Darlington Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions

Harrison Burton
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Harrison Burton had a great race this spring at Darlington, but I have low expectations for him on Sunday and I think penciling him in for a 20’s is smart. Burton finished 6th this spring, but lightning doesn’t strike twice, and he wasn’t quite that competitive.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, Harrison Burton has a 13.6 average finish but take note in 2 of those 3 races he was aided by attrition. This spring, Burton finished 6th but that’s a fool’s gold result. “Performance Wise”, I would say Burton was realistically a mid-teens driver. In the race, Burton had a 13.1 average running position, ranked 13th for speed late in a run and then 15th for Total Speed Rankings. On lap 278 before late mayhem kicked into gear, Burton was running in 16th. Last fall, Burton finished 21st and had a 24th place average running position. In terms of speed stats, Burton ranked 28th for Total Speed Rankings and Green Flag Speed. In spring 2022, Burton finished 14th but that result doesn’t reflect his performance. The attrition rate was high, and Burton was a beneficiary. In the race, Burton had a 22.7 average running position and had the 28th best Total Speed Ranking.

Chase Briscoe
Darlington Fantasy Spin – At Darlington, Chase Briscoe has high-teens upside, but I feel a lot better penciling him in for a low to mid-twenties finish. In the last two races here, the #14 has had “Tractor Speed.” That said in terms of results, in 3 of the last 4 he’s finished between 17th to 20th. In 2023 at intermediate tracks across the board, Briscoe’s 17th at Darlington in the spring marks his best result for the season on this track type, so that says something about the competitive state of the SHR #14.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington in 4 of his 5 races, Chase Briscoe has finished between 11th to 20th. This spring, Briscoe finished 17th but I wouldn’t say he was that good. In the race, Briscoe had a 27.2 average running position, the 31st best Total Speed Ranking and was running in 22nd before late mayhem really kicked into gear. Last fall en route to a 27th, Briscoe struggled. He was back in 28th on lap 110 but then he hit a spinning Chase Elliott on lap 113 which doomed him to a poor finish. In spring 2022, Briscoe finished 20th, had an 18.5 average running position and had the 24th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, Briscoe was definitely a “stripe” victim since on lap 238 he was said to have bounced off the wall hard (was in 16th prior to that). Later, Briscoe was involved in the lap 260 “Big One.”

Ryan Preece
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Darlington hasn’t been a great track for Preece, but he’s been respectable in the results column and in 3 of his last 4 races he’s finished between 12th to 17th. On Sunday night, I would view Preece as a 20’s performer who has high-teens potential.
Darlington Track History –Ryan Preece has had some respectable results at Darlington and in 3 of his last 4 races, he’s finished between 12th to 17th. This spring, Preece finished 15th. In the race, Preece had a 21.6 average running position and ranked 24th for Total Speed Rankings & Speed Late In A Run. To close out the race, Preece legitimately ran well. On lap 266 before late chaos, Preece was in 12th. Back in fall 2021 when he next most recently raced here, Preece finished 12th and had a 15.3 average running position. In 2021 #1, Preece finished 25th. In Preece’s three other starts minus an engine failure his results were 17th, 20th and 22nd.

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