Coke Zero 400 Preview
By Micah Roberts
VegasInsider.com
Let's start out by shaking each others hands as a congratulatory sign of affection for all of us being fellow Americans as we pass another Independence Day. It really doesn't matter whether you're friends or not, or whether you like a particular person, it's simply about everyone having the freedom to be who they truly are -- both faults and greatness, and live it.
I often reflect back in time to Philadelphia and Boston from the late 18th century and how all our founding fathers risked treason for the betterment of our colonies. And everything we stand for now as the leader of the free world can be tied back to those great moments in our brief but glorious history.
Don't ask me how I'm going to tie all this into my weekly NASCAR piece, but NASCAR does have a pretty good fireworks display going on Sunday night at Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400, formerly known as the Firecracker 400.
What I can say about NASCAR as it relates to our country is it certainly has a place in a large portion of our hobbies. It's followed weekly from spring till fall -- not too hard to follow in the standings -- and has a certain element that has grown over time that does embody America, whether it's roots of old moonshine runners or political candidates using races as forums to say 'vote for me'.
To me NASCAR is every bit American as baseball and football. They're our sports. Americans created them and we've watched them intensely waiting for some type or drama to include both the thrills of victory and agony of defeats on a regular basis. No other country is so driven by sports, and so often, as Americans.
Anyway, Happy Fourth or July to all. No let's talk about who is going win Sunday night's race.
I don't know whether I'm happy or sad to see racing at a restrictor-plate race because on one hand I love that anyone can win like no place elese. But on the other hand, I hate it because it's impossible to narrow down five to six drivers to win or bet driver matchups.
In fact, when plate races come around, I don't bet match-ups at all because practices in the four plate races don't tell any part of the story for race day like they do at the 32 other races. So the advantage plays on certain drivers and weeding those guys out before practices happen are completely gone which gives a huge advantage to the house.
Now to be fair to the sports books, they offer better value on drivers for plate races than you'll see on a normal basis. Take Kevin Harvick for example: He's 5/1 or less in normal races, but this week he's 12/1 as he tries to win his first race at Daytona since 2010. Harvick finished second to Joey Logano in February's Daytona 500.
This will be the third race of the season with cars using plates -- the Daytona 500 and the Geico 500 at Talladega were the first two. What we saw in each of those races was Hendrick Motorsports be very strong with Dale Earnhardt Jr. finishing third at Daytona and winning at Talladega.
Joey Logano won the Daytona 500, but it was Hendrick drivers leading the most laps led by Jeff Gordon's race-high 87 laps led, followed by Jimmie Johnson (39) and Earnhardt Jr. (32).
Those drivers all figure to be strong again, but you can probably suggest that there are up to 35 drivers that have a legitimate shot at winning. There is nothing wrong with taking a longer shot like Jamie McMurray and David Ragan at 40/1 because we've seen them constantly run well in plate races. McMurray's got four of his career wins with plates on and Ragan's only two victories came in plate races.
The past three years of plate races has seen Joe Gibbs Racing excel with Denny Hamlin and Matt Kenseth running extremely well. In Hamlin's past three starts at Daytona, he's finished second, sixth and fourth. You should be able to get 12/1 odds on him this week.
However, the best driver over the long haul at Daytona has been Earnhardt Jr. who has a 13.06 average finish in 31 career starts that includes three wins. For a track that is so volatile, Earnhardt Jr. has been the most consistent and has done it during all the different type of changes NASCAR has made with its aero-package. Junior just sees the air of the draft a little better than everyone else, even though teammate Jeff Gordon has six Daytona wins in 45 starts.
The last time we saw Junior win this summer holiday race was 2001 and it was his first win on any track since his father passed in the 2001 Daytona 500. Yes, to this day it still seems too good to be true -- the story book ending, but those DEI cars were way more advanced at that time than anyone else and they continued a huge run on plate races for the next four years. Everyone is now equal more than ever, but Junior is still getting the job done very well, and right now, this season, he's doing it better than most in plate races.
So enjoy the weekend, have some apple pie, say hello and congratulations to your fellow Americans and lets get that No. 88 Chevrolet to victory lane.
