Daytona 500 - Early Lineup

So you've taken a look at the Loop Data, Fall Talladega, and The Shootout. Let's now narrow it down to a few of the names I am penciling in for my Daytona 500 team. Keep in mind I will be watching practice and the Gatorade Duels to determine who makes it and who doesn't, so don't be surprised if a new name pops up after Thursday.

A-LIST:
29 - KEVIN HARVICK - Harvick and the RCR combination is going to be tough to ignore when it comes down to locking in the A-List starter. Harvick has strong team mates who I believe will be up at the front of the field early and often. Harvick proved in the Fall Talladega race that he can use this 2 car draft to his ultimate advantage. I could see using all 9 Harvick starts this year, so even though he might be the best A-List choice, I might bench him if another A-List driver is close to Harvick's level.

14 - TONY STEWART - His plate record and record here at Daytona is impossible to ignore. He is the top rated driver in the Loop Data, and he has everyone CRUSHED in laps led. Nabbing the driver who gets those 10 points for most laps led can really help boost your early lead or help cushion the blow of a bad finish. Stewart will be one of the cars I will watch the closest this week, as he has not impressed in the draft yet. I need to see some results before I give the starting nod to the 14.

22 - KURT BUSCH - It doesn't hurt that he won the Bud Shootout, but I'm looking mainly at his track record on plate tracks being pretty stellar as he keeps his nose out of the big one. Surprisingly the Dodges seem to be on-par with the Chevy's as good pushers and leaders in the 2 car draft. Busch is not someone I see starting 9 times in the A-List, so if he continues to impress through the Duels, look for the 22 to get the start.

Jeff Gordon will also get consideration, but like Stewart, I have yet to see the production in the draft from him. He'll get some looks but I need to see some major improvement. I am ignoring Jimmie Johnson this week, no matter how good he is. He is a definite 9-start driver and there is no way I am risking a poor finish on a plate track with team 48.


B-LIST:
88 - DALE EARNHARDT JR. - Love him or hate him, he's good in the draft and he's got a strong piece. He was very impressive in the Fall Talladega race as well using the 2 car draft. I suspect with Junior starting up front that he will stay there, and could be a great candidate for leading the most laps, especially if we get early long green flag runs. Strategy will be the big play here, everyone and their brother picks Junior on plate tracks, so you have to choose, do you want to score the same points as everyone else, or roll the dice and pick a different name to get a different result...for better or for worse.

31 - JEFF BURTON - For me, Burton is darn near a lock for one of my 2 B-List starting spots. His car has been the strongest of the strong cars so far in Speedweeks and he was dominate early in the Fall Talladega race. Some might argue that you want to save Burton for down the road, but I disagree, I see Burton falling off as the season goes on, so I will be using Burton early and often while the iron is still hot.

5 - MARK MARTIN - Hard to ignore this veteran as well. Although he doesn't seem to have the best piece of the Hendrick bunch, he's still stout. Martin is another driver who keeps his nose clean, finishing in the Top 12 in 3 of the 4 plate races last year. Also like Burton, I see Martin falling off as the year progresses (and potential turmoil with getting Kahne in the 5 car before the end of 2011). So again, I am using Martin early and often.

1 - JAMIE McMURRAY - Jamie Big Mac is one I will need to watch in practice and the Duels, he is in a backup car after whacking the concrete in practice last week. Still I believe EGR has another good bullet loaded up, and McMurray was strong in the Fall Talladega race before getting caught up in bad luck. Typical McMurray, you're either going to ride him to a solid finish or he's going to throw it away at some point in the race, not a lot of middle ground when it comes to the 1 car.

One giant name you are not seeing on here is Clint Bowyer. Even though Bowyer is extremely impressive and could be a potential race winner, I definitely have Bowyer down for 9-starts this year in the B-List, so much like Johnson, I just can't use/risk a Bowyer start here at Daytona.

Also keeping an eye on Juan Pablo Montoya, still don't know exactly what the 42 team has got but there is potential there for him to make the team. Red Bull Drivers Kasey Kahne and Brian Vickers also will get some looks, but I just don't have the faith in the team chemistry yet to see them in the lineup. However if they work well in the Duels I might have to reconsider.


C-LIST:
21 - TREVOR BAYNE - No doubt the 21 has been very impressive so far, and with Bayne running a limited schedule and having such a light C-List, you want to take every advantage you can of a start-saving C-List driver having a good run. The biggest unknown will be if Bayne can hang with the big boys in the draft, rookies tend to get hung out to dry more often than not. We'll see who works with him in the Duels.

09 - BILL ELLIOTT - As posted here earlier, don't count out the 09 this week. He'll be taking it easy to protect a good piece he's got for the 500. I do worry about Bill being too conservative however, we saw with the 2 car draft that if you get hung out by yourself, you're going a lap down, quick. Kenseth lost a dancing partner in the Shootout and 9 laps later he was being lapped. Those who "hang in the back" need to have committed and fast partners for the strategy to work this year.

78 - REGAN SMITH - Regan has not been as strong as I thought he would be here with RCR equipment. But he's a decent plate racer and the equipment is there, he just needs to get the most out of it. Smith will really need to impress me this week to get the start, as I would like to save him for later in the season as he could have potential to use 8-9 starts in the thin C-List.

15 - MICHAEL WALTRIP - Waltrip still needs to race his way into the field in the Duels, but I suspect with both the 56 and the 00 in his Duel race that it won't be an issue. Waltrip, and the rest of MWR, has been nothing to write home about so far at Daytona, and don't forget Waltrip wasn't all that impressive last year in his 2 starts at Talladega. I will need to see BIG things out of Waltrip for him to get the starting nod.

The 2 names here in the C that are omitted are David Ragan and Paul Menard. Both of which will be strong here at Daytona, but they are definite 9-start drivers in the C-List and there isn't any chance I will be risking a start on either one of these guys here.


We'll have the full wrap up here on Thursday night and we will let you know who's impressed us enough to make The Fantasy Nascar Geeker Daytona 500 Starting Lineup!