Weekly picks from Spade Racing’s writer/webmaster/janitor Mike Mackler’s uncle.
Its a time of change in Nascar—changing networks (from Fox to NBC), going back to tracks for the first time all season, and probably about the 8th different guy to drive the 23 car this year. Now WHY is that? Who the heck starts a race team and figures, “hey, why don’t we put about a dozen different random guys in the car all year, THAT’LL make us successful!”

Anyways, here’s my picks for the upcoming race weekend at Daytona (total wins in parenthesis):
Xfinity Series Coca-Cola Firecracker 250 (5 wins)—Justin Allgaier—at least any start-and-parkers can claim they thought it was a 15 lap race.
Cup Series Coke Zero 400: FAVORITE (3 wins)—Martin Truex Jr.—the king of stages holds off any cinderellas of the restrictor plates. NEXT FAVORITE (1 win)—Ryan Blaney—how cool would it be to see the 21 car back in Victory Lane in Daytona…well, with someone who actually has a future in racing this time. DARK HORSE—Bubba Wallace—you just KNOW the 43 team is going to throw everything they have at this race.