowski has accumulated a combined seven victories at Talladega and Daytona (Including last weekend’s non points race). If there is anyone that knows how to work the draft effectively, it has been him. While he had his fair share of bad luck in the past, the No. 2 Miller Lite Ford has always been close to the front. I think that this will be the race that he finally breaks through and gets his first Daytona 500 victory with his teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano in tow. Another driver to look out for is Daniel Suarez. The second-year driver was sixth in first practice plus he has shown enormous amounts of promise during his rookie season last year. Even though he has struggled at Daytona in both of his starts in the Cup Series, I think with a year under his belt and a better understanding of the Cup Car, he should fare much better this year. My dark horse pick to win is Aric Almirola. He is driving for a new team in 2018 with Stewart-Haas and while he has struggled in the past he is at the race track where he got his very first win in 2014. Not only is he good at Daytona, he was also second fastest in first practice so he definitely has speed. This Daytona 500 will have one of the best finishes of all time and I think this year we are primed to see an “upset” of sorts. I believe that Almirola can be the “underdog” and pull it off. It’s looking to be a great season and 2018 and I can’t wait to see how the Daytona 500 plays out.

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