After Kurt Busch broke into the winners circle for the first time this season the series took a week off and now they are back with two races to go before the start of the playoffs. During these two races we will answer some questions. Will someone not in the top sixteen in points win one of these races? Will the Big Three continue to dominate? Will someone not currently in the top sixteen make their way into the playoffs by gaining enough points to move into that top sixteen in these final two races. Stay tuned!
BOJANGLES’ SOUTHERN 500
This week the race will be held at the Darlington Raceway also known as “The Lady in Black” and “The Track Too Tough to Tame”. The track has a unique configuration compared to other tracks on the circuit in that it is shaped more like an egg than an oval. This is the reason for the famed “Darlington Stripe” that occurs when a driver comes off the corner and the wall is closer than he thinks. This is the reason I heard Darrell Waltrip on say when talking about the Lady in Black something like she ain’t no lady.
Kevin Harvick: I am picking Kevin to win his eighth race of the season and pick up some more valuable playoff points. He has sat on the pole the last two years here and has one win, four top five and five top ten finishes here in his last five races. He has also led almost five-hundred laps here in the four races he has run while at Stewart-Haas and we have seen how good those teams are this year with 10 victories among those drivers.
Martin Truex Jr.: Martin won this race two years ago and has finished in the top ten here in his last three starts. After getting wrecked while in second place at Bristol, this team will be chomping at the bit to get back on the track and try to get into victory lane for the fifth time this season. I figure he will finish somewhere in the top five once again this weekend and have a shot at winning late in the race.
Denny Hamlin: I keep thinking Denny is going to come out and dominate a race, but he fails to do that. He sat on the pole in two of the last three races, but was never really a contender in either of those races. He won this race last season and has finished in the top six in seven of his last eight starts here. The stats say I should be picking Denny to win this weekend, but something is still a bit off with this team.
Matt Kenseth: I had Trevor Bayne on my roster at Bristol and I had a reader tell me there is no reason at all to do that and then he finished eleventh. Not bad for someone I had no reason what so ever to even have him on my roster. By the way, I did start him too :). So, I am going to go out on a limb and hope lightning strikes twice this week. Granted, the Roush teams haven’t shown the speed they need on this type of track, but Matt has one win and has finished in the top six in five of his last six starts here. Good enough reason for me to have him on my roster.
Erik Jones: Erik has been very hot since winning at Daytona in July. In his only start at Darlington he finished fifth. I think he runs well here once again this week and if everything falls into place for him he could find himself in contention late in the race. I don’t know if he has enough experience to beat Harvick, but it seems that the young guns are pretty calm when they are under pressure.
Kyle Larson: Kyle is another driver I thought would have a win by this point of the season when he was in contention for wins early this season, but this team has floundered a bit since then. I don’t know for sure, but maybe his focus isn’t where it really needs to be. He missed driver introductions at Kentucky because he was talking with some friends and that is a rookie mistake. Now, he has 169-laps in his last two starts at Darlington and has three top ten finished in his four races there. I think he will be fine once again this weekend and will be focused after a week off.
Ryan Newman: Ryan is one of those drivers I might have on my roster, but I am hesitant to start him because he doesn’t seem to be very good in practice and then he slowly gets his car better during the race and comes away with a good finish. This is one of those weeks where he will be on my roster. He has seven top ten finishes in his last nine starts here and has only failed to finish one lap in all of those races combined. Maybe it’s the engineer in him that figures out this egg shaped track that helps them make the right changes to the car.
Kyle Busch: Let’s not forget about Kyle, who wrecked on the second lap at Bristol and came back after repairs with a very damaged car and still had one of the fastest cars on the track. Kyle has always been very good at Darlington. He has finished in the top eleven in nine of his last ten starts and led laps in nine of those starts too. He might complain that his car is junk and be mad at other drivers, but one thing for sure is that no matter what adversity he sees during a race he is going to give you everything he has.
