Darlington Post Practice Fantasy NASCAR Predictions
Well, this weekend has been a little weird so far. Due to inclement weather from Hurricane Hermine, all on-track activity was cancelled on Friday and the starting lineup for this year’s Southern 500 was set by owners points. Click here for the full starting lineup. There were then two practice sessions held on Saturday, and those results can be found here: Practice #1 — Happy Hour. As usual, our in-depth notes can be found here: Practice #1 — Happy Hour. Now, it needs to be noted that we practiced during the afternoon and we’re not racing until later in the evening on Sunday night. I think because of that, and the way that the races here at Darlington usually play out, we’re going to see a bunch of comers and goers in this year’s Southern 500. And for the second week in a row, track position is going to be an important factor in a driver’s success this weekend.
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Final Top 15 Ranking For Darlington
1. Jimmie Johnson – Starts 9th – DraftKings Price: $9,300 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Medium Risk**
And just like that, the switch has turned on for this #48 team. After a terrible few months in Sprint Cup action, Jimmie Johnson grabbed his second top 10 finish in a row at Michigan last weekend and that is the first time we can say that since way back in April. Now he’s going for another solid run here at Darlington on Sunday night, and I think he can do it. The #48 Chevrolet was fastest in Practice #1 on Saturday morning and wound up 3rd-best in Happy Hour. In terms of ten-lap average, Johnson was 1st and 3rd in those two sessions, respectively. Here at “The Lady in Black,” Jimmie has been to victory lane three times (the most recent back in 2012) and has finished inside the top 5 more often than not (nine times in seventeen starts). In this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, Johnson will start from the 9th-place starting spot but he should be able to easily make his way to the top 5 in the first couple of runs. “Six Time” has ended up 4th or better in three of the last four races here at Darlington and it wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he added another inside that mark this weekend, and maybe even a win.
2. Denny Hamlin – Starts 7th – DraftKings Price: $9,600 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**
Denny Hamlin isn’t getting a whole lot of love this weekend and I can’t really figure out why. Only 26% of Yahoo! teams put Hamlin on their roster this weekend and he’s 7th in terms of price over at DraftKings. With five drivers costing $10,000 or more on DraftKings, you’d think Hamlin would be one of them. Not only is the #11 team on fire right now (six straight finishes of 9th or better) but Darlington is, hands down, Denny’s best track on the circuit. In his ten career starts at “The Lady in Black,” Hamlin has never finished worse than 19th, has five top 5s, and also one win (back in 2010). Oh, and I forgot to mention that his average finish is an incredible 6.5. Denny has ended up 3rd or better in three of the last four races at this track and should be able to add another good finish in this year’s Southern 500 on Sunday night. In Practice #1 on Saturday, the #11 Toyota was 2nd on the overall speed chart and 2nd-best in ten-lap average as well, and in Happy Hour, Hamlin ranked 9th on both of those two charts. It should be noted that the #11 team decided to quit that final practice early–they’re that confident. Denny is about as close as you can get to a lock at this track. Let’s just hope he can go a whole race without speeding on pit road…
3. Kevin Harvick – Starts 1st – DraftKings Price: $10,600 – Yahoo! A Group
**Risk Factor: Low Risk**
The #4 team got a gift when qualifying was cancelled, as they are quite hit or miss when it comes to getting a good starting spot on race weekends. Also, track position is quite important here at Darlington, so Harvick gets that advantage on Sunday night as well. “Happy” has quite a few bad finishes here at “The Lady in Black” (for various reasons) but over the last three years he has really figured this place out. He had a dominating performance here in 2014 and grabbed his first Southern 500 win, and Harvick is currently on a three-race streak of top 5s at this track. He should be able to make it four in a row this weekend. In addition to starting on the pole, Harvick also had a pretty fast car in practice on Saturday, ranking 11th in the first session and 19th-fastest in Happy Hour. In terms of ten-lap average, the #4 Chevrolet was 4th and 14th on those two charts, respectively. Rodney Childers is going to have to work his magic between now and race time but he’s one of the best at getting a car ready, especially for a night event. This #4 team is gearing up for their Chase run and currently has the 2nd-best average finish over the last six Sprint Cup races overall (at 8.7). Harvick is definitely one of the favorites heading into this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, and with a little luck he might grab his second Darlington win on Sunday night.
