Darlington Fantasy NASCAR Confidence Ranking Picks
1) Martin Truex Jr. (Starting – 2nd)
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Martin Truex Jr. will be the favorite to win on Sunday. He’s the defending champion and on a week to week basis he’s been the driver to beat. When you combine those two variables then I think it’s clear he’s primed to have a strong showing on Sunday. In other recent Darlington races he’s also run well. In 5 of the last 6 races here he’s finished in the top 12. On Sunday I would look for Truex to finish in the top five, and compete for the win. In practice #1 when Truex really focused on race trim his ten lap average ranked as the 6th best.
Darlington Track History – Truex Jr. has been a strong performer in recent Darlington races. Last year he had a great car and raced his way to victory lane. In addition to finishing first he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 5th place average running position and led 28 laps. I will note if Kevin Harvick didn’t have problems on pit road time after time he likely wouldn’t have won. In 2015 he ran well. He 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.
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2) Kyle Larson (Starting – 4th)
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Kyle Larson will be a favorite to win at Darlington. It’s been a great track for him and he’s a perfect 3 for 3 in terms of finishing in the top ten. His combined average finish over his three starts is 7.0. Last year he was a factor to win and on Sunday I would look for him to once again be one of the drivers to beat. “Performance Wise” I would look for him to finish in the top five and compete for the win. In practice Kyle Larson showed very good speed over long runs. In practice #1 his ten lap average ranked as the second best, and in Happy Hour his ten lap average ranked as the best.
Darlington Track History – Darlington has been a great track for Kyle Larson. Last year Larson was very competitive and had his best performance. He finished 3rd, earned the 5th best driver rating and led 45 laps. In 2015 he was solid. He earned the 8th best driver rating, had a 9th place average running position and finished 10th. In his 2014 Darlington debut he finished 8th.
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3) Kevin Harvick (Starting – 1st)
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Kevin Harvick will be one of the drivers to beat at Darlington. In recent season’s he’s been the class of the field here. Over the last four races he has the best driver rating, the best average finish (3.3), the best average running position (3.8) and has led the most laps (496). This year he’s not as strong as he was in years past, but I wouldn’t count him out. “Performance Wise” on Sunday I would write him down as a top five contender who’ll compete for the win. In practice on Friday his ten lap averages ranked as the 10th and 13th best.
Darlington Track History – As you read above Harvick has been extremely strong over the last couple of Darlington races. Last year he had the best car but his pit crew took him out of contention with slow stops time after time. When the checkered flag waved he earned the best driver rating, finished 2nd, had a 2nd place average running position and led 214 laps. In 2015 he was one of the drivers to beat. In that race he earned the 2nd best driver rating, had a 3rd place average running position, finished 5th and led 44 laps. In 2014 nobody was better than Harvick. He dominated the race from start to finish. In the race he started on the pole, earned the best driver rating, had a 2nd place average running position and led 238 laps. Nobody had anything for him that race. In 2013 Harvick finished 5th.
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