Darlington Cook Out Southern 500 Fantasy NASCAR Top Tier Elite Picks

Chase Briscoe
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Chase Briscoe has back-to-back Darlington Southern 500 wins and on Sunday night, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if he extends his streak to 3. The #19 team is running great, and I have no doubt he’s capable of coming up big. Briscoe smoked the field last summer in dominant fashion and over the last five races minus 2025 #1, his average finish is 4.8.
Darlington History – Chase Briscoe has been elite at Darlington and over the last five races, Briscoe has 2-wins and he’s 3 for 5 at finishing in the top 5. This spring before the #19 team was running well, Briscoe started 23rd, finished 4th in Stage #2 and then finished 12th overall. For whatever reason, Briscoe just wasn’t at his best to close out. In terms of Total Speed Rankings he ranked 10th but it also tells the tale of his afternoon with his speed over the segments being 13th, 7th, 4th and then 21st. Last summer, Briscoe started 2nd, won Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 309 laps, earned a perfect Driver Rating, had a 1.8 average running position and of course finished 1st overall. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Briscoe ranked #1. Last spring early in his #19 tenure, Briscoe didn’t run well and finished 28th. Additionally, Briscoe had a 19.1 average running position, earned the 26th best Driver Rating and ranked 28th in terms of Total Speed Rankings. In summer 2024, Briscoe raced his way to victory lane, making a late pass for the lead and then hitting the afterburners. In the race, Briscoe had a 3.2 average running position, ranked 3rd for Total Speed Rankings and led 29 laps. In spring 2024, Briscoe finished 5th.

Tyler Reddick
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – Spring winner, Tyler Reddick is a super-elite performer at Darlington and on Sunday night, look for the #45 to be fast and be a factor to win. Reddick’s an elite rim rider and in the Next Gen, Reddick ranks #1 across the board for average finish (8.7), Next Gen Speed Ranking and Driver Rating. In terms of the Next Gen results column minus misleading results in spring 2023 & 2024, Reddick is 6 for 7 at finishing in the top 4 and his average finish is 3.4. When it comes to racing at high-wear intermediates, Reddick ranks among the premiere performers and since 2025 on this sub-track type Reddick’s average finish is a series best 3.8.
Darlington History – Tyler Reddick has been elite at Darlington and over the last three races, Reddick’s average finish is 2.3. This spring, Reddick was the class of the field and raced his way to victory lane despite major electrical issues. In the race, Reddick started on the pole, complained about voltage issues on lap 1, led the opening 45 laps, had a slow green flag pit stop in Stage #1 on lap 46 that dropped him from 1st to 7th, did a battery change during the Stage #1 caution that dropped him to the back, rebounded to finish 5th in Stage #2 and then over the last Stage, he hit the afterburners and raced his way to victory lane. Additionally, Reddick led the 2nd most laps (77) and earned the 2nd best Driver Rating. In terms of speed stats, Reddick was the fastest driver late in a run and ranked 2nd for Total Speed Rankings, with his speed over the segments were 1st, 8th (when he was back in traffic), 1st and 1st. Last summer, Reddick had a stellar showing and finished 2nd. 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.

Denny Hamlin
Darlington Fantasy Outlook – 5-time Darlington winner, Denny Hamlin has been a dominant performer at “The Lady In Black” and on Sunday night, look for the regular season champ to be a top five contender who’ll be a factor to win. For his career over his 28 starts, Hamlin’s finished in the top five 50% of the time, in the top ten 71% of the time and his average finish is a stellar 8.0. Tire management is always key at Darlington, and I would argue Hamlin’s the premiere driver at that discipline, with his average finish on that sub-track type since 2025 ranking as the 2nd best (6.0).
Darlington History – Denny Hamlin is a super-elite performer at Darlington. Hamlin’s had asterisk mark results in about 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 (10.0) and ranks 3rd for both Next Gen Speed Rankings and Driver Rating. This spring, Hamlin didn’t have an incident free race but still came home 11th. In the race, Hamlin started 9th, finished about 13th in Stage #1, had contact with Erik Jones on lap 111, was up to 4th on lap 170 but then shortly after that, Hamlin said something didn’t feel right and rapidly dropped back to 11th to conclude Stage #2. Then during the Stage #2 caution, Hamlin pitted early to diagnose the #11, which dropped him back to 24th. Then over the last Stage, Hamlin raced hard to come home 11th. Additionally, Hamlin had a 12.0 average running position and earned the 12th best Driver Rating. In terms of Total Speed Rankings, Hamlin ranked 8th with his speed over the segments being 12th, 3rd, 23rd and then 6th. 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 2024, Hamlin had results of 7th (2nd best car performance wise IMO) and 4th.

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