RADIO
Should DFS Players Roster Chase Elliott at Darlington?
Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports is starting 18th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway after practice and qualifying were canceled due to weather. In 19 Cup races at Darlington, Elliott has eight top-10 finishes and an average finish of 15.8. Elliott placed in the top 15 in six of the last seven races at Darlington, including a finish of 15th earlier in the season. After 26 races so far this year, Elliott has two wins, nine top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 14.8. Considering his equipment and track history, Elliott is a playable DFS option for all formats worth rostering this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ty Gibbs May have A Big DFS Performance at Darlington
Ty Gibbs of Joe Gibbs Racing will start in the 28th position for this week's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. The driver of the No. 54 Toyota will start in the same exact position as the spring race from Darlington earlier this year, where he went on to finish sixth. Through eight Cup races at the South Carolina track, Gibbs has six top-20 finishes with three inside the top 10. Through 26 races so far this season, Gibbs has two wins, 16 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 12.3. With high upside and some of the best equipment in the field, Gibbs is worth rostering in all DFS formats as a driver who can have a big performance this week.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Is Chris Buescher a Must-Start DFS Option for Darlington Lineups?
Chris Buescher of RFK Racing will start 35th for the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Buescher obtained the lowest starting position of his Cup career for a Darlington race after qualifying was canceled and starting positions were set by a metric from the NASCAR rulebook. In 18 Cup races at the site, Buescher has eight top-10 finishes with an average finish of 15.2. After 26 Cup races this season, Buescher has 21 top-20 finishes with 10 inside the top 10. Buescher's average finish for the year so far is 14.9, which even includes a ninth-place result at Darlington from earlier in the season. Considering his equipment from RFK and overall track history, Buescher is a must-start option for all DFS formats with enormously high upside that is too great to ignore.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Could Brad Keselowski be A Sneaky Play for Darlington Lineups?
Brad Keselowski of RFK Racing is starting 12th for this week's Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Keselowski was given the starting position inside the top 15 after qualifying for the event was canceled due to weather. In 25 Cup starts at Darlington, Keselowski has two wins, 13 top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.7. Notably, the driver of the No. 6 Ford placed in the top 15 in seven of the last eight Cup events at the site. With 26 races completed so far this year, Keselowski has six top-10 finishes and an average finish of 18.6. Although his starting position does not offer as much upside as others in his salary range, Keselowski is one of the more consistent drivers to perform well at Darlington. Fantasy players can start him with confidence in all formats, but especially in tournaments where he may get overlooked despite his solid track history.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Ross Chastain Presents Favorable Upside for Darlington DFS Lineups
Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain will start in the 23rd position after qualifying for the Cook Out Southern 500, which was canceled due to weather at Darlington Raceway. In 14 Cup starts at Darlington, Chastain has nine top-20 finishes with four inside the top 10, and an average finish of 16.9. Through 26 Cup races so far this season, Chastain has 15 top-20 finishes and an average finish of 19.8. With Chastain placing 16th or better in each of the last six Darlington races, this track is a solid one statistically for the driver of the No. 1 Chevrolet in recent seasons. As a result, he is a driver who is a favorable option for all DFS formats.
Source: DriverAverages.com
Source: DriverAverages.com
Tyler Reddick on Pole for Southern 500, the Favorite to Win
Tyler Reddick is on the pole at Darlington Raceway once again, as the 23XI Racing driver was awarded the top starting spot via the metric when qualifying was cancelled due to weather on Saturday afternoon. Reddick is the defending winner here at Darlington, as he won from the pole in the spring race this season, leading 77 laps along the way. As expected, he is also the favorite to win this race according to sportsbooks. While practice and qualifying was in a weather delay, Reddick was interviewed by the TV crew and asked about getting the pole despite no track time, and he responded, "For the 45, I mean, this is about best case scenario. You know, we know exactly what we have," referring to the speed his Toyota had in the spring race. Look for Reddick to be a race-winning contender on Sunday night in this year's Cook Out Southern 500.
Source: PitByNumbers
Source: PitByNumbers
Can Chase Briscoe Make It Three in a Row at Darlington?
