NASCAR Fantasy Fusion: Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway

 

Last week's Vegas victory by the No. 11 team was an emotional one for Denny Hamlin, who earned his 61st Cup Series win. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house as Denny's Mom joined him at the start-finish line. I don't think I heard even one Boo!

 

The win was Denny's third Vegas win. With the victory, he becomes only the fifth driver in NASCAR history to win a race in 20 different seasons. Oh, and Denny is no slouch at Darlington. In the last six races here, he has earned the best average finish among active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with a 9.3. Can he go back to back? There are lots of unknowns this weekend, but look for that No. 11 team to be outpacing the field.

 

This Week's Pick Strategy: The increased 750 horsepower, softer tire, a 3” spoiler, and a simplified rear diffuser this weekend are challenging all the crew chiefs and the drivers are predicting total chaos. I will be packing my fantasy roster with Darlington elites and drivers with a strong potential for qualifying points. After practice and qualifying, I will focus on drivers who don't mind sliding around and who are masters at tire management.

 

Drivers with the Most Top 10s 

2022 to 2025 (4 races) 
By Race

Both with 3 - William Byron and Chase Elliott

All with 2 - Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin, Ty Gibbs, Christopher Bell, Bubba Wallace, Brad Keselowski, Ryan Blaney, Kyle Busch, Chris Buescher, and Michael McDowell

Drivers with Most Top 10s
2022-2025 (Last 8 races) 
By Track 
Tyler Reddick - 6
All with 5 - William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, and Chris Buescher

All with 4 - Christopher Bell, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, and Chase Elliott 

Last Year's Pole Winner:  William Byron

 

Last Year's Race Winner:  Denny Hamlin

The Likely Suspects: My Darlington elites are Denny Hamlin, William Byron, Tyler Reddick,  Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, Bubba Wallace, Kyle Busch, Joey Logano, Chris Buescher, and Kyle Larson.

My 2 Cents: My no-brainer is Denny Hamlin. My next picks are William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, and Chris Buescher. I will complete my team with Todd Gilliland and Zane Smith.

My Final Four: Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, Brad Keselowski, and Todd Gilliland.

Second-Look Driver: This week's sleeper pick is Erik Jones. Darlington is one of Erik's best tracks. Erik is a two-time Southern 500 winner, and his six Top 5s and nine Top 10s at Darlington are his most at any race track. Last year Erik finished finished 17th in the spring race and third in the Southern 500. Sunday's temperatures will be just under 90 degrees and tire management will be an issue. Will track conditions play into Erik's dirt track experience? Stay tuned!

Points to Ponder:

• Joey Logano (2022 sweep), Denny Hamlin (2018, 2025) and William Byron (2019, 2025) lead all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Darlington Raceway with two each. 
• Wood Brothers Racing lead all organizations in the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Darlington Raceway with 12, followed by Hendrick Motorsports with nine.
• Ford leads the NASCAR Cup Series in poles at Darlington Raceway with 45, followed by Chevrolet (23). 
  
• The first starting position is the most prolific in the field, producing more winners (21) than any other at Darlington. The outside front row (second starting position) has produced the second-most wins (20) and the third starting position has produced the third most victories with 15.  
• Chevrolet leads the NASCAR Cup Series in wins at Darlington Raceway with 44 victories; followed by Ford with 34. Toyota has made 12 trips to Victory Lane.
  
• Denny Hamlin (2025, 2021, 2020, 2017, 2010) leads all active drivers in victories at Darlington with five, as well as in second-place finishes with four (2007, 2012, 2013, 2022), Top 5s with 14, and in Top 10s with 20. He also leads all active drivers in the NASCAR Cup Series in average finishing position at Darlington Raceway with an 7.9 in 27 starts. 
• Hendrick Motorsports has the most wins by an organization at Darlington in the NASCAR Cup Series with 16.
•  Kyle Larson leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with 1,050 laps led in 16 starts at Darlington.

If you are playing Driver Group Game, remember to make your initial picks by Saturday, March 21st at 2:30 p.m. ET and your final picks by 3:30 p.m. ET on race day, Sunday, March 22nd.

Enjoy the race!

________________________________________________________ 

 

Carol D'Agostino has been playing Fantasy NASCAR for 19 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.