Ah, another season opener superspeedway race that leaves all in tears except for the race winner. Don't worry! 17 more races and we can forget these scores ever happened.
Even though the results are not quite what we'd like, someone has to start the year off with a win. This year that someone is long time Pick'em veteran, perennial championship contender, and would be 2023 Pick'em champion were it not for the business end of a tiebreaker
db512 who scores the first of what's bound to be multiple Pick'em wins this year. The margin of victory was just 3 points over runner up NascarRyan24, and 21 points over 3rd place Connor24fan both of whom start 2024 off with podium finishes and 1 playoff point each. Rounding out the top 5 were Ackbarfan and 66Fan who I hope doesn't only enter the Daytona 500 this year! If you're new to Pick'em, the top 3 finishers all earn playoff points just like the Cup Series drivers with the stage breaks. The winner receives 5 playoff points just like the Cup Series. But since we don't have stage breaks in Pick'em, 1 playoff point goes to the 2nd and 3rd place finishers. These playoff points carry forward into the playoffs, and could help determine who makes the playoffs and who doesn't.
Congrats to
@db512 on the win!
Speaking of those new to Pick'em, it's time to welcome our new crop of Pick'em rookies for 2024! Five newbies entered the Daytona 500. Best finisher amongest them was Kevmire who finished 9th. Pick'em rookies battle all season for the coveted Rookie of the Year award handed out at season's end. CardinalCopia, last year's Rookie of the Year, was also the overall series champion. So yes that can happen! This year it could be YOU! We take the best 18 of 36 races to decide whose overall score is tops so entering each week from now through Thanksgiving isn't required. Then again those who do enter all 36 races have 18 chances to drop their worst scores so there is an incentive to playing each week. Whatever you decide, we hope to see all of you rookies making your picks and rooting them on each week.
So that about wraps it up for this year's Daytona 500. Time to check out the full results and how the standings run as we get 2024 off to a roaring start.
Race Results
Current Standings
Rookie Standings
There you go. We are off and running in 2024. Next week is Atlanta, another superspeedway race. Hopefully this one is merciful on scores. Then we're sure to see scores build higher with the intermediate and short track races. Thanks to all who entered Daytona! We hope you enjoyed rooting for your picks. Hope to see you all back and maybe some more new and returning faces this coming weekend in Atlanta.