April 6, 2025
Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 31st for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway after qualifying. Custer's starting position for this week's race matches his lowest-ever in his Cup career at the South Carolina track. In seven Cup starts at Darlington, Custer has three top-20 finishes, with his last one being scored during September 2022. Custer is also a former Xfinity Series winner at Darlington, where he has six top-5 finishes in seven starts. Through seven races so far this season, Custer has a best finish of 21st and acquired positive Place Differential in three different events. In practice, Custer ranked 33rd in overall lap averages while ranking 28th in 15 consecutive lap averages. While he may have plenty of potential upside from his starting position, Custer's practice speeds are not as great as others in his price range ($5,800 on DraftKings), and his overall performance this season makes him mainly a cash game play at best.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Erik Jones will likely be a very popular DFS pick at Darlington on Sunday afternoon. Despite posting the third-fastest lap in practice on Saturday, Jones wasn't able to follow that up with a good lap in qualifying and will start from way back in 34th-place when the Goodyear 400 goes green. That gives daily fantasy players massive Place Differential upside by picking Erik Jones ($7,500) at one of his best race tracks on the schedule. Jones is a two-time Darlington winner and has finished 25th or better in all six Next Gen races here since the start of the 2022 season. Even though Legacy Motor Club has struggled this year, Jones has been serviceable for DFS players, including grabbing a 15th-place finish at Homestead a couple of weeks ago after starting back in 28th (+13 Place Differential points).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
April 6, 2025
John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club will start 27th after qualifying for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. It will be Nemechek's lowest starting position at Darlington since his first at the site in 2021. In five previous starts at Darlington, Nemechek has one top-20 finish, a ninth-place result from his first race at the site (May 17, 2021). In the Xfinity Series at Darlington, Nemechek has four top-10 finishes and 156 laps led through six starts. After seven races so far in the 2025 Cup Series season, Nemechek has four top-20 finishes and gained positive Place Differential five times. In practice, Nemechek ranked first in overall lap averages and 21st in 10 consecutive lap averages. Based on his equipment, results from this season so far, and practice speeds, Nemechek is a driver who can be a sneaky value option who can compete for a top-20 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Don't overlook Justin Haley at Darlington Raceway this weekend. The Spire Motorsports driver has a very strong record at the track, with three straight top-10 finishes in the spring events at "The Lady in Black." That includes a ninth-place effort last season when Haley was driving the No. 51 Ford for Rick Ware Racing. This time around, he gets a step up in equipment with his No. 7 Chevrolet for Spire Motorsports. Looking at the practice and qualifying this weekend, Haley posted the fifth-fastest single lap time during practice on Saturday and then ended up 21st-fastest in qualifying. That's also where he started at Homestead a couple of weeks ago before ultimately finishing in 10th-place when it was all said and done. Homestead compares nicely to Darlington, and teams are using the same tire combination this weekend as they did a couple of weeks ago. At $6,200 on DraftKings, Justin Haley is a strong DFS option for his price, especially with such a great track history.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
April 6, 2025
Trackhouse Racing's Shane Van Gisbergen qualified 36th for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This marks Van Gisbergen's lowest start position of the season in a race, as well as the third consecutive race where he will start outside of the top 30. In his only previous Cup start at Darlington in September 2024 with Kaulig Racing, SVG started 34th and finished in the 26th position. Through seven races so far this season, SVG has two top-30 finishes and earned positive Place Differential three times. In practice, the No. 88 Chevrolet driver ranked fourth in overall lap averages and ranked 20th in 15 consecutive lap averages. With his starting position at the back, cheap salary ($5,400 on DraftKings), and practice speeds, SVG is a driver who can be comfortably relied on as a safe cap flexibility play with upside for DFS, which is best suited for cash games.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Don't be surprised if Todd Gilliland sneaks into the top 15 in the Goodyear 400 on Sunday afternoon. In his six career starts at Darlington Raceway, Gilliland has finished 17th or better four times, including a career-best 11th-place finish in the spring race here back in 2023. This weekend, Todd ended up posting the 12th-fastest lap in qualifying and will roll off the starting grid from the sixth row on Sunday. In practice, the No. 34 Ford looked pretty decent on the long run, too, as Gilliland ranked 11th-best in terms of 30-lap average during that session. Typically not known for his intermediate prowess, Todd Gilliland has a better-than-expected record at Darlington Raceway. He's an extremely risky DFS pick on Sunday ($6,100 on DraftKings) due to his high starting position, but Gilliland could surprise people this weekend and grab a third top-10 finish of the 2025 season. He's fresh off of a 10th-place result at Martinsville one week ago.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: BVM Sports
April 6, 2025
Zane Smith is always one of those drivers that could possibly do well on race day, but often times disappoints. The potential is there, but so is the downside. That is once again the case for him at Darlington Raceway this weekend. Zane qualified up in 16th for Sunday afternoon's Goodyear 400, and he also had a strong practice session on Saturday, ranking sixth-best in 30-lap average. But will that speed translate to the actual race? Smith didn't have a very good rookie season at Darlington last year, walking away with 23rd- and 35th-place finishes in the two races, but the sophomore driver seems to be more consistent with speed this season in his Front Row Motorsports ride, posting top-11 finishes in three of the last six races overall. At just $6,000 on DraftKings, Zane Smith is a cheap tournament option on the DFS slate, but don't go too crazy because of his potential to post a disappointing score.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
April
6,
2025
Austin
Hill
is
pulling
double-duty
at
Darlington
Raceway
this
weekend,
as
the
Xfinity
Series
regular
will
be
driving
the
No.
