Drivers glad to make cases for winning ‘Great American Race’

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. - Confidence among NASCAR drivers is abundant and necessary – especially when taking on the prestigious Daytona 500.

The odds of winning the race are slim for most drivers, and if they’ve already won once, it can be more challenging to finish first again.

But to stay positive and motivated, they have to believe they at least have a chance to be competitive. USA TODAY Sports’ For The Win asked some drivers why they think they’re going to win:

“I would say because I’ve won before. I think if you look historically, the same people tend to run well at plate races, and it’s been that way, unless someone new comes in that runs well. I think the same people run well at these, and I think you can knock it down to about eight or 10 people that will win on Sunday. And I’m in that category.”

– Jamie McMurray, 2010 Daytona 500 winner

“There’s a multitude of reasons. I would say the fact that we won the last points event here (the 2016 Coke Zero400) is good, so there’s history. There’s also the now, which is we qualified third, and I feel like we ran The Clash as probably the best car. … I feel like life is very much – especially in motor sports – a pendulum swing. I’m a big believer that if you do the right thing time over time over time, even though you might not get rewarded, eventually you will.”

– Brad Keselowski, third in 2014

“It just feels right. I feel like this is it, this is the time. And I feel like I’m at a really good, comfortable place in my life mentally, and hopefully it just comes to me.”

– Austin Dillon, 2014 pole winner

“I feel like I have the knowledge to win, and I think that there’s probably five to six drivers that have the knowledge to win. Now, multiple people can win because of circumstances, but I think that there’s only five or six that really have the skill set to consistently win on superspeedways.”

– Denny Hamlin, 2016 winner

“The Daytona 500 is such a prestigious race, and we have a great team. This new team, the 37, is coming together really well – just awesome people, just a really genuinely excited, happy, familyoriented group. It’s an awesome atmosphere to come here and be a part of. Our cars draft well. It’s just going to be an enjoyable year, and we’re going to be competitive. Why not start off with a win at the Daytona 500?”

– Chris Buescher, 39th in 2016