For the twelfth race of the season, the Goodyear 400, the drivers head to South Carolina for a date with “The Lady in Black” racetrack.
Location
Darlington Speedway
Track Length
1.366 miles
Track Type
Asphalt, four turns
Last 10 Track Winners:
- Fall 2021: Denny Hamlin
- Spring 2021: Martin Truex Jr.
- Fall 2020: Kevin Harvick
- Spring 2020: Denny Hamlin
- Fall 2019: Kevin Harvick
- Spring 2019: Erik Jones
- Fall 2018: Brad Keselowski
- Fall 2017: Denny Hamlin
- Fall 2016: Martin Truex Jr.
- Fall 2015: Carl Edwards
Last 10 Track Winners by Model
- Toyota: 7
- Ford: 3
Goodyear 400: Race Day Preview
The drivers head to Darlington this weekend to visit the raceway known as “The Track Too Tough to Tame” for the Goodyear 400. Instead of the usual paperclip speedway, this one looks more like an egg from overhead shots. Higher banks and a wider track on turns 1 and 2 than on turns 3 and 4 make this a trickier track to traverse.
Historically, Toyotas have enjoyed immense success here, but we’re finding that model data is less meaningful with the NextGen cars. Speaking of the new vehicles, Darlington is known for chewing and spitting out tires at a rapid clip, a phenomenon we’ve been watching all season. Pit stop accuracy, managing tire dispersal, and ensuring the lug nut is on before racing off pit road will be necessary at the Goodyear 400.
The following is an overview of drivers I look to roster in DFS and season-long formats at the Goodyear 400. I’ll be back Sunday morning to see whose value changed following Saturday’s qualifying races. Thoughts? Opinions? Wondering how and why you should play NASCAR fantasy? Hit me up on Twitter at @thewonkypenguin.
Fantasy Drivers: The Contenders
Kevin Harvick (#4 Ford, Stewart-Haas Racing)
The Goodyear 400 will mark Harvick’s 24th race at Darlington, but the previous six races put him at the top of the contenders’ list this week. The No. 4 car appeared in the Top 10 in all six of them, the Top 5 in five, and won it twice. While recent history does not guarantee anything, rostering him will be the smart play if his qualifying position is outside the first ten.
Martin Truex (#19 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
Truex has raced at Darlington 19 times and twice got to do victorious burnouts. He ran well last week, finishing 12th after starting 18th, and since this is the Toyota Track, he will be worth rostering at the Goodyear 400. His driver rating of 111.9 is the third-highest on the board.
Kyle Larson (#5 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
Larson has the highest driver rating in Darlington by a wide margin. In eight races here, he has finished in the Top 10 seven times and the Top 5 five times, yet he has never waved the checkered flag. We can’t ignore a 125.2 rating, and I predict another Top 10 finish, but it has been pretty easy to find a better value than him the last couple of weeks.
Denny Hamlin (#11 Toyota, Joe Gibbs Racing)
Hamlin has had four wins in 19 races during his career at Darlington, but he again ran hot and cold during both days of Martinsville. Whether or not it’s worth it to pay up for him will depend heavily on his qualifying position. Hat tip to him, though, because no matter what happens from here on out, we will always have the slow-motion analysis of whether he beat his own tire off pit road.
Fantasy Drivers: The Accelerators
Joey Logano (#22 Ford, Team Penske)
Logano followed up his DNF at Talladega with a 29th place finish in Martinsville. This is what we analysts call “trending in the wrong direction.” I am tempted to fade him, which means rostering him is probably the better play. The reason? His price should drop a bit on the DFS sites, and he has four Top 5 finishes in 16 races at Darlington. He has never won here, though, so if you’re scared of his last couple of races, it makes sense to leave him on the board.
Chase Elliott (#9 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
Now that Elliott has secured his win and put some distance between him and the field in the Cup standings, we could enter a run of races where he doesn’t press quite so hard. His price tag should remain steady at the top of the board and, depending on where he qualifies, could make it worth the cap hit. He does not have a strong history at this track, but it would be negligence to leave him off this list.
William Byron (#24 Chevrolet, Hendrick Motorsports)
Byron finally had a down week, thanks partly to crashing his primary car during qualifiers last Saturday. On Monday, he ran in the Top 10 for many laps before finishing a disappointing 22nd. The atypical finish and Elliott’s win move the No. 24 car into a predicted finish of second instead of first in the overall standings. Save for another car mishap on Saturday, Byron remains a solid play on any track right now.
Fantasy Drivers: The Sleeper
Erik Jones (#43 Chevrolet, Petty GMS Motorsports)
In his past six races here, Jones has four Top 10s, three Top 5s, and one win while carrying a driver rating of 88.9. His average finish is 10.1 throughout his career, with an average starting position of 17. If his salary remains in the $6,500 range, he could make a strong sleeper/lineup builder for the Goodyear 400.