33
Chevrolet
for
Richard
Childress
Racing
in
the
Cup
Series
on
Sunday.
This
will
be
Hill's
11th
career
start
in
NASCAR's
read more...
April 6, 2025
For the second straight race, Ty Dillon ($5,300 on DraftKings) is looking to be a solid cap-saving option in DFS this weekend. Last week at Martinsville, Dillon ended up finishing 15th despite starting 28th, putting up a solid 41 FPTS along the way and making the optimal lineup. This weekend, at Darlington, he qualified back in 29th and is once again one of the lowest-priced drivers on the slate. Dillon has ran four races in the Next Gen era at Darlington Raceway and owns an average finish of 22.5 over those two years. If Ty is able to stay out of trouble in the Goodyear 400 on Sunday and stay on or near the lead lap, it wouldn't be outrageous for him to post another top-20 finish this weekend. If you need to save some cap space with your DraftKings lineup on Sunday, he's a relatively safe option starting back in 29th.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
March 31, 2025
It was another solid outing for Ryan Preece on Sunday afternoon, as the Roush-Fenway Keselowski Racing driver seems to be fitting in quite well with his new team after he earned a career-first third straight top-10 finish. Despite starting back in 21st-place, Preece was able to work his way through the field on Sunday afternoon before settling in late and coming home with a seventh-place result. After the race, he stated, "We're getting on a roll. At first, this is a place I wanted to take advantage of for points because I felt like Martinsville is in my wheelhouse, so I'm happy we did. I hate talking about points, but every bit matters." Preece is now sits 14th in the points standings after seven races. The series heads to Darlington next, where Preece has been knocking on the door of a top-10 lately, with finishes between 12th- and 17th-place in four of the last five races.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
March 31, 2025
After a rough stretch of races to start out the month of March, Bubba Wallace has his season back on track, as the 23XI Racing driver finished third for the second weekend in a row after a very strong effort at Martinsville Speedway on Sunday afternoon. Bubba was in contention all day long, as the No. 23 Toyota ranked third-fastest in Green Flag Speed and third-best in Average Running Position during the event. After the race, Wallace remarked, "What a great day. Continuing to rebound from the start of our season. Super proud of our group here at the No. 23 team. McDonald's Toyota Camry was fast all weekend. That final restart, I let that second get away. I don't know if I had anything for [Denny Hamlin]. It would have been fun to try. But all in all, hell of a day for Toyota. Top three. That's nice. Keep the momentum going, having fun."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Motorsports Wire
March 31, 2025
Todd Gilliland grabbed his second top-10 finish of the season on Sunday afternoon, coming home 10th at Martinsville Speedway after a mistake-free day in the 400-lap race. This is Gilliland's second top-10 result of the season (and third top 15) through the first seven races of the year, with the other being a 10th-place finish at COTA. His race at Martinsville ends a skid for the No. 34 Front Row Motorsports team, as they had a rough couple of weeks at Las Vegas and Homestead, finishing 29th and 30th (respectively) in those two races. He currently sits in 22nd-place in the points standings as the Cup Series heads to Darlington next weekend. Gilliland could be in line for another good run there, as he has finished between 11th and 17th in four of his six career starts at "The Lady in Black."
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Front Row Motorsports
March
31,
2025
Joe
Gibbs
Racing
driver
Christopher
Bell
ended
Sunday's
Cook
Out
400
at
Martinsville
Speedway
in
the
second
position.
Bell
started
Sunday's
race
from
the
pole
but
eventually
relinquished
the
lead
to
Chase
Elliott
during
the
first
stage
after
25
laps.
Bell
read more...
March 31, 2025
Chase Elliott was one of the most competitive drivers for the win during Sunday's race at Martinsville Speedway. Elliott began Sunday's race from the second position and took the lead for the first time on lap 25 before a caution a couple of laps for debris. After pit stops, Elliott spent the rest of the first stage fighting for a top-10 spot and made it to eighth, scoring a few stage points. In the second stage, Elliott made it back to the lead until a lap 122 caution for Burt Myers having a mechanical failure. Elliott pitted and had to recover back to the front again, spending the rest of the stage to progress back to second and earn further stage points. For the first part of the final stage, Elliott mostly ran second behind Denny Hamlin until a slow pit stop relegated him to fourth. For the rest of the race, Elliott would neither gain or lose further positions, ending with his third consecutive Martinsville top-5 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
March 31, 2025
Hendrick Motorsports driver Kyle Larson ended Sunday's Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway in fifth position. Larson began Sunday's race from the fourth position and quietly ran in the top five all throughout the first stage. Larson would get shuffled back a bit by the end of stage one and fell just short of acquiring stage points as he placed 11th. In the second stage, Larson made use of effective pit strategies to maintain a top-10 running position, placing ninth at the end of the stage despite running inside the top five at times. In the final stage, Larson quietly remained in the top 10, and despite some clashes on track with Ross Chastain, he kept up with the top five until the finish. Larson ended this week's race with his sixth consecutive top 10 finish and his fifth top 5 result in the last six Cup Martinsville events.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
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