Busch Clash Preview: NASCAR's 2020 Kickoff

The 2020 NASCAR season kicks off with the annual exhibition race at Daytona International Speedway, the Busch Clash, on Sunday.  Most fantasy racing leagues don't recognize this NASCAR exhibition event in the fantasy racing season, but some do, along with many daily fantasy racing games and racing pools that form specifically for this race and its unique format.  

The Busch Clash is a much shorter race than the 500-mile event the following Sunday, the Daytona 500.  It more closely matches the heat races that we're familiar with seeing in late model stock racing on dirt tracks all around the country.  The field is much smaller, but the stakes are just as high.  Thanks to the one-million-dollar purse that is paid to the field, and around $200,000 of that to the winner of this event, the competition seen in this exhibition in some ways will be more heated than what we will witness in parts of the Daytona 500 the following week. 

The racing consists of a 75-lap event that equates to 187.5 miles of racing on the famed Daytona International Speedway.  The 75 laps are split into two segments by a competition caution at lap 25, with a 10-minute pit stop break in between each segment.  The criteria to make the 2020 Busch Clash are based upon the following qualifications, with eligibility based on a driver having competed in the NASCAR Cup Series within the last two seasons:

• Pole winners from the 2019 season.
• Past Busch Clash winners, who raced full-time in 2019.
• Past Daytona 500 pole winners and Daytona 500 winners, who raced full-time in 2019.
• All 16 Chase participants from last season.

This exhibition race tends to crank out repeat winners most seasons, although we've had first-time winners in Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano in two of the last three seasons.  Like any other race at Daytona, any driver with a knack for superspeedway racing and ability to make the partnerships on the race track to get to the front will enjoy the most success and compete for the win.  Since this race is just 75 laps, it trends towards drivers who unload a fast car right off the hauler and don't have to make many, if any, adjustments to it.  Here is a list of the last 15 year's winners of the Busch Clash.  This should give us a good idea of the specialists for this race.

Winner                         Season             Laps Led          Starting Position

Jimmie Johnson           2005                      16                          17                                 

Denny Hamlin              2006                     16                          15                                 

Tony Stewart                2007                     11                          14

Dale Earnhardt Jr.       2008                     47                           7

Kevin Harvick               2009                      1                          27

Kevin Harvick               2010                     21                           2

Kurt Busch                   2011                      3                          17

Kyle Busch                   2012                      3                            2

Kevin Harvick              2013                     40                          17

Denny Hamlin             2014                     27                           1

Matt Kenseth              2015                     21                          16

Denny Hamlin            2016                     39                          15

Joey Logano                2017                      4                            9

Brad Keselowski        2018                     43                          17

Jimmie Johnson         2019                      4                           13

This race is completely different than NASCAR's normal format, so we have to take the historical statistics in context this week.  The stats can be skewed since several teams come to the Busch Clash with "disposable cars" and looking to hit the big payday even at the expense of wrecking the team's car.  With a total purse that will exceed a million dollars, the mindset is completely different than any normal points-paying event. 

This exhibition race is unlike any of the normal Cup Series events, so we'll handle the prognostications a bit different as well.  We'll give you our picks for who'll contend for the win in the Busch Clash.  This exhibition race field is shaping up to be about 20 drivers, and these are the ones who we see as the top threats to win the first race of 2020 and take the big purse in this Sunday afternoon spectacle.

The Contenders – Drivers in the hunt for the win 

Denny Hamlin – The Joe Gibbs Racing star is a three-time winner of the Busch Clash.  Hamlin nabbed victories in the 2206, 2014 and 2016 installments of this exhibition race.  The driver of the No. 11 Toyota is also a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2016 and 2019), so he loves racing at this oval, especially later in his NASCAR career.  Last season was a pretty decent campaign on the superspeedways for Hamlin.  He grabbed a win and a pair of Top-5 finishes in the four starts between Daytona and Talladega.  The veteran driver has always proven to be a major threat to win this event each season, and we expect 2020 to be no different. 

Joey Logano – The Penske Racing star is one of our top contenders and top performing superspeedway drivers the last few seasons.  Logano won this event three years ago, and he also has a string of four consecutive Top-3 finishes in the Clash.  The driver of the No. 22 Ford has six Top-5 finishes in his last seven Daytona exhibition races.  He finished third-place in last year's season-opening Busch Clash.  Logano grabbed two Top-5 finishes between Daytona and Talladega last season, so he's had good speed on the big ovals.  This driver and team will be in the mix for the win this weekend when we get to the closing laps.

