2 years agoAlex Bowman is a solid driver at Darlington in his own right. Often referred to as the fourth Hendrick driver, Bowman qualified 15th for the Sunday race. Furthermore, he has a top-five and two top-tens in his last six races on the 1.366-mile course. Bowman's No. 48 Chevy has even led 2.2% of the laps over the past three seasons. The driver has been far more consistent this year with seven top-tens and a win over his first 11 races. That puts him in the top-five in overall points. Darlington could be another springboard for an improvement in place differential.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoAustin Dillon and his No. 3 Chevy not surprisingly has a way of thriving at Darlington. There was another No. 3 who loved the "track too tough to tame" (Dale Earnhardt Sr.). Dillon starts 14th on Sunday and has a 50-50 chance of finishing in the top-ten. The Richard Childress Racing driver even has a top-five result of recent note as well. The late 2020 second-place result sticks in the mind of most pundits. Dillon did not lead a single lap but had top-five late speed. If he can replicate that in any way Sunday, Dillon will be one to watch.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoChase Briscoe and his Stewart-Haas Racing car are in a better position than last year where he started in the 20's and worked his way up the field. He had a +11 and +5 place differential and was in the top-ten late in both races before falling back a lap. Starting 13th on Sunday may help that a bit. If Briscoe and his No. 14 Ford can push early, they may be a factor later. Few expect a win or even a top-five result but Briscoe showed at Bristol that he can contend unexpectedly.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoAric Almirola has an interesting history of late at Darlington. He has two top-ten results in his last six starts. The Stewart-Haas Racing driver figured to be the second best SHR driver in qualifying on Saturday. However, when Kevin Harvick blew a tire, things changed. The No. 10 car figures to be up closer to the front for most of the race. Again, these high-wear races tend to be in Almirola's comfort zone. Some races have clouded result potential like both in 2021. Almirola was in contention in the Fall but lost speed late. The Spring race was done in five laps. Keep that in mind.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoErik Jones has a history at Darlington and it is mostly a good one. Though he qualified 11th on Saturday, he probably had one of the ten fastest cars, period. Jones did win the Fall race at Darlington in 2019 while leading 79 laps. He also had two top-five results (5th and 4th in 2020). The No. 43 Chevy driver has the know-how on this track. Can his Petty GMS Motorsports car find that extra speed later in the race? Tire wear is not much of a concern for him it seems. The key word is seems.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoTyler Reddick and his Richard Childress Racing car may not be the steadiest car out there. However, Reddick is more than capable of outperforming the limitations of his No. 8 Chevy. That is the thing. The driver has done it all year. Look at how Reddick nearly won at Bristol Dirt, etc. He does have an average finish of 14.8 in his past five races which includes only one top-ten. Despite that, the Chevy has been well in the top ten several times late in these races. The mantra "drive the fire out of the car" applies well to Reddick.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoWilliam Byron is one of those Hendrick Motorsports Racing drivers that has not had the best of luck at Darlington. He has come close in four of the last five races where Byron was in the top-five at a crucial point before something bad happened. The car has top-ten speed and maybe better. It becomes a question of how the No. 24 car performs over longer runs. That is the unknown and the potential problem. This could be the race where Byron puts it all together or mostly together.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoRoss Chastain has helped put TrackHouse Racing more than just on the map. Daniel Suarez and Chastain have had some lightning fast race cars this season. Chastain leads all drivers with seven top-five finishes in 11 races. Furthermore, the No. 1 Chevy has two wins obviously but he qualified eighth and again had good testing numbers including not losing tons of speed in intervals. His overall was fourth fastest in practice on Saturday. Chastain has kept taking steps every race. Can he do it at Darlington on Sunday? It would not surprise anyone now.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoRyan Blaney and the Darlington track have not gotten along. There have been speed drops and mechanical issues. Blaney did manage to qualify seventh for Sunday's race, however. Blaney did not have a jump that some drivers had between his five and ten-lap interval. It was strange and could just be an outlier. However, what if it isn't? If Blaney can keep the car at a good speed Sunday, a top-ten finish is quite plausible. He did finish eighth in last year's Spring race.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoKurt Busch found some late speed on his qualifying lap to secure the sixth position in qualifying for Sunday afternoon's race. The 23XI Racing driver finished just behind his younger brother, Kyle. Both Busch's have four top-ten results in their last six appearances at Darlington. However, the elder Busch has just one top-five finish. The No. 45 car seemed to lose a bit more speed than usual at the 15 lap interval but then again, maybe that was fear of the tires. Either way, Kurt Busch has the know-how to get around this track and avoid carnage.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoKyle Busch is on baby watch as everyone knows. The No. 18 car is one of the more clutch drivers here with three top-five results in his last six races at Darlington. Though the younger Busch has not won here recently, he did qualify fifth on Saturday. That puts him in an excellent position to thrive again on the 1.366-mile track. Keep in mind that Busch may have to leave at any time leading up to the afternoon race. However, if he races, Busch will contend. Does he have the run on speed and grip late? Those are the big questions.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoMartin Truex Jr. is accustomed to being a favorite at Darlington. This week, Kyle Larson gets the numbers for consistency but typically, Truex Jr. has been right there as well. The No. 19 car has won one race and could have won a couple others over the past three seasons at Darlington. His speed interval was 31st early in practice but started to creep up, especially in qualifying. There are few that race on high-wear tracks quite like Truex Jr. He has led 24.3% of laps the past six races on the 1.366-mile course. If there are a series of shorter runs late, Truex Jr. will be one to keep an eye on to steal a checkered flag.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoChristopher Bell and Joe Gibbs Racing ran some fast qualifying laps on Saturday. Bell led the way and wound up on the inside of Row 2 for the race at Darlington. The No. 20 car finished just behind the Hendrick car of Kyle Larson and the Team Penske of Joey Logano. Toyota's have run well at Darlington the past few years, punctuated by drivers like Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin. Bell may have his work cut out for him but if he can manage his car, he may be able to avoid the high-wear tire issues. Bell could be one to watch for Sunday if his long-run speed (31 seconds plus) improves.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoNaturally, Kyle Larson keeps finishing in the top-three including the last three appearances at Darlington. However, despite leading 204 out of 660 laps last season, the No. 5 car still did not win either race on the track "too tough to tame". Larson has found more ways to almost win on this course than most can count. It feels like this is a matter of time. However, the great question mark is tires. It was seen a ton during qualifying but can anyone gauge what will happen during the race. At any rate, Larson is a favorite and at the least is one of the more likely top-three finishers on Sunday.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
2 years agoJoey Logano the last few seasons has performed pretty well at Darlington for the most part. He has three top-ten results in his last six races. The fact that he won the pole for Sunday's race was mildly surprising. The Team Penske driver barely beat out Kyle Larson in the final round of qualifying. The problem is Logano likely could contend but a win just seems out of the question. Also, he has led just 1% of the laps on the 1.366-mile track. His speed intervals later in runs do seem to lag behind some of the other contenders.
--Chris Wassel - RotoBallerSource: NASCAR.com
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