Top-5 Finish Prediction:
1) #88 Dale Earnhardt Jr. (10/1)
2) #11 Denny Hamlin (12/1)
3) #24 Jeff Gordon (12/1)
4) #48 Jimmie Johnson (12/1)
5) #20 Matt Kenseth (12/1)
Drivers to Watch - Daytona
By Sportsbook.ag
After a historic week at the “Road Course” in Sonoma where the Busch brothers finished one-two, the racers head to one of the more historic courses in the circuit for the Coke Zero 400 in Daytona Beach. The Sprint Cup standings look very familiar to past years as Jimmie Johnson leads the way with his four victories and nine top-fives while being followed by Kevin Harvick. They will look to continue their dominance of the sport in Daytona where the Daytona 500 has already been run and won by Joey Logano.
In the past at this event, there have been plenty of multiple winners with the last being Tony Stewart who took the trophy four times (2005, 2006, 2009, 2012). Jeff Gordon is still looking for a victory in his final season, and this is yet another track where he has done well with three victories (1995, 1998, 2004) as he goes against last year’s winner, Aric Almirola, who won in a rain-shortened 112 laps that was postponed a day. The 2.5-mile, tri-oval asphalt track features 31-degree banks and will be looking for the 12th different winner on the season when the checkered flag waves.
Drivers to Bet
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (8/1) - Earnhardt Jr. has been having yet another successful season as he sits in sixth in the Sprint Cup standings and owns one win on the year in Talladega. Besides that, he has also jumped into the top-five another seven times, including at this track for the Daytona 500 where he earned a third place. He has always performed well here, getting three career wins and ranking in the top-five a total of 12 times in his 31 attempts with one pole. His driver rating of 91.9 ranks second among the drivers as he owns 2,968 quality passes (2nd-most) and has been in the top-15 for 66% of his laps (2,475 laps, 2nd-most). He is coming off of top-seven showings in each of the last two weeks and should continue his success on Sunday.
Kurt Busch (12/1) - Busch narrowly earned a victory last week in Sonoma, but was eventually outdueled by his brother and came in as the runner-up. He has never won at Daytona International Speedway, but has done well in his 28 attempts, getting into the top-five 11 times and has been in seventh or better at seven of the last nine visits to this particular event. Busch has the third-best driver rating (90.5) at this venue and if he can improve on his average starting position of 21st, there is a good opportunity for him to be very successful. He already has two wins this year, including one a few weeks ago in Michigan, and has done no worse than fifth in each of his last three races, so look for the 36-year-old to perform well on the asphalt Sunday night.
Jamie McMurray (30/1) - McMurray has not been able to add to his seven career victories this year, but will certainly be a nice sleeper to do so this week in Daytona. Of those seven wins, two have come at this track where he is very volatile with only one other top-five and three other top-10s over 25 career visits. His recent races have been his most consistent of the season as McMurray has done no worse than 11th with three seventh place finishes over the past month of competition and he has improved on his pole spot by an average of nine positions during that stretch. With his recent solid racing, the 39-year-old should put himself in contention for his eighth career victory.
Austin Dillon (40/1) - Dillon has been to Daytona just four times in his young Sprint Cup Series career and actually performed quite well with two top-10s and a top-five. He has only ran in this particular event once, and that came last year when he started in 23rd in the pole and ended up flying up the standings for an eventual fifth-place finish. Dillon hasn’t exactly been tearing up the circuit this year with his one top-10 showing, but he did well at Daytona in February with a 14th-place and has done well in qualifying recently with a start in the top-seven in two of the past three races. Expect Dillon to exceed expectations in this one and outpace his current odds.
Casey Mears (75/1) - This is a special place for Mears as he made his Sprint Cup Series debut on the track back in 2003 when he led for one lap but eventually finished in 27th. This year he did well again at the Daytona 500 with his best finish of this season (6th) and he seems to enjoy this venue with six top-10s in his 24 career starts. Recently he has done very well in this event, ranking fourth last year after a pole of 22nd and did well (9th) in 2013 when he had a starting position of 19th. The 13-year veteran has plenty of experience under his belt (432 races), but has just one career victory, so he is certainly a long shot, but his recent success at the course bodes well and he could really surprise when he crosses the finish line.
Betting approach changes in plate races
By Micah Roberts
Sportingnews.com
Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn't won the summer Daytona race since his magical, heavy-hearted win in 2001 a few months after his father's death. But there's been enough positive data on his restrictor plate track runs this season to force the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook to install him as the 8-to-1 favorite to win Sunday night's Coke Zero 400.
