The C List will be HUGE this week because I really see a lot of people going with Sam Hornish. He has a great legacy in IRL, so people know him. He ran well all day at the Daytona 500. And he will start 7th because he has Kurt Busch’s points for this year.

While I’m talking about this, I want to state for the record that I DO NOT like him at all this weekend and really feel that he will struggle severely. Remember, Hornish has very little experience in a Cup car, got very few laps at California because practice was shortened, and all the rubber will be washed off of the racetrack after the rain. This is going to make the track very slick, making the cars free and tough to drive.

Why is this important? Well, because of the factors above, I really think Hornish is going to look like a solid prospect to some people. So, if you can steal an 18th place finish, or something like that, with Vickers or Reutimann, you can really make up some points on everyone else who runs Hornish, because I do not see him running well at California.

A List – Gordon
A List – Stewart

- Both of these guys were awesome, but right now I’m leaning towards Gordon. Stewart had both of his teammates in his duel race, while Gordon had none. That makes Gordon’s performance a bit more impressive. I don’t really see anybody else you could go with. Maybe, maybe, maybe Matt Kenseth or Denny Hamlin, but I don’t have have the guts to bench Gordon or Stewart for one of those guys.

B List – Earnhardt Jr.
B List – Ryan Newman
B List – Mark Martin
B List – Casey Mears

1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. – Jr. is a STUD again at Daytona and is my pick to win the Daytona 500. He is a lock to be on my team and most likely start. The only possible way I can see not starting him is if you want to go completely opposite of everyone else, roll the dice, and hope Jr. has trouble.

2. Ryan Newman - As of right now, 6:47pm EST, he will be my other B List driver with Jr. Ask me in five minutes, and I might change my mind. But anyways, he was the only car that had the muscle to get past Jr. in the first duel and I was happy to hear that he was one of the few cars whose tires looked great after the race.

3. Mark Martin - Martin finished 2nd last year in the 500 and finished 5th, very quietly, in the second duel. He’s a veteran driver who drives smart and stays out of trouble. From a fantasy standpoint, he is only running about 2/3’s of the races this year, so it could be a good idea to pull the trigger on him when he has a good car, like this weekend. He is very well respected by the other drivers, so finding drafting partners shouldn’t be a problem for Martin. If I decide to not go with Newman, Martin will probably be my guy.

4. Casey Mears - Mears finished 4th in the first duel and is in that ridiculously fast Hendrick equipment. He will have the other 3 Hendrick guys, who will all be fast, and who will be happy to work with him, so he should be up front a lot on Sunday. I like Mears a lot for the Daytona 500, but I don’t see myself liking him more than Earnhardt, Newman, or Martin, so I doubt he’ll get the start for me.

5. Reed Sorenson - Wow, Top 5 in the shootout and 2nd to Jr. in the first Duel. He is the definition of “sleeper” for this race. He obviously has a fast car and is not a driver that we expect to use 9 times this year. As a result, he could be a good curveball to throw. At this point, I don’t have him on my roster because his finishes have been good in short, shootout races. He hasn’t yet proven that he can run well for an entire 500 miles at Daytona. His teammates haven’t shown much speed so far and he still is very young, so he might have trouble finding guys to work with him.

Honorable Mentions:

1. Kyle Busch - He’s extremely fast, but extremely out of control. He was bouncing off cars left and right during the Duels and I don’t see him making it the entire 500 miles. Besides, he’s going to be a B List stud this season and there will be plenty of other races where we can start him.

2. Kasey Kahne - Kahne finished 4th in the second duel, but doesn’t have any teammates to help him, especially since Elliott Sadler beat up his car.

C List – Michael Waltrip
C List – Brian Vickers

Reed Sorenson, Ryan Newman, and Casey Mears looked really good as well. From that group, Reed Sorenson looks like a great sleeper for the 500. One note about Newman that you NEED to take into account is that the announcers said that his tires looked perfect after the pit stops. That is huge because so many cars have had tire problems, and that won’t get much better when they’re on the track for 500 miles on Sunday