Darlington Goodyear 400 Fantasy NASCAR Front Runner Rankings

Brad Keselowski
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Brad Keselowski, the spring 2024 Darlington winner should have a strong showing. This crafty vet knows how to manage his tires and over the last seven races minus spring 2025, Keselowski has a 7.8 average finish. On Sunday, look for Keselowski to be a top ten contender.
Darlington Track History – Darlington has been a great track for Brad Keselowski. He’s a 2-time winner and in 5 of the last 9 races he’s finished in the top 7. In the Next Gen minus last spring and spring 2022, Keselowski has a 7.8 average finish. Last summer, Keselowski finished 15th but take note his afternoon wasn’t incident free. On lap 30, Keselowski was running in a not so great 28th but then shortly after that during the opening green flag pit cycle, he had a loose wheel and then pitted in Logano’s pit box and that dropped him 2 laps down, making the rest of his afternoon an uphill battle. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, he ranked 24th. Last spring, Keselowski was a top five contender but finished a misleading 33rd. In the race, Keselowski finished 6th in Stage #1, was running in 6th on lap 125 but then on lap 135 after just making a pit stop during a green flag pit cycle, he lost a wheel nut and was basically doomed after that, leading to his 33rd. In summer 2024, Keselowski was a solid low double-digit driver. In the race, Keselowski finished 14th, had a 12.0 average running position and earned the 11th best Driver Rating. In spring 2024, Keselowski had a hot rod and raced his way to victory lane. In the race, Keselowski started 2nd, finished 3rd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, had the best Driver Rating, the best average running position (2.6) and led 37 laps. In terms of speed stats, Keselowski ranked #1 for speed late in a run and then 2nd for Total Speed Rankings. Over the three races prior to that, Keselowski had results of 6th, 4th and 7th.

Carson Hocevar
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Carson Hocevar is a talented wheelman who I wouldn’t count out from sneaking in a good finish. The #77 team fields fast cars at intermediate tracks and if he avoids trouble, good things can happen. Hocevar’s Darlington track record is overall troubling with him finishing 17th or worse in 4 of his 5 starts but he ran well last summer en route to a 9th. Heading into the weekend, I would view him as a teens driver who’ll have a good chance to finish in the top ten.
Darlington Track History – Fantasy racing is all about “What have you done lately”, and Hocevar ran well last summer which is ultimately the most important race. In the race, Hocevar started 26th, had a 15.2 average running position and then finished 9th overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, he ranked 19th but take note in the 4th segment, he was at his fastest and ranked 10th for speed. Last spring, Hocevar had a tough race and finished 32nd. In the race, Hocevar was involved in not one but two cautions! The first happened on lap 24 when he was running in the mid 20’s, spun and slapped the wall. The next wasn’t too much longer after that on lap 82 when he was two laps down and him and Gibbs had contact. In addition to finishing 32nd, Hocevar ranked 35th in terms of Total Speed Rankings and ranked 36th in terms of average running position. In summer 2024, Hocevar started 2nd, finished about 13th in Stage #1, finished about 19th in Stage #2, was in 19th on lap 312 but then just after that on lap 314, his evening went south when he spun and brought out a caution. Not that much later on lap 335 when he was in the low 20’s, Hocevar had a tire go down and slammed into the wall hard. In his two starts prior to that, Hocevar had results of 26th and 17th.

Kyle Busch
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Kyle Busch is a strong performer at Darlington. Busch swept the top ten last year (9.0 average finish) and in 5 of the last 6 Darlington races, he’s finished in the top 11. In the Next Gen at “The Lady In Black”, Busch has the 7th best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 8th best Driver Rating but a 16.0 average finish which underrates him via three misleading results.
Darlington Track History – 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 six races, Busch is 5 for 6 at finishing in the top 11, highlighted by a runner-up in summer 2024. Last summer, Busch started 23rd, had a 15.5 average running position and then finished 8th when the checkered flag waved. In terms of speed stats, Busch ranked 6th for Speed Late In A Run and had the 10th best Total Speed Ranking. Last 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. In summer 2024, 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. In spring 2024, Busch finished 27th and that’s really not an asterisk mark result. He simply wasn’t good. 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).  

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