Brad Keselowski – The one-time Clash champion and one-time Daytona winner will put the No. 2 Ford through its paces this Sunday afternoon.  Keselowski dominated this event two years ago, leading 43 of the 75 laps and taking his first win in this thrilling exhibition race.  The Penske Racing star also led 8 laps and finished runner-up in the Clash in 2014.  Keselowski is a talented superspeedway driver, and has the hardware to back that up.  If the Ford Mustangs are fast right out of the gate this season, this driver and team will be heard from by the end of Speed Weeks.  This short-race format plays right into Keselowski's strengths as a top superspeedway driver.     

Chase Elliott – This will be Elliott's fourth-career start in the Busch Clash.  He has a pair of Top-10 finishes in the first three attempts.  The Hendrick Motorsports driver grabbed his first-career win on a superspeedway last season with his thrilling spring victory at Talladega.  Elliott is also a three-time pole winner at the Daytona oval.  The No. 9 team has been steadily improving on these huge ovals the last couple seasons as Elliott gains more experience on them.  This installment of the Clash could see this young driver upstage some older veterans and grab his first-career victory in this season-opening exhibition race. 

Kyle Busch – The Joe Gibbs Racing star is a one-time winner of this preseason exhibition race.  Busch won from the front row in the 2012 installment in thrilling fashion.  His record otherwise has been rather up-and-down in this exciting race.  Busch's "go for it" attitude tends to get him more in trouble than serve him in this event.  Last season he qualified on the outside pole, but was rolled up in a crash that took him out late in the race.  This driver and team are a roll of the dice to be sure in this particular event, but it's that homerun potential that you have to respect each time Busch takes to the track.

Kurt Busch – The Chip Ganassi Racing veteran has a long list of accomplishments in superspeedway racing.  Busch is the 2017 Daytona 500 champion, and he finished sixth-place at Talladega last spring.  That's just his latest feats on these two huge ovals.  The driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet is a one-time winner of the Clash, and it came back in 2011 while racing for prior boss Roger Penske.  More recently, Busch has finished second- and third-place in his last two Clash starts for two different race teams.  Busch has more Top 10's at Daytona International Speedway than any other active driver with 18 total.  He has the experience and skill to win this racing exhibition.              

Ryan Blaney – Blaney has been coming on strong in superspeedway racing the last year.  It all culminated in his big victory at Talladega last October, which was his first win on a big oval.  This will be the Penske Racing youngster's third start in the Busch Clash.  Blaney's last two starts have netted a pair of impressive fourth-place finishes.  The driver of the No. 12 Ford is getting the benefit of that great Penske horsepower on superspeedways and learning how to use it.  Now that Blaney is getting his moves down in the draft, the time to start winning these races is now.  The short 75-lap format plays well to Blaney's abilities, so he's the contender that few could see coming for the win.         

Aric Almirola – The Stewart Haas Racing veteran has been shockingly good at superspeedway racing the last couple seasons.  Almirola fetched a respectable seventh-place finish in his last Daytona outing (last July) and he has an incredible seven-race Top-10 streak rolling at Talladega, that includes a 2018 victory.  The driver of the No. 10 SHR Ford hasn't been as successful in the Busch Clash throughout his career, but Almirola did nab a respectable eighth-place finish in this exhibition event one year ago.  That gave him two Top 10's in his four-career appearances in the Clash.  It's a new year and a new season, and Almirola will once again get a chance to turn heads in this race.  He has the ability to surprise some of the bigger names this Sunday afternoon. 

Kevin Harvick – Harvick is a three-time winner of the Busch Clash and as recently as the 2013 season.  He always seems to be in the mix for the victory when it comes down to crunch time in this exhibition race.  Amazingly, Harvick hasn't won the Busch Clash since joining Stewart Haas Racing, and considering how strong the No. 4 team has been that's almost unbelievable.  We should see a hungry driver this weekend.  He typically performs better in this shorter exhibition race than he does in the longer superspeedway events.  So keep that in mind when filling out your fantasy lineups for Sunday afternoon at Daytona.