Darlington Southern 500 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Josh Berry
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – If you’re looking for a Darlington dark horse, don’t overlook Josh Berry. Over the last three Darlington races, Berry’s been a top ten performer but when you look at the results column, you’ll see two 30’s results over the last two and that will likely scare people away. When it comes to racing at high-tire wear tracks, Berry is often at his best and at high-wear intermediate tracks since 2023, Berry ranks 7th in terms of speed. Heading into the weekend, I would view Berry as a dark horse top ten contender.
Darlington Track History – Josh Berry has performed at a high-level at Darlington and over the last three races, Berry’s been top ten good. In terms of speed over the last three, Berry has an 8.3 average speed ranking. In terms of the results column in the Next Gen, that’s a different story, with him having a 25th place average finish and having a result in the 30’s in 3 of his 4 starts. This spring, Berry was a top ten contender, but he finished an asterisk mark 36th. In the race, Berry started 24th, finished around the mid-teens in Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, was running in 5th on lap 194 but then he had contact with Reddick and crashed. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Berry ranked 10th. Last summer, Berry was strong but finished an asterisk mark 31st. In the race, Berry started 15th, finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 7th in Stage #2, was up to 5th on lap 327 but then shortly after that following a restart, Berry did an aggressive move and a “Big One” then ensued, leading to his poor result. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Berry ranked 4th. Last spring, Berry had a great performance. In the race, Berry started 33rd, had a 14.3 average running position and then finished 3rd. In terms of speed stats, Berry ranked 3rd for speed late in a run and had the 11th best Total Speed Ranking.

Kyle Busch
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Busch is a capable performer at Darlington who should be on your radar. In the Next Gen at “The Lady In Black”, Busch has the 6th best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 7th best Average Running Position, the 9th best Driver Rating but a 17.1 average finish which underrates him via three misleading results. I’ll note, I do not like the current form of the #8 team, so he’s hard to pick with confidence. On Sunday night, look for Kyle Busch to be a risky top ten contender.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, Kyle Busch is a former winner (2008) and as long as he avoids trouble, he’s typically been a lock for a good finish. Over the last five races, Busch is 4 for 5 at finishing in the top 11, highlighted by a runner-up last summer. This spring, Busch was solid. In the race, Busch finished 10th, had a 14.8 average running position and earned the 15th best Driver Rating. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Busch ranked 10th. Last summer, Busch had a pretty good race and was at his best late. In the race, Busch finished 2nd, had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking and had a 14.3 average running position. Last spring, Busch finished 27th and that’s really not an asterisk mark result. He simply wasn’t good. In the race, Busch had a 22.5 average running position and the 24th best Speed Ranking. In 2023, Busch grinded out results of 7th and 11th. In summer 2022, Busch led 155 laps and likely would’ve won if his engine didn’t blow up (finished 30th).

Ty Gibbs
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Ty Gibbs has finished in the top ten in 2 of the last 3 Darlington races but I can’t say I love the idea of picking him. The #54 team fell off to close out the regular season, and that’s a trend that makes it hard to pick him with confidence. In the Next Gen at Darlington, Gibbs has a 13.8 average finish (8th best) and ranks 16th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. Heading into the weekend, I would view Gibbs as a teens driver who’ll have a little upside.
Darlington Track History – Ty Gibbs is capable of performing at a high-level at Darlington and if it wasn’t for problems last summer, he would likely have three straight top tens. This spring, Gibbs didn’t look good for the first half of the race but in the second half he rebounded. In the race, Gibbs finished 9th and had the 21st best Total Speed Ranking. To highlight his speed over the segments, Gibbs had speed rankings of 22nd, 32nd, 8th and then 10th. Last summer, Gibbs started 13th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2, was running in 5th on lap 340 but then on lap 343, he was caught up in a “Big One”, leading to his asterisk mark 20th. In terms of speed stats, Gibbs ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run and 9th for Total Speed Rankings. “Performance Wise”, there’s no doubt Gibbs looked to be a top five contender. Last spring, Gibbs was one of the best. In the race, Gibbs finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 3rd in Stage #2, led 34 laps, had a 4.1 average running position and then finished 2nd. In terms of speed stats, Gibbs ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and then 4th for Speed Late In A Run.

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