DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY

2.5 MILES 31 Degrees of Banking

If it is 4^th of July it must be time for the Firecracker 400, oops make that the Coke Zero  400. Whatever you call it, nothing says summer like this race. I remember many a 4^th listening to this race on the radio wherever I was. I remember even more vividly sweating profusely in the stands at Daytona on a couple of very hot July race weekends. As much as I revere tradition, I fully supported the idea to change this to a night race. Not only does it add to any holiday weekend to have a Saturday night race, it makes it a much more comfortable race to attend. Under the lights this race shines. This is our third restrictor plate race of the year and Chevrolet still has the restrictor plate advantage. It seems as if the Chevy’s might have a little advantage here. The last 7 of  9 been won by Chevrolet drivers. Toyota has served notice though that they have something on plate tracks. Dodge and Toyota each a plate win so far this year. Can Chevy hold it’s plate track dominance? We’ll find out under the lights on Saturday night.

DRIVERS TO WATCH:
DAYTONA INTERNATIONAL SPEEDWAY
COKE ZERO 400

5. The #5 driver is a former winner here, #12 Ryan Newman. Ryan won here earlier in the year in the Daytona 500, he is one of the best drivers on a restrictor plate track. 5 of his last 6 starts were top 15 or better including that win earlier in the year. Ryan sits at 15th in points, if he hopes to make the Chase he’ll need a big week here.
Vic's late line pick #

4. My #4 pick is a two time former winner here, #20 Tony Stewart.  Tony has 19 starts here, 6 were top 5’s, including 2 wins. Last February Tony showed up in a Toyota for the first time and brought it home in 3rd.
Vic's late line pick #

3. The #3 driver is another former winner here, #31 Jeff Burton. Jeff has 29 starts here getting his win in 2000. Jeff sits 2nd in points right now - one reason is that every start he has made so far this year has been a top 15 finish, in fact if you go back to last season Jeff has 22 consecutive top 15 finishes.
Vic's late line pick #

2. My #2 pick is my wildcard pick he has never won here, in fact he’s never had a top 5 finish, #9 Kasey Kahne. Kasey has 9 starts here, his last 3 races were top 10 finishes. Kasey has gotten better over the last 3 years on restrictor plate tracks and has been racing well since the race down in Charlotte.
Vic's late line pick #

1. My #1 driver to watch is Juan Montoya’s favorite, #18 Kyle “the shrub” Busch. Kyle has 7 starts – 3 of them top 5’s. All 3 of those top 5’s came in the last 4 races. Kyle is #1 in points and has slipped to 6th hottest, but he can, and should have an explosive 4th of July weekend.
Vic's late line pick #

Picks are posted on Thursday afternoon. Vic's Lateline Picks are posted Saturday morning.