In two plate races this season, Junior has been the best. He led 32 laps in the season-opening Daytona 500 and settled for third. In May's Geico 500 at Talladega, he led a race-high 67 laps and captured his only victory of the season. This comes one season after winning the 2014 Daytona 500, which gives him three Daytona wins overall.
One of the most important facets of Junior's career at Daytona has been his ability to run at a high level throughout. While several drivers have had their moments being considered one of the best at Daytona in short time frames, he's managed to pile up the best average finish (13.06) over his 31 career starts. It hasn't mattered whether his team was rolling well or not, or whether a new aero-package was in place, Junior just gets the job done in a fashion better than most on what is one of the most volatile tracks on the circuit.
And right now, Junior is rolling with a team — Hendrick Motorsports — that has things figured out the most in plate races this season. Joey Logano won the Daytona 500, but it was three Hendrick drivers that led the most laps. Jeff Gordon led the way by leading six different times for 87 laps and Jimmie Johnson was next by leading four times for 39 laps. And then of course Earnhardt Jr. ended up winning at Talladega and Johnson finished second. Six-time Daytona winner Jeff Gordon and three-time winner Johnson come in as the co-second favorites to win at 10-1.
If thinking about a possible Daytona sweep with Logano, who is listed at 12-to-1 along with six other drivers, just consider that it doesn't happen very often. Johnson did the remarkable feat in 2013, but before that only four other drivers had done it, with Bobby Allison being the last in 1982.
Perhaps the driver that has the best chance of breaking through for his first Daytona win is Denny Hamlin (12-1) because of his body of work the past three seasons in plate races. He captured his only win of 2014 at Talladega and in his past three Daytona starts, he's finished fourth, sixth and second. Prior to the Hendrick plate-race run this season, it was the Joe Gibbs cars that had run the best in plate races with Matt Kenseth (12-1) also leading a ton of laps but not getting a victory. Kenseth is a two-time Daytona 500, but both came while driving for Jack Roush.
There's a noticeable change in the odds with the favorites compared to most weeks just because of the volatile nature of the track — 35 drivers have a chance to win. Most weeks we have Kevin Harvick listed as the 4-to-1 favorite, but this week, he's 12-to-1 despite being a three-time Daytona winner and one of the elite drivers maneuvering through the draft.
There was a great example of the randomness of winners last July when Aric Almirola won the rain-shortened Coke Zero 400 in 2014 en route to his first career Cup win and a ticket into the Chase. Almirola is 50-to-1 to repeat and if he did so would join Tony Stewart (30-1) as the only active driver to win consecutive July races at Daytona. Stewart is a four-time Daytona winner, all in the July race.
Because so many drivers have a shot at winning, the betting approach should be much different for plate. Practices mean little, so the bettor doesn't get an edge in scouring over fast cars and average speeds, and qualifying also doesn't matter, so you're often coming in less informed and the randomness gives the sports books a big edge, which is why staying away from driver matchups is recommended.
Take a shot with four of five drivers on odds to win prices at varied odds with a mix of a favorite or two, two mid-level prices and a longer shot. Use some driver past history as a basis, but at the same time, don't count out names you would normally never bet on. Danica Patrick is a driver to consider as this type of racing presents her chance at victory in NASCAR. David Ragan's only two victories have comes in plates races and Jamie McMurray has four plate-race wins. There really isn't a bad pre-race pick until it loses, and in this instance, even the 'Field' bet couldn't be frowned upon as a wagering option.
Driver Handicaps: Daytona
By: Jeff Wackerlin
Racingone.com
MRN.com's detailed notes and statistics to help you set your fantasy racing lineup for Sunday's Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway.
Who's HOT at Daytona
• Dale Earnhardt Jr. has posted a 5.6 average finish in his last five starts, including a win in the 2014 Daytona 500.
• Jimmie Johnson is the only driver that has finished in the top five four times in the last five races, which includes two wins. He also leads all drivers with 165 laps led in that span.
• Tony Stewart is a four-time winner of this event.
• Jeff Gordon leads all drivers with six wins. He also has won the pole and led the most laps (134) in both restrictor-plate races this season.
