Darlington Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Martin Truex Jr. – Martin Truex Jr. will be the favorite to win at Darlington. He’s the defending champion and has finished in the top twelve in 5 of the last 6 races. When you factor in how well he’s performed on a weekly basis with his track record then you know he’ll be tough to beat. Last year Truex Jr. had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. I will note performance wise he wasn’t better than Harvick. In addition to wining last year he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 28 laps. In 2015 Truex Jr. ran well throughout the event. In the race he started 7th, earned the 6th best driver rating, had a 6th place average running position and finished 9th. In 2014 he was low-teens good but had problems and finished 27th. In the three races prior to that he had finishes of 12th, 5th and 10th. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Kyle Busch – Kyle Busch is a former Darlington winner who’s poised to be a favorite. Over the last five races he has the 2nd best driver rating, a 6.8 average finish, a 6.4 average running position and has led 313 laps. Last year he was a solid performer but wasn’t a factor. When the checkered flag waved he finished 11th, earned the 9th best drive rating and had an 8th place average running position. In 2015 Busch ran well but wasn’t a serious threat to win. In the race he finished 7th, earned the 10th best driver rating and had an 11th place average running position. In 2014 he also ran well but he got into the wall a few times and that impacted his level of competitiveness. When the race reached its conclusion he finished 5th, earned the 6th best driver rating and had a 9th place average running position. In 2013 he had a dominant car. If it wasn’t for a tire starting to go flat late in the race he likely would’ve won. With 14 laps to go he was in the lead and when the checkered flag waved he fell all the way back to 6th. In that race he had a 1st place average running position, earned the best driver rating and led 265 laps. In 2012 at Darlington he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 4th and led 44 laps. (Yahoo A Driver)

Further Recommended Reading – Scouting Report, PROS Rankings, PROS Rankings Extended Edition, Loop Data Box Score, Loop Data Speed Stats, Draftkings 2016 Points, Draftkings Average Points Rankings

Denny Hamlin – Darlington is a great track for Denny Hamlin and you can probably count on him being in contention for the win. At the “Lady In Black” he’s a past champion who has a 6.3 average finish. Only twice in his 11 starts has he finished outside the top ten. In 6 of the last 7 Darlington races he’s finished in the top 6. Last year Hamlin had a very strong showing. In the race he finished 4th, earned the 6th best driver rating and had a 7th place average running position. In 2015 Hamlin had a great car and was one of the strongest competitors. In the race he finished 3rd, earned the 5th best driver rating and led 57 laps. In 2014 he had his worst Darlington result and finished 19th. That result is misleading because at the end he was running in 8th place, but had some type of problem that plummeted him in the running order following a late restart. Also from that race it should be noted he had a 9th place average running position and earned the 9th best driver rating. In the four races prior to that he had finishes of 2nd, 2nd, 6th and 1st. One aspect you have to like about Hamlin is how well his team is performing at the moment. In 7 of the last 10 races he’s finished in top 4. (Yahoo A Driver)

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Top Tier Elite Picks > Front Runners Rankings > Mid Pack Predictions > The Low Tier