Darlington Southern 500 Fantasy NASCAR Mid Pack Predictions / The Low Tier

Shane van Gisbergen
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Playoff driver, Shane van Gisbergen will be looking to notch a respectable result at Darlington and by that, I think he would be thrilled to get a mid to high-teens finish. Can he do it? Perhaps but I would also be prepared for him to underperform. SVG has improved at ovals over the course of the season so let’s hope that upward trend continues in crunch time.
Darlington Track History – SVG has two starts at Darlington on his resume and so far, he’s 2 for 2 at finishing in the 20’s with a 23rd place average finish. This spring, SVG had his better of his two Darlington races and finished 20th. Additionally, SVG had a 27.4 average running position and ranked 29th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. That said, I would say his result is legit since he was running in 20th on lap 289 before the late caution came out. Last summer in the Kaulig #16, SVG started in the back, finished three laps down in 26th, had a 28.2 average running position and ranked 30th in terms of Total Speed Rankings.

Zane Smith
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Zane Smith had a great race this spring at Darlington and finished 12th. It’s hard thinking he can repeat that, but he might. Personally, I have a hard time seeing him do that again and I think it’s likely best to just be braced for a high-teens finish and hope for the best.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington in the Next Gen, Zane Smith has a 23.3 average finish and ranks 19th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings. This spring, Smith had a stellar showing and finished 12th, which is legit. In the race, Smith earned the 11th best Driver Rating, had a 14.3 average running position and was tied for 7th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last summer, Smith finished 23rd, had a 27.6 average running position and ranked 17th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. I’ll note, attrition did help him slightly and on lap 340 just prior to a “Big One”, he was in 26th. Last spring, Smith had a short afternoon and finished 35th. On lap 163 while running in 33rd, Smith spun, had flat tires and was then stuck on the track which somehow DNF’ed him.

Todd Gilliland
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Todd Gilliland has been “sneaky respectable” at Darlington but with the current competitive state of the #34 team, I think it’s best to just view him as a 20’s performer who’ll have marginal upside. In the Next Gen at “The Lady In Black”, Gilliland’s 5 for 7 at finishing between 11th to 17th. Heading into the weekend, I would view Gilliland as a +20’s performer who’ll have roll of the dice upside.
Darlington Track History – Todd Gilliland has been pretty solid at Darlington and over the last three, Gilliland has a 15.3 average finish, a 15.5 average running position and a 13.0 average speed ranking. This spring, Gilliland had a solid afternoon. In the race, Gilliland finished 14th, had a 17.5 average running position, earned the 17th best Driver Rating and ranked 14th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. Last summer, Gilliland was OK, finishing 17th, having a 16.8 average running position and ranking 13th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. To make his afternoon a little more impressive, Gilliland was even involved in a last Stage wreck. Last spring, Gilliland had a great performance. In the race, Gilliland finished 15th, had a 12.3 average running position and had the 12th best Total Speed Ranking. Over the four races prior to that, Gilliland had results of 26th, 11th, 28th and then 15th.

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