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The NASCAR Cup Series heads Saturday to the Daytona International Speedway for the Coke Zero 400.
It’ll be a nerve-wracking 400 miles on the 2.5-mile oval, with the possibility of a playoff-busting victory looming over the heads of wild card hopefuls Ross Chastain, Chris Buescher, Ty Gibbs and Bubba Wallace. Can Kyle Busch extend his season win streak and make the playoffs via a Daytona victory? Or will former Daytona winners Austin Dillon, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Michael McDowell or Justin Haley nab a spot with a unlikely win?
With two regular season races remaining, the drama in a dramatic 2024 regular season should be plentiful at the World Center of Racing.
Here are The Tennessean’s expert picks for Saturday’s NASCAR Cup Series race in Daytona:
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Mike Organ’s pick: Brad Keselowski, No. 6 RFK Racing Ford
Keselowski got hot at midseason with back-to-back second-place finishes and a win at Darlington. Since then he’s had three finishes outside the top 20 but ran well last week in Michigan and will get his second win of the season Saturday.
Tom Kreager’s pick: Chase Elliott, No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Elliott gets his first win in a Daytona points race for his second overall victory of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series season. It will be his first top-five finish since finishing third at Iowa.
Nick Gray’s pick: Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 JTG Daughtery Racing Chevrolet
In a boom-or-bust race, go with the boom-or-bust driver with the boom-or-bust summer. Stenhouse, a two-time winner at Daytona in his career, has five top-15 finishes (including three top-10s) and three DNFs over the last eight races. And with the constant off-the-track storylines this year, why not rekindle the Kyle Busch vs. Stenhouse rivalry with the latter making the playoffs while the former doesn’t? I’m in.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR Daytona predictions 2024: Expert picks for Cup Series race
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