For Riley Herbst, Rookie Inexperience Likely To Overcome Toyota Speed Advantage
Source: Racing Reference
As usual, Riley Herbst was outqualified by his 23XI veteran teammates Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick on Saturday at Darlington, with Herbst only qualifying 32nd to Wallace's fifth and Reddick's seventh. He was a slow learner in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, so it is no surprise that this trend is repeating itself in the Cup Series, especially at a track like Darlington, where experience is more important than anything else. Although he has never made a start at Darlington in the Cup Series, he earned two top-five finishess here in the Xfinity Series in the 2020 summer and 2022 spring events. Given the speed of the Toyotas in general and the 23XI Racing cars in particular, Herbst might be a tempting option for DFS place-differential points, but his inexperience will probably result in a poor finish, so drivers like Ross Chastain, Alex Bowman, and Erik Jones would be better options for that.Cody Ware Seems Worse Than Before His Suspension
Source: Racing Reference
Ever since Cody Ware's return to full-time competition this season, he has seemingly been even slower than he was before his suspension in 2023 as he has a lower average start, lower average finish, and is thereby lower in points than he was at any time during his last full-time season in 2022. Since Rick Ware Racing is now only running one full-time car and Legacy Motor Club has just sued them for the use of a charter, that will provide additional distractions that will likely further inhibit Ware's possibility for any sort of success. Although he actually had a fair amount of lead-lap finishes in previous years, that seems to be increasingly a thing of the past especially since there has been much less attrition in 2025 than in his best year of 2022. Even though he only costs $5,100 and is starting 35th, he isn't worth considering for DFS lineups.J.J. Yeley Qualifies Last For Third Time In 2025
Source: Racing Reference
J.J. Yeley qualified 38th and last at Darlington, marking the third time he has posted the slowest qualifying speed this season with the only exception being the Daytona 500, where he outqualified Cody Ware but failed to qualify because his NY Racing Team is a non-chartered team. Although Yeley gained two positions in both his starts at Atlanta and Homestead, he never had any speed so his only hope for having any chance at Place Differential points is if a lot of drivers fail to finish the race while he does. In the six Next Gen races at Darlington, 42 entries have failed to finish, marking an average of seven per race. That's not nearly enough for a driver like Yeley to become valuable, even though he has the cheapest DraftKings DFS salary at $5,000.Should DFS Players Roster Christopher Bell At Darlington?
Source: DriverAverages.com
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start 17th for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This is Bell's lowest Darlington Cup start since his first race at the site with JGR back in 2021. In 11 starts at Darlington, Bell has eight top-20 finishes, with three inside the top 10. With seven races completed so far this season, Bell has three wins, four top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.0. In practice, Bell ranked 35th in overall lap averages and ranked as high as 16th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Bell has upside and great equipment from his team with solid track history, making him a decent DFS option who works best as a top-priced pivot option. Alex Bowman Presents Huge Upside For Darlington DFS Lineups
Source: DriverAverages.com
Starting in the 33rd position for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway is Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman is the only Hendrick driver to qualify outside of the top 20 for this week's race. In 14 starts at Darlington, Bowman has eight top-20 finishes, including two top-10 finishes within his last four appearances at the site. After seven races wrapped up in the 2025 season, Bowman has five top-10 finishes and an average finish of 12.0. In practice, Bowman ranked 13th in overall lap averages while ranking 30th in 15 consecutive lap averages. Although Bowman's practice speeds weren't the greatest, he is still in top-notch Hendrick equipment and has incredibly high upside, making him worth rostering in all DFS formats.Ryan Preece Is An Intriguing Tournament Option For Darlington
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ryan Preece of RFK Racing will start in the second position after qualifying for this week's race, the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This will be Preece's first start on the front row of any race since April 2023 at Martinsville when he won the pole position. In 10 previous starts at Darlington, Preece has six top-20 finishes, with none of them being inside the top 10. Through seven races so far this season, Preece has five top-20 finishes, including three consecutive top-10 finishes during the last three Cup events for the first time ever in his career. In practice, Preece ranked 12th in overall lap averages while showing great speed during the long run as he ranked second of all drivers in 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap averages. Preece starting on the front row makes him a huge Place Differential risk, but his practice speeds on the long run, making him a driver worth consideration for tournament lineups at best this week.Is Daniel Suarez Worth Rostering At Darlington?
