Darlington Southern 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

William Byron
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – William Byron is one of the premiere Darlington performers and on Sunday night in the Southern 500, look for Byron to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Byron dominated much of the race this spring, he won in spring 2023 and over the combined Next Gen Races, Byron has the best average finish (9.1), the best Driver Rating, the best average running position and the best Next Gen Speed Ranking.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, William Byron is elite and in 7 of the last 10 races, he’s finished in the top 8. Since 2023 minus last summer, Byron has a 3.3 average finish. This spring, Byron started on the pole, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 243 laps, had a 1.5 average running position, earned the best Driver Rating and then finished 2nd. The final green flag pit cycle didn’t go well for Byron and then when he was back in traffic, the #24 just wasn’t as strong. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 1st but take note his speed over the segments were 1st, 3rd, 1st and then 8th. Last summer, Byron was a top 5 performer, but he finished an asterisk mark 30th after crashing during a late “Big One.” In the race, Byron started 8th, finished 8th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2, was in 6th with 40 laps to go but then during a caution just after that, Byron was leap frogged by some who used pit strategy and then on lap 343 he was collected in a “Big One.” In terms of speed stats, Byron ranked 4th for Total Speed Rankings and for Green Flag Speed. Last spring, Byron had a strong showing. In the race, Byron finished 9th in Stage #1, finished 6th in Stage #2, had a 5.6 average running position and then finished 6th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 5th. In 2023, Byron finished 4th in the summer and then in the spring he raced his way to victory lane.

Ryan Blaney
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – In the Darlington Southern 500, look for Ryan Blaney to be fast and be tough to beat in this crown jewel race. Darlington has historically been a weak spot for the #12 team, but times are changing. Blaney should’ve won this spring and at high-wear intermediates, Blaney has consistently been a factor with his last three speed rankings being 2nd, 1st and 1st. At Darlington in the Next Gen, Blaney ranks 4th in terms of Next Gen Speed Rankings but in terms of average finish, he ranks a mid-pack 16th (18.0). If Blaney can avoid trouble, look for him to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Darlington Track History – Darlington hasn’t been one of Blaney’s better tracks, but he’s been solid and in 5 of the last 9 races, he’s finished between 5th to 13th. This spring, the #12 was stout and Blaney was robbed of the win. In the race, Blaney started 9th, finished 7th in Stage #1, finished 4th in Stage #2 but then to begin the last Stage, Blaney had a slow pit stop that dropped him from 4th back to 16th. Then over the last Stage, Blaney made a ton of passes, drove up to the lead on lap 290 and led 2 laps but then shortly after that, Larson crashed a second time and Blaney than had a slow pit stop that dropped him back to 4th. When the checkered flag waved, Blaney finished 5th. In terms of speed stats, Blaney ranked as the fastest driver late in a run and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. Over the final quarter of the race, the #12 was the fastest car on the track. Last summer, Blaney was viewed to have the best car in practice over a long run but Blaney only completed 2-laps before crashing while running in 7th. In spring 2024, the #12 looked good but Blaney’s race was cut short. In the race, Blaney started 17th, finished 8th in Stage #1 but then in Stage #2 on lap 129 while battling for 4th, Blaney got into the wall hard, leading to his 36th. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Blaney ranked 6th. In 2023, Blaney had a pair of 9th place finishes.

Kyle Larson
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Larson’s a super-elite performer at Darlington who’ll be tough to beat in the Southern 500. Larson’s a fairly recent winner (summer 2023) and in many of the recent races, he’s been a factor. Over Larson’s last six incident free Darlington races, he’s 6 for 6 at finishing in the top 4. Larson’s had quite a few misleading results here in the Next Gen but in terms of speed, Larson hasn’t lacked and has a 6.3 average speed ranking minus this spring. Another attribute you have to love about Larson is his tire management prowess. Larson won at Homestead this spring and since 2023 at high-wear intermediates, Larson ranks 4th in terms of Track Type Total Speed Rankings and in 3 of the last 7, he ranked #1 for speed. On Sunday, look for Larson to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win.
Darlington Track History – Kyle Larson is one of the premiere performers at Darlington and in the Next Gen, Larson has the 5th best Total Speed Ranking, the 7th best Driver Rating and “Performance Wise”, he’s been a factor to win 3 of the last 5. This spring, Larson had a dismal afternoon and finished 37th, but I’m viewing it as a “No lessons learned” race. Larson crashed on lap #4 and went to the garage, and then to cap off his afternoon he crashed right at the end which brought out overtime. Last summer, Larson was the class of the field but finished 4th, after losing the lead during a late restart. In the race, Larson won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 263 laps, had a 2.0 average running position and earned the best Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 4th for Speed Late In A Run. Last spring, Larson was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 34th. In the race, Larson started 6th, won Stage #1, finished 5th in Stage #2, led 15 laps but then in the last Stage his afternoon went south. On lap 235 while running in 3rd, Larson tagged the wall hard and then immediately came to pit road. Then shortly after that on lap 253 while running in 6th, Larson had a flat tire and crashed. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Larson ranked 7th. In 2023, Larson could’ve pulled out the broom for the season. In summer 2023, Larson started 18th, finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had a 4.5 average running position, earned the best Driver Rating, led 55 laps, and of course raced his way to victory lane. In terms of speed stats, Larson had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked 2nd for Speed Late In A Run. In spring 2023, Larson likely had the best car but finished an asterisk mark 20th after having a late run-in with Ross Chastain while battling for the lead which led to him crashing and finishing 20th.

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