Veteran Scribe Picks Smith to Win Saturday's Cup Race in Daytona

July 5, 2012

Godwin Kelly, who has covered motorsports the past 30 years for the Daytona Beach News-Journal, picked Furniture Row Racing driver Regan Smith to win Saturday night's Coke Zero 400 Sprint Cup Series race at Daytona International Speedway.

Kelly's other top-five picks in order were: Kurt Busch, Jamie McMurray, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Clint Bowyer. The predictions were listed in Thursday's edition of the News-Journal.

"The only thing I can say about Godwin's prediction is that I hope he's right," said Smith. "Our Furniture Row/Farm American Chevrolet is capable of winning, but so many things have to play in your favor in the closing laps at Daytona."

Smith's best run at the famed 2.5-mile superspeedway was during the 2011 Daytona 500 when he led NASCAR's biggest race with five laps remaining. He eventually finished seventh after being involved in a multicar wreck with a few laps to go.

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