2016 Darlington Raceway, Bojangles’ Southern 500

Congratulations to Kyle Larson who won his first ever Sprint Cup race at Michigan this past weekend. The win also propels him into the Chase and sets up what will be an interesting final two weeks before the start of the Chase. We now have thirteen different winners who are all in the top thirty in points going into the final stretch. Not all of them are guaranteed to remain in the top thirty in points, but as of right now there are only three spots open for drivers to get in on points and there are four drivers who are really fighting for those three positions in my opinion. A lot of pressure on these teams coming up over the next two races.

BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500

This week the series heads to Darlington Raceway for the running of the famed Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway, also known as ‘The Lady in Black’ or ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame’ is a 1.366-mile egg shaped track in Darlington, South Carolina. This is the sight of one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history when back in March of 2003 Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch be .002 seconds in a race where both drivers were banging off each other as they crossed the finish line.

Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to get back in the win column this week at Darlington. I thought he was going to win last week at Michigan and he came away with a fifth place finish which is good in anyone’s book. Kevin has finished in the top five in his last three starts at this track and picked up the win here two years ago. He has also lead more laps here in the last two races than any other driver.

Jimmie Johnson: Jimmie has three wins at this track and would like nothing better than to make it four and pick up some momentum as we close in on the Chase. With the three wins, nine top five, and twelve top ten finishes in seventeen starts here, this team is one of the most consistent when it comes to racing at Darlington. I think they give Kevin a run for his money.

Jeff Gordon: Jeff will be subbing for Dale Earnhardt Jr. once again this weekend. Jeff leads all active drivers with seven wins at this track. He also has nineteen top five and twenty-three top ten finishes here and could surprise a lot of people this weekend. He could also play spoiler for someone who needs to pick up a win to make the Chase even though Jeff isn’t running for the championship this year.

Kyle Larson: Kyle got his first win of his career last weekend and looks to continue that momentum this weekend. Kyle has only run two races at this track and has finished in the top ten in both of those starts. This team would like to build on what they accomplished in Michigan and build more confidence as they race for a championship this season.

Ryan Newman: Ryan is still looking for his first win of the season and his first win at this track. He also finds himself sitting on the outside looking in to the Chase at the present time. He can still get in on points, as he is only seven points behind Jamie McMurray right now or he can win one of the next two races and get in that way. He has been very consistent here finishing in the top ten eleven times in his seventeen starts. He needs to come away with another top ten finish this weekend to keep his hopes alive.

Denny Hamlin: Denny has one win, three runner-up finishes and a third place finish in only ten starts at this track. I look for this team to have another good race here and build some momentum of their own as we near the Chase. This team is looking to improve their communication between driver and crew-chief to make the correct adjustments as races progress so they can stay in the hunt late in races. They also need to cut down on pit road speeding penalties.

Kyle Busch: Kyle has had a long stretch of bad luck since winning three of his four races early this season. He had some more bad luck at Michigan last weekend and will be looking to get back to his winning ways this weekend. Kyle has finished in the top ten here in his last four starts and seven of his eleven starts overall at this track. He should be in the mix once again this weekend.

Carl Edwards: Carl won this race last season for the first time and has finished in the top ten in four of his last five starts here. It seems that all of the Joe Gibbs drivers run consistently well here and we have seen how strong their cars are on a weekly basis this year. This is one of those tracks where you need to be consistent on both ends and those ends are configured a bit differently. This is another track that caters to the old dirt track racers.

Tony Stewart: Tony is another driver looking for his first win at this track in his final season of racing in the Sprint Cup Series. Tony has always run well here finishing in the top ten in twelve of his twenty-three starts. He would like nothing better than to pick up that first win here in his last start and build a little momentum before the Chase begins.

Brad Keselowski: Brad finished second in this race last season after leading 196 laps and sitting on the pole for that race. This team always seems to get their car handling well enough to win races every week and with their four wins on the season already they have shown that they know how to finish those races. I look for Brad to be very competitive once again this weekend at Darlington.

YAHOO! FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DARLINGTON RACEWAY

Yahoo Driver Group A

• Kevin Harvick
• Jimmie Johnson

Yahoo Driver Group B

• Carl Edwards
• Ryan Newman
• Kyle Larson
• Tony Stewart

Yahoo Driver Group C

• Jeff Gordon
• Chase Elliott

MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY

1. Kevin Harvick
2. Jimmie Johnson
3. Jeff Gordon
4. Carl Edwards
5. Kyle Busch

Dark Horse: Greg Biffle

Stay Away From: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Big 18: Carl Edwards