• Casey Mears has finished in the top 10 in his last four starts and Denny Hamlin has finished sixth or better in the last three races.
• Joey Logano led 31 laps en route to the win in this year's Daytona 500.
• Clint Bowyer has finished in the top 10 in his last two starts.
Who to Keep an Eye On at Daytona
• Kevin Harvick has finished in the top 10 in four of his six restrictor-plate starts with Stewart-Haas Racing. His last of two Daytona wins came in this event in 2010 with Richard Childress Racing.
• Martin Truex Jr. and Sam Hornish Jr. have posted respective average finishes of 6.5 and 9.0 in the two restrictor-plate races this season.
• Kurt Busch (13.8) Austin Dillon (16.4) and defending race winner Aric Almirola (16.6) each rank in the top 10 in average finish among drivers entered in the Coke Zero 400 that have made multiple starts in the last five races at Daytona.
• Brad Keselowski, who has three wins at Talladega, has finished in the top 10 in three of his last six Daytona starts.
• Kyle Busch's only Daytona Sprint Cup points-paying win came in this event in 2008.
• Daytona is the only track where Danica Patrick has scored multiple top 10s (2) at.
• David Ragan (2011), Jamie McMurray (2007) and Greg Biffle (2003) are previous Coke Zero 400 winners.
• Ricky Stenhouse Jr. was running in lead draft in this year's Daytona 500 when he was caught in a wreck on the final lap.
• Ryan Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, is coming off his seventh top 10 in the last 12 restrictor-plate races.
• Matt Kenseth has led 275 laps on restrictor-plate tracks since joining Joe Gibbs Racing, but none in 2015.
• Kasey Kahne, Carl Edwards, David Gilliand and Paul Menard each are winless at restrictor-plate races but have come close, each with a best finish of second. Kurt Busch and Mears also have best finishes of second to their credit at plate tracks.
• Ryan Blaney and Brian Scott are entered in the Coke Zero 400.
MRN.com Staff Picks
Jeff Wackerlin: Jeff Gordon
Pete Pistone: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
John Singler: Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Driver Notes - Ordered by Top 20 in Average Finish (More than one start) in Last Five Races at Daytona
Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Has posted a 5.6 average finish in his last five starts that includes a win in the 2014 Daytona 500. Earnhardt won at Talladega Superspeedway in May to lead all drivers with a 2.0 average finish in the two restrictor-plate races this season. He also ranks second in laps led (99) in the two races.
Jimmie Johnson: Has won two of the last five races, sweeping both events in 2013. Johnson's 165 laps led in the last five races leads all drivers. He started second, led 39 laps, and finished fifth in this year's Daytona 500. Johnson ranks second in average finish (3.5) in the two restrictor-plate races this season.
Casey Mears: Has finished in the top 10 in his last four starts. Mears finished sixth in this year's Daytona 500 and 28th at Talladega Superspeedway in May.
Denny Hamlin: Has finished sixth or better in his last three starts. Hamlin finished fourth in this year's Daytona 500 and ninth at Talladega Superspeedway in May. Hamlin leads all drivers with a 7.6 average finish in the last five restrictor-plate races.
Greg Biffle: Won this event in 2003, but has only finished in the top 10 one time in the July race since the win. Biffle did finish second in this year's Daytona 500, but was caught up in the “big one” at Talladega Superspeedway in May to raise his season restrictor-plate average finish to 23.5.
Kurt Busch: Finished in the top 10 in the last two Coke Zero 400s, including a third-place run last year with Stewart-Haas Racing. Busch finished 12th in his first restrictor-plate race of the season at Talladega Superspeedway after missing the Daytona 500 due to a suspension. This weekend, Busch will debut a new car (chassis No. 950) in the Coke Zero 400.
Clint Bowyer: Has finished in the top 10 in three of his last four starts, including a seventh-place finish in this year's Daytona 500 - was second on final restart. Bowyer does have two restrictor-plate wins at Talladega Superspeedway.
Austin Dillon: Has posted a 9.3 average finish in his last three starts. This weekend, Dillon will return in the same car (chassis No. 493) that he finished 14th with in this year's Daytona 500.
Brad Keselowski: Has finished in the top 10 in three of his last six starts. Keselowski finished 41st in this year's Daytona 500 after an engine issue and 22nd at Talladega Superspeedway. Keselowski is a three-time restrictor-plate winner at Talladega.
