Darlington Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Austin Dillon
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Austin Dillon and the #3 team have been running well, and at Darlington, I don’t think he’ll disappoint. It’s been a solid venue for Dillon throughout his career and in 63.6% of his starts he’s finished in the top 12. Dillon’s also been an extremely safe option, and in 9 of his 11 starts he’s finished in the top 16. One attribute I like about Dillon is his prowess at high-wear intermediates. This year, Dillon finished 2nd at Auto Club and in 2021 on that sub-track type his 11.2 average finish ranked as the 6th best. On Sunday, I’m going to view Dillon as a top ten contender.
Darlington Track History – Austin Dillon has been solid at Darlington, and over his eleven combined starts his average finish sits at 12.2. Last fall, Dillon ran well. He finished 10th, had a 16.8 average running position and was the 14th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In spring 2021, Dillon finished 16th, had a 17.7 average running position and was the 15th Fastest Driver Late In A Run. In fall 2020,  Dillon had a great race despite starting in the rear of the field. In the race he finished 8th in Stage #2, 2nd overall and ranked as the 5th fastest driver late in a run. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Dillon ranked 12th and got faster over each new segment. In the final segment he was the 4th fastest driver on the track. In Darlington #2 2020, Dillon finished a clunker 20th. In the two races prior to that, Dillon had results of 10th and 11th.

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Erik Jones
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Erik Jones has been stellar at Darlington and has a win under his belt, but he’s obviously no longer in the JGR #20. In his old ride, he was 6 for 6 at finishing in the top ten, in the #43, he has a pair of 18th or worse results. That said, I think Jones has upside and on Sunday, I would view him as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who might be able to sneak in a top ten. The #43 team has proven they can sneak in good results in 2022, and at Auto Club, the one other high-tire wear venue visited this year, he finished 3rd. In 5 of the last 7 races heading into the weekend, Jones has finished between 6th to 14th.
Darlington Track History – Erik Jones has been strong at Darlington, and I would argue it’s his best track. Last fall, Jones had an engine go south and finished 32nd. That said, “Performance Wise”, he looked like a mid-twenty’s driver for much of the race. His Total Speed Ranking was the 28th best and his speed over the segments he competed were 28th, 24th and 28th. In spring 2021, Jones didn’t have an incident free race and finished 18th. On lap 202 while he was running in 16th, Jones got into the wall which led to an unexpected pit stop. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Jones ranked as the 15th fastest and his speed over the segments were 16th, 15th, 17th and then 20th. In his six races prior to 2021, Jones finished in the top 8 every race, had a 5.1 average finish and even won in summer 2019. In 2020, Jones swept the top ten and had finishes of 4th, 5th and 8th.

Chris Buescher
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Chris Buescher is a solid mid-tier driver at Darlington who you don’t want to sleep on. Last year at “The Lady In Black”, Buescher had a pair of 9th place finishes for the season. One key attribute I like about Buescher is his proven prowess at high-tire wear tracks. In 2021 at these venues, Buescher had a 12.0 average finish and a 12.6 average running position. The #17 team has been solid on a weekly basis in 2022 and on Sunday, I’m going to view Buescher as a low double-digit to mid-teens driver who has a good chance to walk away with a top ten.
Darlington Track History – Chris Buescher has been solid at Darlington and for his career minus 2020 races, he’s had a result in the top 17 every race and has a 12.8 average finish. In 2021, Buescher had a great season at Darlington and had a pair of 9th’s. Last fall, Buescher started 34th, had a 15th place average running position, was the 15th Fastest Driver Late In A Run and of course finished 9th. In spring 2021, Buescher had a great performance. In the race he finished 10th in Stage #2, finished 9th overall, had an 11.6 average running position, was the 8th fastest driver late in a run and had the 9th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2020, Buescher wasn’t good in any race and his results to keep it simple were 26th, 23rd and 32nd. In his two Darlington races prior to that, Buescher had results of 12th (2019) and 13th (2018).

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