The NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of its toughest and most iconic tracks this weekend with the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Known as the “Track Too Tough to Tame,” Darlington’s worn surface and unique egg-shaped layout put a premium on tire management, long-run speed, and driver discipline. Adding to the intrigue, NASCAR is rolling out the 750-horsepower package on an intermediate oval for the first time this season. Some drivers are going as far as saying the tire fall-off could be in the four-second range. It is lining up to be one of the best races of the season!
In this article, we will preview the track from a fantasy angle and then go over five drivers who stand out heading into practice and qualifying.
NASCAR DFS: Goodyear 400
Track Preview & Fantasy Angle
With the tire falloff due to an aged and worn track, Darlington has a ton of volatility. Adding to that is the fact that the series will go to the 750-horsepower package for both Darlington races in 2026. With that said, there are still a lot of trends that we can look towards to help predict the winner and some top fantasy plays.
Like Las Vegas, there have been eight races here at Darlington in the NextGen era. Chase Briscoe, being the only driver with multiple wins during that stretch(2022-present), speaks to the volatility of this track. He also did this with two different teams.
One very strong trend here at Darlington is the winner coming from a top starting position. The winner has come from a Top 3 starting position in four straight, and only twice has the winner come from outside the Top 5.
When looking at the Darlington races from a fantasy standpoint, it has been a consistent mix of one main dominator surrounded by value place differential plays. One driver has led 240 or more laps in each of the last three races, 170 or more laps in five straight, and 100 or more laps in all eight races in the NextGen era. Nailing down the dominators proves to be one of the toughest tasks at Darlington when trying to use practice data. Only four times has the main dominator been Top 10 in practice, and only once Top 5 in practice. Chase Briscoe led 309 laps last season after ranking 18th in practice and 20th or worse in all lap averages.
Unlike the previous couple of races where we looked to build around multiple top-priced drivers, Darlington is much more balanced, and multiple times we have seen the optimals leaving $3K-$5K on the table. That has a lot to do with the volatility, which, in some ways, can be compared to superspeedways.
Top Pre-Qualifying Targets for DraftKings
Chase Briscoe ($10,700)
No driver has been as dominant as Briscoe here at Darlington over the last couple of years. Between two different teams, he tallied two wins and three Top 5 finishes in the four races and led a Darlington record 309 laps in the playoff race here last fall. He has also been very consistent on intermediate tracks, leading the series with six Top 5s, seven Top 10s, and a series-leading 10.0 average finish since the start of last season(10 races). While Briscoe has got off to a slow start in 2026, the Toyota camp has been very fast, and more good news as Briscoe is also coming off a season-high 8th at Las Vegas last week.
Denny Hamlin ($11,000)
Not many drivers have been consistent here at Darlington, but Hamlin has been one of them. He won here last year from the 3rd starting position and has finished inside the Top 10 in four straight. The spring win was one of three wins on intermediate tracks in 2025. In those races, he was 2nd in Top 5’s(5), 4th in Top 10’s(6), and 3rd in DK points per race(50.0). He is now coming off a dominating win last week at Las Vegas, leading 134 laps en route to 100.7 DK points.
Tyler Reddick ($9,500)
Hard not to stack Toyotas this week as they have the Top 2, three of the Top 4, and five drivers in the Top 9 in average finish here at Darlington in the NextGen era. Leading the way is Tyler Reddick with a 9.6 average finish while leading the field with five Top 5s and six Top 10s in those eight races. He has also been extremely fast everywhere this season, as he won the first three races of the season, had four straight Top 10’s to open the season, and was on his way last week before a 13th-place finish at Vegas.
Chris Buescher ($8,300)
Getting into the mid-range of pricing, Buescher jumps off the page as he returns to Darlington with Top 10’s in three straight and five of the last six races at the track. Those Top 10’s have him tied for second here in the Nextgen era. While he didn’t flash huge upside at intermediate tracks, he has been very consistent with the 4th best average finish(11.6) over the 10 races going back to the start of last season. More good news as he is coming off his second Top 10 of the season at Las Vegas last week.
A.J. Allmendinger ($6,100)
With the volatility here at Darlington, there always seems to be more value options than usual, and this week, no driver stands out more than the Dinger. In four races here at Darlington with Kaulig racing, he has an impressive 14.8 average finish (11th best in the field), including a career-high 5th place finish in the fall race last year. That was one of two Top 5s on intermediate tracks last year, to go along with two other Top 10s. He has also been consistent for the price this season, with the 15th-best average finish with Top 20s in four of five races with one Top 10.
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