Johnny Benson

When it comes to racing at Daytona International Speedway in July, Tony Stewart's real tough to beat. So when the Sprint Cup Series runs 400 miles under the lights on Saturday at the Florida superspeedway Stewart’s my pick to break his 31-race winless streak.

Working in Stewart's favor
Stewart has won this event two of the last three years (2005 and 2006) and in 2004 he was fifth. The two victories were accomplished in dominating fashion. In 2005 he captured the pole and it only got better for him from there as he led all but nine of the race’s 160 laps. A year later he was back in Victory Lane after starting second and leading a race-high 86 laps.

Restrictor-plate racing suits Stewart real well. In his last 14 Cup starts at the two tracks that feature it – Daytona and Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway – the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has led 600 of 2,616 laps. Stewart runs extremely smart races at Daytona, making great decisions while also benefitting from outstanding equipment.

Over the last seven events at Daytona no driver has been out in front more than Stewart. He’s led 415 laps which is 32 percent of all laps run and is way ahead of the next highest total of 150 by Kurt Busch. Stewart led this year’s Daytona 500 on the final lap before finishing third so he’ll have added incentive to get his No. 20 Toyota to Victory Lane on Saturday night.

Stewart’s been making some strong efforts at getting a win this season, including last weekend at New Hampshire International Speedway where he led twice for a race-high 132 laps in the rain-shortened race. A late-race stop for fuel and right-side tires cost Stewart as he got caught outside the top 10 when the event was called 17 laps short of its scheduled distance due to the weather.

Stewart can win on any track on any given day, but at Daytona in July he's usually something special and is the clear favorite in the field. The two-time Cup champion has always had a good handle on this superspeedway and while he runs it quite well in February, he may run it even better in July when the track surface is extremely hot and slippery.

If a driver other than Stewart wins this race, he'll most likely have to take it from this intense competitor nicknamed "Smoke," and I don't expect that to be anywhere near easy.

Other drivers to watch
Besides Stewart there are some others who are going to be difficult to beat in the Sunshine State and a few of these drivers race for Hendrick Motorsports, which has one of the top restrictor-plate programs. Let's start with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who is in his first year with Hendrick Motorsports after racing for Dale Earnhardt Inc. ever since he debuted in the Cup series in 1999.

When it comes to competing at Daytona and Talladega, DEI has enjoyed much success in return for its major commitment to restrictor-plate racing. But Junior doesn’t lose anything on the superspeedways with his switch to Hendrick Motorsports. His excellence should continue at Daytona where in 17 Cup races, he has an imposing set of results with two wins (2004 and 2001), six top-fives, and nine top-10s.

Special feature Coke Zero 400 Loop data, track and season stats for some favorites at Daytona.

One of Junior’s teammates, Jimmie Johnson, also has an impressive resume at this superspeedway. The two-time defending Cup champion won the Daytona 500 in 2006 and captured the pole for that race this year. In addition to his win he has two poles, five top-fives and eight top-10s in 12 Cup starts.

Another Hendrick Motorsports driver, Jeff Gordon, is real tough to bet against at Daytona, where in 31 Cup races he has six wins (three in this event, 2004, 1998 and 1995), three poles, 11 top-fives and 17 top-10s. The four-time Cup champion is the all-time leader in restrictor-plate wins with 12.

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A teammate of Stewart’s at Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch, will be running at this 2.5-mile oval for only the seventh time but he already has three top-fives and was fourth in this year’s Daytona 500. In this event last year Kyle fell just .005 seconds short of a win, edged at the finish line by Jamie McMurray. Kyle, the Cup series points leader, will be seeking his second restrictor-plate win this year having taken the checkered flag at Talladega in late April.

Two Penske Racing drivers should be among the top contenders for the win. Ryan Newman won the Daytona 500 in February and if he gets to Victory Lane on Saturday it will be the first sweep of the Daytona races since 1982 when Bobby Allison got it done. Newman is on a roll at this superspeedway where his average running position over the past seven races is 11.3, the second-best mark in the Cup series.

Newman’s teammate Kurt Busch has finished in the top five three of the last four times he’s run Daytona. Newman and Busch did an outstanding job working together in the Daytona 500 and they’ll be looking for a repeat performance this weekend.

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