Matt Kenseth won a rain-shortened Daytona 500 to open the 2009 season. Photo Credit: Icon SMI

1. Tony Stewart: Yup, I’m picking him again. Series-best Driver Rating of 104.4 at Daytona since the stat was introduced in 2005.

2. Kyle Busch: Second in DR (100.1), tops in Laps in the Top 15 (75.1%) since ‘06.

3. Jeff Gordon: Six-time winner at Daytona, 95.6 DR is third.

4. Jimmie Johnson: Leads all in Average Running Position (11.0) since ’05.

5. Matt Kenseth: Won this year’s Daytona 500, leads in Quality Passes (1,167 passes of cars in the Top 15 under green flag conditions) since ’05.

6. Kurt Busch: Three Top 5s, Four Top 10s in last four Daytona starts.

7. Dale Earnhardt Jr: Fifth in DR (91.9), still deserves serious restrictor plate track consideration.

8. Clint Bowyer: Finished ninth and fourth in past two Daytona starts.

9. Ryan Newman: 2008 Daytona 500 winner, eighth in DR (89.1)

10. Mark Martin: Clinging to a Chase berth, 10th in DR (85.7).

11. Kevin Harvick: Second in this year’s Daytona 500, 12th and 14th last year.

12. Carl Edwards: Only two Top 10s in nine Daytona starts.

13. David Ragan: Three Top 5s in five Daytona starts, but not reliable in 2009.

14. Joey Logano: Wreck ruined Daytona debut after he started ninth.

15. Brian Vickers: Two top 15 finishes in ’08 at Daytona, 80.7 DR (14th).

16. Jeff Burton: 81.6 DR

17. Kasey Kahne: 78.1

18. Denny Hamlin: 76.8

19. Jamie McMurray: 79.9

20. Juan Pablo Montoya

21. Sam Hornish Jr.

22. David Reutimann

23. Marcos Ambrose

24. Eliiott Sadler

25. David Gilliland

Sean Engel's Garage

THE COKE ZERO 400 EDITION I think Jeff Gordon will win. He has the momentum of that Top 5 last week and smart pit strategies from crew chief Steve Letarte will especially help him at this site. Tony Stewart is also another smart pick this week, because in two of his last three starts at Daytona he has finished in the Top 5. Expect him to finish that high again. Jimmie Johnson is also coming off last week's momentum, when he finished ninth, and he usually knows the perfect line to race at Daytona. Knowing the perfect line is crucial at Daytona because if you're on a normal line with little to no cars you're going to fall behind. A perfect line is a racing route filled with many cars to draft with, which can help drivers get through the pack to the front. My sleeper is Brad Keslowski, while the driver to avoid this week is Kevin Harvick. “Happy” hasn't really provided any solid performances for most of the season so far and from the looks of things, he's not going to change. As for Keslowski, he's coming off a sixth-place finish and had a restrictor plate win earlier in the year (Talladega). Daytona is known for huge crashes and unpredictable finishes. Since drivers are usually all together in one huge pack, a lot of bumping can happen, thus causing huge wrecks. All drivers are at risk to fall out of the race. Pit strategy tends to play out a lot at Daytona. When to pit makes a huge difference on where drivers will re-start. Starting high up is good, but thinking about a specific position at a certain time is even better.  Play it smart this week, fantasy owners. Sometimes making bold and risky choices works well at Daytona.

Listen to a FULL audio preview of the Coke Zero 400 . Scott Engel and Michael Forde of NASCAR co-host RotoRacing on the Fantasy Sports Channel every Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. ET. E-mail Scott at scotte@rotoexperts.com.

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