Darlington Goodyear 400 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Denny Hamlin
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Defending Spring Darlington champ, Denny Hamlin is a dominant performer at “The Lady In Black” who’ll be tough to beat. Hamlin’s a 5-time winner who’s finished in the top five 52% of the time, in the top ten 74% of the time and his 7.9 career average finish ranks as the best. Tire management is always key here, and I would argue Hamlin’s the premiere driver at that discipline. Last year at high-wear intermediates, Hamlin had a series best 4.3 average finish and his Track Type Total Speed Ranking ranked as the 3rd best.
Darlington Track History – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Darlington. Hamlin’s had asterisk mark results in half the Next Gen races, but he hasn’t lacked when it comes to “Performance.” Despite having quite a few problems in the Next Gen, Hamlin still has the 2nd best average finish (9.9), the 3rd best Next Gen Speed Ranking and the 3rd best Driver Rating. Last summer, Hamlin finished 7th, despite his race not being incident free. In the race, Hamlin started on the pole, led 12 laps, finished 3rd in Stage #1, was in 4th on lap 150 but then just right after that, Hamlin had a slow pit stop that dropped him back to 23rd which held him back for the remainder of the race. When the checkered flag waved, Hamlin finished 7th, earned the 7th best Driver Rating and had a 9.4 average running position. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 6th. Last spring, Hamlin didn’t have the best car but that didn’t keep him out of victory lane. In the race, Hamlin started 3rd, finished 3rd in Stage #2, had the 4th best Driver Rating, had the 4th best Average Running Position, led 10 laps and was running in 3rd on lap 289, before the late caution came out. During that caution, Hamlin won the race off pit road and then hung on to win. In summer 2024, Hamlin finished 7th but I’ll note that underrates him and “Performance Wise”, I would say he was likely the 2nd best. With 40 laps to go before late carnage broke out, Hamlin was up to 2nd. When the checkered flag waved, Hamlin finished 7th, had a 6.4 average running position and earned the 4th best Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Hamlin had the best Total Speed Ranking and ranked #1 for Speed Late In A Run. In spring 2024, Hamlin finished 4th.

William Byron
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – William Byron is one of the premiere Darlington performers and on Sunday, look for him to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. Byron dominated much of the race last spring, he won in spring 2023 and over the combined Next Gen Races, Byron has the best Next Gen Speed Ranking, the 2nd best Next Gen Driver Rating and the 3rd best average finish (10.6). When it comes to racing at high-wear intermediates, the #24 is often a rocket and on this sub-track type since 2023, Byron has the best Speed Ranking and in 2025, he ranked 4th overall.
Darlington Track History – At Darlington, William Byron is elite and in 7 of the last 11 races, he’s finished in the top 8. Since 2023 minus the last two summer races which weren’t incident free, Byron has a 3.3 average finish. Last summer, Byron was a disappointment and finished 21st. In the race, Byron started 11th, finished 11th in Stage #1, was in 10th on lap 150 but then just after that, Byron had a slow pit stop that dropped him back into the 20’s. From that point on, he just never bounced back, leading to his poor result (21st). In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Byron ranked 14th. Last 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. In summer 2024, 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. In spring 2024, Byron finished 6th, had a 5.6 average running position and had the 5th best Total Speed Ranking. In 2023, Byron finished 4th in the summer and then in the spring he raced his way to victory lane.

Tyler Reddick
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Look for Tyler Reddick to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win at “The Lady In Black.” Reddick’s an elite rim rider who’s been flirting with victory lane and in 50% of the Darlington Next Gen races, he’s finished in the top 4, with results of 2nd and 4th in 2025. In the Next Gen over all the combined races, Reddick has the best average finish (9.6), the best Next Gen Driver Rating and he’s tied for the best Next Gen Speed Ranking. Last year at high-wear intermediates, Reddick had the best Track Type Total Speed Ranking and the 2nd best average finish (4.7).
Darlington Track History – Tyler Reddick has been elite at Darlington and in the Next Gen over his incident free races, his average finish is a stellar 3.8 and he’s 6 for 8 at finishing in the top ten. Last summer, Reddick had a stellar showing and finished 2nd, which is remarkable when you consider he was minutely involved in an accident on the opening lap. In the race, Reddick finished 2nd in Stage #1, finished 2nd in Stage #2, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best average running position (4.6) and then finished 2nd overall. In terms of speed stats, Reddick ranked as the Fastest Driver Late In A Run and had the 2nd best Total Speed Ranking. Last spring, Reddick nearly raced his way to victory lane but finished 4th. In the race, Reddick finished 5th in Stage #1, finished 9th in Stage #2, earned the 2nd best Driver Rating, had the 2nd best average running position, led 42 laps, found himself in the lead following the final green flag pit cycle but was then reeled in by Blaney with a few laps to go and then lost a few more spots following the final restart. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Reddick ranked 3rd. In summer 2024 in a flu race, Reddick faded back as the race went along. In the race, Reddick finished 10th, had a 6.1 average running position and earned the 5th best Driver Rating. In spring 2024, Reddick was the class of the field. In the race, Reddick started on the pole, finished 4th in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 174 laps but then finished an asterisk mark 32nd after colliding with Buescher on lap 264 while battling for the lead. In terms of speed, Reddick had the best Total Speed Ranking. Over the four races prior to that, Reddick had results of 2nd, 22nd (crashed late while running around 8th), 2nd and 3rd.

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