Keep an eye on Chase Briscoe this weekend in the Cook Out Southern 500. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is the defending winner of this race, doing so in dominating fashion last season, leading 309 laps and sweeping the Stages along the way. Briscoe also won the 2024 Southern 500 in a memorable late battle with the late Kyle Busch. So what should we expect this weekend? Well, it's a little hard to tell. The NASCAR Cup Series didn't have practice or qualifying at Darlington on Saturday, so the metric set the starting lineup, and the cars haven't seen the track. In the spring race here earlier this year, Briscoe finished a disappointing 12th, but this No. 19 team is running much better now than they were then, and the Southern 500 is a different beast than the spring race. In all, with his history in this race, Briscoe looks to be a great tournament play in DFS this weekend, especially at his affordable salary ($9.8K on DraftKings).
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Christopher Bell Hasn't Been Great at Darlington
One driver who has a very confusing record at Darlington Raceway is Christopher Bell. One would think that a Joe Gibbs Racing driver would be elite at a track like Darlington, but that simply hasn't been the case for CBell. In the 11 starts with JGR at this race track, Bell has led a combined 59 laps over that time span, and while he does have four finishes of sixth or better, all seven of his other results at this race track are outside of the top 10 entirely. He finished a mediocre 19th after starting 22nd here in the spring race this season, and in last year's Southern 500, Bell started seventh but finished 29th after getting splitter damage on pit road. At $9.6K on DraftKings this weekend, Christopher Bell makes for an interesting tournament play, as he should be low-owned, but his shaky track record here is a bit concerning.
Source: PitByNumbers
Source: PitByNumbers
Bubba Wallace Is Boom-or-Bust at Darlington
Bubba Wallace, like many other drivers, has a very up-and-down history at Darlington Raceway. The 23XI Racing driver has made 16 career starts at the track, with 11 of those happening with his current team. In those 11 races, Bubba has posted five finishes between fifth- and ninth-place. The other six races? All 21st-place or worse except for a 16th-place finish in 2024. Quite the difference there. This weekend, Bubba will start from 17th for this year's running of the Southern 500. He had a really fast Toyota here in the spring race but got caught up in a wreck and ended up finishing 34th--another down moment. Bubba finished sixth in this race one year ago, though, and if he has the same type of speed from the spring race, don't be surprised if he contends for a top-five result on Sunday night. At $8.5K on DraftKings, Bubba is a solid mid-range tournament play.
Source: ifantasyrace
Source: ifantasyrace
Carson Hocevar Has Massive Place-Differential Upside at Darlington
Thanks to practice and qualifying being cancelled on Saturday, Carson Hocevar will start from back in 34th place for Sunday evening's Cook Out Southern 500. And while this is a bit of a disadvantage for the Spire Motorsports driver, it is good for his DFS ownership, as Hocevar now has massive Place Differential upside for the summer race. Carson has six career starts at "The Lady in Black," and while it took him a bit to find his groove, he has finished fourth and ninth over the last two races here. That fourth-place finish was earlier this season in the spring race. At $7.9K on DraftKings this weekend, Carson Hocevar is a very chalky place-differential play that has huge upside. Of course, this is still Hocevar we're talking about, so the potential for him to wreck out or sustain damage is also relatively high; keep that in mind.
Source: The Racing Experts
Source: The Racing Experts
Erik Jones a Chalk DFS Pick for Southern 500 at Darlington
Every time the NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington Raceway, Erik Jones has to be mentioned. This is arguably his best track on the schedule, and he's a two-time winner at "The Lady in Black." His career average finish of 12.6 is fourth-best among active drivers, and over the last two races here with Legacy Motor Club, Jones has finished 10th and third. This weekend, his name is going to be mentioned even more in DFS since the starting lineup was set by the metric and the No. 43 Toyota will roll off the starting grid from 36th-place. At a very affordable $7.5K on DraftKings, this makes Erik Jones the chalk pick of the slate. And while there could be strategy in going underweight on him in large-field tournaments, his track record suggests that that is probably not the best thing to do.