Joey Logano: Led 31 laps en route to the win in this year's Daytona 500. The win was his fourth top 10 in 13 starts.
Danica Patrick: Finished eighth in this event last season for her second top 10 at Daytona. This year, Patrick finished 21st in both restrictor-plate races.
Ryan Newman: Has yet to finish in the top 20 in three starts with Richard Childress Racing. Newman, the 2008 Daytona 500 winner, did finish in the top 10 in three straight races prior to joining RCR. This weekend, Newman will return in the same car (chassis No. 494) that he finished 11th with the Gatorade Duel at Daytona.
Kevin Harvick: Scored last of two wins in this event in 2010 driving for Richard Childress Racing. Harvick finished second in this year's Daytona 500 and eighth at Talladega Superspeedway. He's made six restrictor-plate starts with Stewart-Haas Racing and has finished in the top 10 in four of them, including the last three. This weekend, Harvick will debut a new car (chassis No. 949) in the Coke Zero 400.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr.: Only top 10 in six starts came in the 2014 Daytona 500. Stenhouse's best finish in the Coke Zero 400 came in 2013, in 11th. Overall, Stenhouse has captured three top 10s in 10 restrictor-plate starts.
Jeff Gordon: His last of six wins came in the 2005 Daytona 500 after winning the Coke Zero 400 the year prior. Although he doesn't have the finishes to show for it, Gordon has won the pole for both restrictor-plate races this season and led the most laps with 134.
Bobby Labonte: Last of 10 top 10s in 45 starts came in this event in 2012 when he drove for JTG Daugherty Racing. Labonte has posted a 25.5 average finish in the two restrictor-plate races this season driving the No. 32 Ford.
JJ Yeley: Posted an 11.5 average finish in the two races in 2013 driving for Tommy Baldwin Racing. This year, Yeley finished 40th in his first Daytona start with BK Racing. He lowered his average finish on the plate tracks this season to 27.0 with a 14th-place finish at Talladega Superspeedway.
Aric Almirola: Won this event last season (rain-shortened) after leading 14 laps. Almirola finished 15th in both restrictor-plate races this season.
Jamie McMurray: Has two wins, including the 2007 Coke Zero 400. McMurray also has two wins at Talladega Superspeedway. He finished 11th at Talladega in May for his best plate finish with crew chief Matt McCall.
Michael McDowell: Finished seventh in this event last season for his first top 10 in four restrictor-plate starts with Leavine Family Racing. McDowell also finished ninth in the 2013 Daytona 500 driving for Phil Parsons Racing.
Daytona International Speedway Data
Season Race #: 17 of 36 (07-05-15)
Track Size: 2.5-mile
Banking/Turns 1 & 2: 31 degrees
Banking/Turns 3 & 4: 31 degrees
Banking/Straights: 3 degrees
Banking/Tri-Oval: 18 degrees
Frontstretch Length: 3,800 feet
Backstretch Length: 3,000 feet
Race Length: 160 laps / 400 miles
Top 10 Driver Ratings at Daytona
Kyle Busch 96.2
Dale Earnhardt Jr. 91.9
Kurt Busch 90.5
Matt Kenseth 89.9
Jeff Gordon 88.0
Jimmie Johnson 87.9
Denny Hamlin 87.7
Tony Stewart 86.6
Joey Logano 85.8
Clint Bowyer 84.0
Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2015 races (21 total) among active drivers at Daytona International Speedway.