Source: DriverAverages.com
Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing will start 30th for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This is the third time since 2022 that Suarez will start a race at the site either 30th or lower. In 14 starts at the site, Suarez has five top-20 finishes, with three of them being scored since 2022. After the first seven races this season, Suarez has two top-20 finishes, but also five finishes with positive PD earned. In practice, Suarez ranked 25th in overall lap averages while displaying top-20 speeds in the 10, 15, and 20 consecutive lap average categories. Due to his high upside and practice speeds, Suarez is a driver worth consideration for all formats this week, despite his shaky history at Darlington.Austin Cindric Is A Big Risk For Darlington DFS Lineups
Source: DriverAverages.com
Team Penske's Austin Cindric nabbed a starting position of sixth after qualifying for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Cindric was the top qualifier of the three Penske entries for this week's race. In six starts at Darlington, Cindic has five top-20 finishes, but none inside the top 10, and he did score positive Place Differential three times. Through seven races so far this season, Cindric has two top-10 finishes and only once has scored positive PD. In practice, Cindric ranked fifth in overall lap averages, third in five consecutive, sixth in 10 consecutive, and fourth in 15 consecutive lap averages. Despite great practice speeds, Cindric is a risk who provides low upside with a track history that shows that he may not stay inside the top 10. Fantasy players should use Cindric mainly as a pivot option in tournament lineups for Sunday.Austin Dillon Is One Of The Top Value Options Of The Week At Darlington
Source: DriverAverages.com
Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing will start 23rd for this week's Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, the Goodyear 400. Dillon's starting position in this race is the same exact one as last year's spring race at the site. In 17 races at Darlington, Dillon has 14 top-20 finishes, including four of the last six Cup events. In seven races completed this season, Dillon has four top-20 finishes and obtained positive Place Differential three times. In practice, Dillon ranked sixth in overall lap averages while displaying top-10 speeds in the five, 10, and 15 consecutive lap average categories. Considering his upside, practice speeds, Darlington history, and salary ($6,300 on DraftKings), Dillon is one of the top value options of the week to utilize in all formats.Kyle Larson Looking For Another Darlington Win With New Pit Crew
Kyle Larson is one of the best racers in the Cup Series garage, especially at tracks like Darlington Raceway, where the speed of the car gets put into the driver's hands a little bit more. Another important component of success atread more...
William Byron Should Challenge For Another Darlington Win This Weekend
Source: ifantasyrace
Look for William Byron to be strong in this weekend's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. In addition to winning the pole for Sunday's race, the No. 24 Chevrolet was very strong in practice ranking fourth-best in 10-lap average. Additionally, Byron has been one of, if not the best at Darlington in the Next Gen era, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver has the best average finish (10.3) and the best Driver Rating (107.2) in the six races here with this car. Look for Willy B to lead early and often in Sunday's Goodyear 400. The Hendrick Chevrolets have been great on the long run all season long, and Byron excels at Darlington Raceway. He's priced at $9,900 on DraftKings and with his dominator upside as well as his race-winning potential, he enters Sunday's race as one of the strongest fantasy options on the slate this weekend. Will Ryan Blaney Remain Fool's Gold At Darlington?
Source: Driver Averages
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.Can Kyle Busch Once Again Challenge For The Win At Darlington?
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 forread more...
Brad Keselowski Looking To Get Season On Track This Weekend
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...
Josh Berry Should Move Up From 24th Starting Spot At Darlington
Source: ifantasyrace
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.