Source: Jayski
Source: Jayski
Ryan Preece Earns his First Cup Series Victory and A Chase Spot at Daytona
Ryan Preece was the first driver below the cut line who needed enough points to gain a spot in The Chase for 2026, and needed to make up those points in the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Preece made the most of this race and won it after starting from fourth position. In the first stage, Preece ran inside the top five throughout the stage and competed for the stage win alongside Chris Buescher, Kyle Larson, and Shane Van Gisbergen. At the end of the first stage, Preece was collected in a multicar accident with Buescher and Larson, but was still credited with an eighth-place finish at the end of the stage. In the second stage, he recovered from his damage and made his way back to the front, challenging for the lead against several other drivers, including Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney, and Zane Smith. Preece fell short of winning the second stage to Blaney, but still scored nine stage points from placing second. The No. 60 Ford driver continued to run inside the top 10 in the final stage, but more directly competed for the lead in the closing laps. Preece was set up in second on the race's final restart and was able to get help from Blaney to compete with Smith and Tyler Reddick for the win. On the final lap, Reddick got into Smith and caused the biggest crash of the day, while Preece pushed ahead of Daniel Suarez and Reddick until the race was called for caution. Preece earned the first points-paying victory of his Cup Series career and earned enough points to knock Van Gisbergen out of the 16th and final seed of The Chase.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Daniel Suarez Scores his Best Finish of the Year at Daytona
Spire Motorsports driver Daniel Suarez finished the Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway as the runner-up. At the beginning of the race, Suarez started 23rd, but quietly rode around in the back of the pack in the first stage while keeping his car damage-free. He ended the first stage in 29th and did not score stage points. During the second stage, Suarez quietly worked his way through the pack. The No. 7 Chevrolet driver made it up to eighth by the end of the stage and scored three stage points. During the stage break for the final stage, Suarez ended up getting into John Hunter Nemechek on pit road, causing him to have a bit of damage. Despite the damage, Suarez continued to keep his car clean throughout the rest of the accidents in the final stage. As a result, Suarez snuck into second on the final lap by passing other drivers who crashed in the largest crash of the day. He did fall short of passing Ryan Preece before the race was finished under caution. With his best finish since his victory at Charlotte in May, Suarez is now the No. 11 Seed for The Chase in 2026.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Tyler Reddick Finishes Third and Claims the No. 3 Chase Seed at Daytona
Tyler Reddick finished third in Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. Reddick started the race from 17th, but did not have much of a presence in the race's first two stages as he remained towards the back or middle of the pack. The No. 45 Toyota driver scored zero stage points as he placed 32nd at the end of the first stage and 19th at the end of the second. The final stage towards the end is where Reddick started making progress on the pack and went to the top 10. Reddick then made moves to the front and started competing for the win in the closing laps alongside Zane Smith, Ryan Preece, and Carson Hocevar. After a lap 155 caution for Hocevar spinning and wrecking Erik Jones, Reddick moved into position for the race's final restart to fight for the win from fourth. Reddick continued to push Smith and, on the final lap, made a run for the lead, but got into Smith after he attempted to block Reddick, triggering a big multi-car wreck. Soon after the contact, the caution was called, and the race ended with Reddick in third, finishing behind Preece and Daniel Suarez. With his 11th top-5 finish of the season, Reddick passed Ty Gibbs in points and will be the No. 3 seed in The Chase for 2026.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
Austin Cindric Clinches A Chase Spot by Finishing Sixth at Daytona
Team Penske's Austin Cindric finished in sixth position during Saturday night's Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway. The driver of the No. 2 Ford began the race from the eighth position, and during the first stage, he steadily ran inside the top 10 without much issue. Cindric ultimately finished the first stage in 10th, earning one stage point. In the second stage, Cindric continued to run around the top 10 until he found his teammates Ryan Blaney and Joey Logano midway through the stage. Cindric moved to the front with his teammates and competed for the lead until lap 93, when he fell back outside of the top 10. At the end of the second stage, Cindric failed to score stage points as he placed 13th. In the final stage, Cindric first started towards the back after pitting in the stage break, but he quietly ran around the top 15 and top 10 throughout the whole stage. Cindric went through the rest of the race without getting involved in any crashes and successfully avoided the one on the final lap to score a top-10 finish. This top-10 result was enough for Cindric to clinch a spot as the No. 15 seed in The Chase for 2026.
Source: NASCAR.com
Source: NASCAR.com
