April 6, 2025
Despite his strong practice speeds this weekend, you should be leery of Ryan Blaney this weekend for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Why? Because, for whatever reason, the Team Penske driver can't seem to figure this track out. In 16 career starts at "The Lady in Black," Blaney has led a combined 22 laps at this track and has yet to post a top-five finish. Additionally, he has just three top-10 results, and his 19.6 career average finish at Darlington makes it one of the worst tracks on the schedule for Blaney. Of course, the lackluster results here will eventually turn around for the Cup Series Champion, but when will that happen? Until it does, it may be best to look elsewhere with your fantasy picks. There's a big difference between being fast in practice and being fast in the race at a track like Darlington, and Blaney hasn't shown to be capable of doing the latter as of yet.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
April
6,
2025
The
last
time
the
NASCAR
Cup
Series
raced
at
Darlington
Raceway,
Kyle
Busch
was
very
close
to
victory
lane,
ultimately
finishing
as
the
runner-up
to
race-winner
Chase
Briscoe
when
the
checkered
flag
flew.
The
winless
weekends
continue
to
pile
up
for
read more...
April
6,
2025
It
has
been
a
rough
start
to
the
2025
NASCAR
Cup
Series
season
for
Brad
Keselowski
and
the
No.
6
team.
Through
the
first
seven
races
of
the
year,
Keselowski
has
zero
top-10
finishes
and
only
two
results
better
than
26th.
read more...
April 6, 2025
Look for Josh Berry to move up once the green flag waves on the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday afternoon. The Wood Brothers Racing driver had one of the fastest cars during practice on Saturday afternoon--Berry actually posted the second-fastest lap in the session--but the No. 21 Ford wasn't able to back up that speed in qualifying. In terms of 15-lap average, Berry ranked fastest in that category, so his long-run speed looked strong as well. Last season at "The Lady in Black," Berry posted a legitimate third-place finish in the spring before ending up a disappointing 31st in the fall after a wreck. With that being said, he had top-10 speed in the fall, too. As far as DFS goes this weekend, Josh Berry (priced at $7,800 on DraftKings) is a strong daily fantasy option to work with and is a viable option in all fantasy formats on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
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
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