NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Goodyear 400 at Darlington

 

It was a double-win weekend for Kyle Busch last week in Kansas as the birthday boy scored victories in both the Truck Series race and the Buschy McBusch 400 Cup race. It was Kyle's 58th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his first of the season and his second at Kansas. His margin over second-place Kevin Harvick was .336 of a second. 

 

And then there were three. NASCAR Cup Series and perennial championship contenders, Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick and Chase Elliott, are still looking for their first win of 2021 season. Perhaps their luck will change this weekend in Darlington.

This Week's Pick Strategy:
Think drivers who love to run the high line.

Drivers with Most Top 10s (Last seven races):
Kevin Harvick - 7
Erik Jones - 6
All with 5 - Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Kyle Busch
All with 4 - Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Martin Truex Jr. 

* 2016-2020

Top 12 Driver Ratings at Darlington

Kyle Larson............................... 111.3

Denny Hamlin........................... 106.8

Erik Jones................................. 105.7

Kevin Harvick............................ 104.8

Kyle Busch............................... 102.8

Martin Truex Jr.......................... 101.2

Brad Keselowski......................... 98.4

Chase Elliott............................... 90.2

Joey Logano............................... 90.1

Kurt Busch.................................. 88.9

Ryan Newman............................ 87.6

William Byron.............................. 82.2

Note: Driver Ratings compiled from 2005-2020 races (18 total) among active drivers at Darlington Raceway.

SOURCE: NASCAR.com

Last Year's Race Winner:  Kevin Harvick

My No-Brainer Pick: Kyle Larson

My Final Four: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Erik Jones and Daniel Suarez.

Second-Look Driver: This week's second-look driver is Tyler Reddick. Of course, that is if he can stay out of the wall. Darlington's worn-out surface is perfect for drivers that like to run the high line dangerously close to the wall. Besides Kyle Larson, no one does it better than Tyler Reddick. Tyler finished seventh in the first Darlington race last year and scored the 14th-most points there last year.

 

Last week's second-look driver Cole Custer was fighting the car and the track all day. He started in 10th and finished in 24th. “Kansas is probably the trickiest mile-and-a-half (oval) we go to, and we just had a tough time shaking a condition where we couldn’t get good corner entry. That, combined with being tight in the center of the corner that we just couldn’t improve on over the long haul, it made for a pretty frustrating day. We just have to keep working hard and do everything we can to be better the next time.”

Points to Ponder:

• The first starting position is the most prolific starting position in the field, producing more winners (20) than any other starting position at Darlington. The outside front row (second place) has produced the second-most wins (17). 
• Kevin Harvick (2020, 2020, 2014) and Denny Hamlin (2020, 2017, 2010) lead all active drivers in victories at Darlington with three each. 
• Denny Hamlin leads all active drivers in second-place finishes at Darlington with three, followed by Kevin Harvick and Kyle Busch with two each. 
• Kevin Harvick leads all active series drivers in Top 5 finishes at Darlington with 11 Top 5s as well as Top 10 finishes at Darlington with 15 Top 10s.
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins by an organization at Darlington in the NASCAR Cup Series with 14 victories.
• Erik Jones leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Darlington with a 5.167 in six starts.
  

Remember, if you're playing Driver Group Game, make your picks by 3:30 p.m. ET on race day Sunday May 9th.

Enjoy the race!

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Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 15 years. She launched  NASCAR Fantasy Fusion for Skirts & Scuffs in October 2011. Each week, Carol pores through statistics and combs through her personal notebooks to arm fans with analysis and picking strategies that will leave their friends wondering how they got so smart. Carol also does race coverage for Skirts & Scuffs at Richmond Raceway and occasionally at her home track, Dover International Speedway. She is also part of the distinguished NASCAR Expert Picks panel at frcs.pro. formerly called Fantasy Racing Cheat Sheet.

 
When she isn’t wielding her fantasy-racing superpowers, you’ll find Carol hammering out a news release or creating a marketing strategy at a small niche public relations firm she founded called Purple Cat, or executing downtown revitalization projects for a small town on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.