Darlington Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Alex Bowman
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Alex Bowman isn’t in the Playoffs but don’t overlook him at Darlington. Bowman’s had some great runs here in the past and been a factor, so now that Playoff pressure is off, he can just go out there and perform which is a luxury top contenders don’t have. Bowman didn’t race at Darlington this spring, but he was solid last fall in his most recent race (10th).
Darlington Track History – Alex Bowman has had some great runs at Darlington and even has a runner-up to his name, but in 4 of the last 6 races he’s finished 17th or worse. This spring, Bowman missed the race due to injury. Last fall, Bowman had a solid showing. In the race, Bowman finished 10th, had a 12.7 average running position and had the 13th best Total Speed Ranking. In spring 2022, Bowman spun on lap 255 while running around 15th, and then a few laps later his car was on fire and he climbed out of the #48 which marked the end of his race leading to his 29th. In fall 2021, Bowman had problems early and went on to finish a clunker 26th. On lap 16 while running in 6th, Bowman had a right front tire go down and then William Byron clipped him. After that you could basically stick a fork in him. In spring 2021, Bowman finished 17th, but he was better than his result. In the race, Bowman finished 10th in Stage #1, but then in Stage #2 on lap 139 while he was running around 9th, he had contact with Blaney which led to an unexpected pit stop. I think that damage impacted the #48 and later in the race while he was running around the mid-teens, he had a tire that was smoking and that led to him making another unexpected pit stop. In 2020, Bowman’s results were 6th, 18th (was strong but got into the wall) and 2nd (led 41 laps).

Ty Gibbs
Darlington Fantasy Spin – At Darlington, Ty Gibbs has been consistent and has a pair of mid-teen finishes on his resume. In race #3 for him at “The Track Too Tough To Tame”, I would look for some marginal improvement and project him as a low double-digits to mid-teens driver. I’ll note, one attribute I like about Gibbs is that the #54 team is running better and since Pocono minus Daytona, Gibbs has a 9.6 average finish.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, Ty Gibbs has a 15.5 average finish between his combined starts. This spring, Gibbs finished 16th, had a 19.6 average running position and had the 20th best Total Speed Ranking. I’ll note, Gibbs did benefit from attrition. Last fall, Ty Gibbs had one of his better 2022 Cup races and finished 15th. Additionally, Gibbs had an 18.6 average running position and the 21st best Total Speed Ranking.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
Darlington Fantasy Spin – Playoff driver, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. and the #47 team have had since the Daytona 500 to focus ahead to the Southern 500 and on Sunday, I think he’s realistically a low double-digit to mid-teens driver.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. has walked away with some respectable results recently and in 2 of the last 3 races he’s finished in the top 13. This spring, Stenhouse had a solid showing. When the checkered flag waved, Stenhouse finished 13th, was tied for the 9th best Total Speed Ranking and had an 11.3 average running position. I’ll note, Stenhouse’s afternoon wasn’t even incident free. Early in the final Stage he brought out an early caution when he had a flat tire and spun while running in 9th, and then during green flag pit stops around lap 250 he was caught speeding on pit road. The high attrition rate certainly helped him but the #47 was sporty. Last fall, Stenhouse had a short race and finished 35th. I don’t know exactly what happened but on lap 49 he was running in 17th, but then somehow on lap 67 he was literally a few laps down in 32nd. I’m just choosing to imagine he got into the wall, but something clearly happened. Later on lap 172 when he was six-laps down, he slammed into the wall hard and it marked the end of his race leading to his 35th. In spring 2022 when Darlington was visited, Stenhouse had a hot streak ensuing and he finished 8th. That said, the attrition rate was high and Stenhouse had a 17.1 average running position and the 17th best Total Speed Ranking.

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