This article is a race finish projection for the 2024 Daytona 500. The finishing order below is determined based on the statistics used in the Cup Series Notable Drivers Statistics & Outlook: Daytona (mainly track stats and track style stats), weekend practice speeds (both single lap and multi-lap averages), and qualifying results. There is little opinion on the matter as this is based on mostly statistics, so just because a driver with bad stats is in a good car does not mean he will be bumped up based on the car/team he is with.
Last race projected winner: William Byron
Finished: 4th
Last race winner: Ross Chastain
Projected Finish: 12th
Additional notes from last race:
-2 drivers finished where they were projected (Brad Keselowski 15th, Corey LaJoie 31st)
-18 of the 36 drivers finished within 5 spots (better or worse) of where they were projected
-Only 2 of the 36 drivers finished 15+ spots (better or worse) than they were projected to finish
-11 of the 36 drivers finished 10+ spots (better or worse) than they were projected to finish
-6 of the Top 8 drivers were projected to finish in the Top 8
Notable results this week
Winner: Ryan Blaney
One to Watch: Kyle Busch
Disappointment: Austin Dillon
Proj. Finish | Number | Driver | Finish/Diff. |
1. | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 30th -29 |
2. | 17 | Chris Buescher | 18th -16 |
3. | 22 | Joey Logano | 32nd -29 |
4. | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 33rd -29 |
5. | 9 | Chase Elliott | 14th -9 |
6. | 2 | Austin Cindric | 22nd -16 |
7. | 8 | Kyle Busch | 12th -5 |
8. | 19 | Martin Truex Jr. | 15th -7 |
9. | 24 | William Byron | 1st +8 |
10. | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 19th -9 |
11. | 48 | Alex Bowman | 2nd +9 |
12. | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 5th +7 |
13. | 20 | Christopher Bell | 3rd +10 |
14. | 99 | Daniel Suarez | 34th -20 |
15. | 47 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 31st -16 |
16. | 7 | Corey LaJoie | 4th +12 |
17. | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | 6th +11 |
18. | 43 | Erik Jones | 8th +10 |
19. | 60 | David Ragan | 20th -1 |
20. | 34 | Michael McDowell | 36th -16 |
21. | 14 | Chase Briscoe | 10th +11 |
22. | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 29th -7 |
23. | 38 | Todd Gilliland | 35th -12 |
24. | 31 | Daniel Hemric | 16th +8 |
25. | 4 | Josh Berry | 25th +0 |
26. | 42 | John H. Nemechek | 7th +19 |
27. | 15 | Riley Herbst | 24th +3 |
28. | 10 | Noah Gragson | 9th +19 |
29. | 5 | Kyle Larson | 11th +18 |
30. | 41 | Ryan Preece | 23rd +7 |
31. | 84 | Jimmie Johnson | 28th +3 |
32. | 62 | Anthony Alfredo | 27th +5 |
33. | 36 | Kaz Grala | 38th -5 |
34. | 1 | Ross Chstain | 21st +13 |
35. | 77 | Carson Hocevar | 40th -5 |
36. | 51 | Justin Haley | 26th +10 |
37. | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 17th +20 |
38. | 71 | Zane Smith | 13th +25 |
39. | 3 | Austin Dillon | 37th +2 |
40. | 21 | Harrison Burton | 39th +1 |
*This will be updated after the race is over so you can compare how the projection did with the actual finishing order.