NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: At "The Track Too Tough to Tame"

Track Classification: Intermediate

Similar Tracks: Atlanta Motor Speedway • Charlotte Motor Speedway • Chicagoland Speedway  Homestead-Miami Speedway • Kansas Speedway •  Kentucky Speedway 

Las Vegas Motor Speedway • New Hampshire Motor Speedway • Texas Motor Speedway

Distance: 1.366 miles

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last five years):
By Race

All with 4 - Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch
All with 3 - Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Matt Kenseth, Ryan Newman and Martin Truex Jr.

By Track

Kyle Busch - 4
All with 3 -  Denny Hamlin,  Kevin Harvick, Jimmie Johnson, Carl Edwards, Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Recent Pole Winners:  

2015 Brad Keselowski
2014 Kevin Harvick

Last Year's Race Winner: Carl Edwards

The Likely Suspects: Racing at Darlington is always dangerously difficult for making fantasy picks. You could make solid choices, and then a wreck could take out your team. Hold your breath and focus on these elite Darlington drivers: Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth and Ryan Newman.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer pick this week is a tie between Kevin Harvick and Denny Hamlin. My next picks are Ryan Newman, Austin Dillon, Kyle Larson and Tony Stewart. I'll round out my team with Jeff Gordon and Ryan Blaney.

My Final Four: Kevin Harvick, Tony Stewart, Ryan Newman and Jeff Gordon.

Points to Ponder:

• The pole is the most proficient starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting spot at Darlington. The outside front row has produced the second-most wins with 17.
• The race winner at Darlington Raceway has started in the top five 95 percent of the time.
• Jeff Gordon leads all active drivers with seven wins, followed by his teammate Jimmie Johnson with three.
• Over the past three years at Darlington, Kevin Harvick has led the most laps with 282, and has the best loop data driver rating and best average finish.
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins at Darlington in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series with 14.  
• Eleven different manufacturers have won in the NSCS at Darlington, led by Chevrolet with 41 victories, followed by Ford with 28 and Toyota with four.

Enjoy the race! Post your comments here or follow me on Twitter at @purplecatpr.