Qualifying/Race Data
2014 pole winner:
David Gilliland, Ford
199.322 mph, 45.153 secs 07-04-14
2014 race winner:
Aric Almirola, Ford
130.014 mph, (02:09:13), 07-06-14
Track qualifying record (July race):
Cale Yarborough, Ford
203.519 mph, 44.222 secs 07-02-86
Track race record (July race):
Bobby Allison, Mercury
173.473 mph, (02:18:21), 07-04-80
Coke Zero 400 Driver Tale of the Tape
Greg Biffle (No. 16 CHEEZ-IT Ford)
· One win, three top fives, eight top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 19.2
· Average Running Position of 17.1, 10th-best
· Driver Rating of 81.8, 12th-best
· 85 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 4,132 Green Flag Passes, seventh-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.161 mph, sixth-fastest
· 1,978 Laps in the Top 15 (52.7%), ninth-most
· 2,382 Quality Passes (passes of cars in the top 15 under green), 12th-most
Clint Bowyer (No. 15 5-hour ENERGY Toyota)
· Three top fives, nine top 10s
· Average finish of 15.5
· Average Running Position of 17.5, 11th-best
· Driver Rating of 84.0, 10th-best
· 82 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 3,939 Green Flag Passes, 11th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.212 mph, second-fastest
Kurt Busch (No. 41 Haas Automation Chevrolet)
· 11 top fives, 14 top 10s
· Average finish of 17.5
· Average Running Position of 15.8, seventh-best
· Driver Rating of 90.5, third-best
· 71 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 3,864 Green Flag Passes, 12th-most
· 2,161 Laps in the Top 15 (60.9%), sixth-most
· 2,724 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Interstate Batteries Toyota)
· One win, five top fives, six top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 19.1
· Series-best Average Running Position of 12.8
· Series-best Driver Rating of 96.2
· 85 Fastest Laps Run, third-most
· 4,023 Green Flag Passes, ninth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.207 mph, third-fastest
· Series-high 2,488 Laps in the Top 15 (70.1%)
· 2,869 Quality Passes, fourth-most
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (No. 88 Nationwide Stars and Stripes Chevrolet)
· Three wins, 12 top fives, 18 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 13.1
· Average Running Position of 14.1, second-best
· Driver Rating of 91.9, second-best
· 89 Fastest Laps Run, second-most
· 4,353 Green Flag Passes, fourth-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.086 mph, 10th-fastest
· 2,475 Laps in the Top 15 (66.0%), second-most
· 2,968 Quality Passes, second-most
Jeff Gordon (No. 24 AXALTA Chevrolet)
· Six wins, 13 top fives, 20 top 10s; four poles
· Average finish of 16.6
· Average Running Position of 14.3, third-best
· Driver Rating of 88.0, fifth-best
· 4,157 Green Flag Passes, sixth-most
· 2,274 Laps in the Top 15 (60.6%), fifth-most
· 2,709 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 FedEx Ground Toyota)
· Four top fives, five top 10s
· Average finish of 18.7
· Average Running Position of 15.4, sixth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.7, seventh-best
· 82 Fastest Laps Run, fifth-most
· 4,018 Green Flag Passes, 10th-most
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.154 mph, seventh-fastest
· 1,901 Laps in the Top 15 (56.1%), 12th-most
· 2,444 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Jimmie Johnson (No. 48 Lowe's Patriotic Chevrolet)
· Three wins, 10 top fives, 13 top 10s; two poles
· Average finish of 17.5
· Average Running Position of 14.6, fourth-best
· Driver Rating of 87.9, sixth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.067 mph, 12th-fastest
· 2,378 Laps in the Top 15 (63.4%), third-most
· 2,753 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Kasey Kahne (No. 5 Great Clips-Shark Week Chevrolet)
· Two top fives, eight top 10s
· Average finish of 19.4
· Average Running Position of 16.6, ninth-best
· Driver Rating of 83.3, 11th-best
· 71 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-most
· 4,572 Green Flag Passes, second-most
· 2,001 Laps in the Top 15 (53.3%), seventh-most
· 2,825 Quality Passes, fifth-most
Matt Kenseth (No. 20 DeWalt Made In The USA Toyota)
· Two wins, six top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 17.8
· Average Running Position of 15.3, fifth-best
· Driver Rating of 89.9, fourth-best
· 80 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-most
· 2,277 Laps in the Top 15 (60.7%), fourth-most
· 2,556 Quality Passes, ninth-most
Joey Logano (No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford)
· One win, three top fives, four top 10s
· Average finish of 18.3
· Average Running Position of 16.5, eighth-best
· Driver Rating of 85.8, ninth-best
· Average Green Flag Speed of 190.144 mph, eighth-fastest
Tony Stewart (No. 14 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet)
· Four wins, nine top fives, 14 top 10s; one pole
· Average finish of 18.5
· Driver Rating of 86.6, eighth-best
· 76 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-most
· 1,958 Laps in the Top 15 (52.2%), 10th-most