Jimmie Johnson: Right now it doesn’t look like this team will really contend for a title this year. Jimmie has been more down than up from week to week this season and it is hard to have him on your roster any week. He has run better on the shorter tracks, but it doesn’t seem like he has the speed to compete on the intermediate tracks. Well, he leads all active drivers with three wins here, but then again he hasn’t finished in the top ten in his last three races at this track. I have to go on the safe side and say Jimmie is going to be so so once again this week.
Brad Keselowski: Brad is another driver I thought would have at least one win by now. They can be running up front early in a race and then it seems like they know they can’t beat the big three unless they make some drastic changes to the car and then they fall back. I guess that’s not a bad strategy when you are in the top sixteen in points and will make the playoffs anyway. Playoff points are much more important and you get those by winning stages and races, not by finishing second. Brad has led over 250-laps in his last four starts here.
DRIVER GROUP GAME FANTASY NASCAR PICKS FOR DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Driver Group Game Group A
- Kevin Harvick
- Denny Hamlin
Driver Group Game Group B
- Erik Jones
- Ryan Newman
- Matt Kenseth
- Austin Dillon
Driver Group Game Group C
- Chris Buescher
- William Byron
MY TOP-5 OVERALL AT DARLINGTON RACEWAY
- Kevin Harvick
- Dwnny Hamlin
- Kyle Busch
- Martin Truex Jr.
- Kyle Larson
Dark Horse: Austin Dillon
Stay Away From: Clint Bowyer
Big 18: Ryan Newman
54 replies on “2018 Darlington Raceway, Bojangles’ Southern 500”
Jeff I’m looking at 4 11 18 22 78 with 42 in the garage! 2 races left in my league my uses left are
2 on #4
2 on #18
2 on #78
1 on #11
3 on #22
1 on #42 in the garage…
Looks good to me.
Hey Jeff, pardon my ignorance but when you make your “Big 18” pick what are you referring to? Sorry, new to this and still learning. Thanks.
It is a type of fantasy game where you pick 1 driver each week and get that drivers points. The catch is you can only use each driver twice during the season. Most people will use the top 18 drivers twice each, thus the Big 18 name.
where do u play?
Mostly office leagues. You could run one yourself next year. Not all that hard to do.
Thanks Jeff. That’s exactly what we have going on at our “local. I have a website that helped us set up our game. Let me know if it’s ok to share with the others. Makes it super easy for all involved. Especially the Administrator.
Please share. My “local” closed and I don’t have the game anymore.
The site we use is http://www.officefootballpool.com. Don’t let the name fool you. The site has pools for all different sports. Administrative support is awesome and can “customize” your pool within reason. Highly recommend it. Crazy convenient and keeps everybody “honest”.
Hey Jeff I take it you have the #11 in your line up for qualifying points?,cause from reading your article I took it that you like the #78 after the #4 but i could be wrong.Im also aware of the #11 average finishes at Darlington.Explain your reasoning plzs!!!
I don’t put them in the article necessarily by how I like them. We are getting late in the season and I have to watch my starts left for each driver. If you look at my top 5 I have Hamlin 2nd there. I really need to see how he practices and qualifies before I can make the decision to start him or not this weekend.
Well Im ok on starts with the Big 3,I can use them everyrace left,so who would you use as your two A drivers if starts dont matter??, .thks
Harvick and Hamlin
Jeff, Can you compare Darlington to any other track on the circuit? Thanks
Not really because of its egg shaped configuration. Kind of a combination of all intermediate tracks and Pocono, but with more banking.
4-78-18-11-22 are gone my pick whondoni take
4-78-18-11-22 are gone my pick who do I take
42
Hey Jeff, who are your very best drivers a,b,c for this race. Regardless
of starts.
Harvick, Jones, Byron
Good call on Bayne, loved it
Jeff, curious to the Byron pick. Explain
Finished 5th in his only Xfinity start here. Best of those in this group from everything I looked at for Darlington.
Will the roval at Charlotte run like a typical road course? I’m looking ahead to races and drivers that I want to use, will drivers that are good at a road course be good at the roval?
Thanks,
Doug
It looks like half intermediate track, half road course. I’m guessing it will run more like a road course.
I think more like a short track. Which could be considered a Road Course.
Your 2 best B drivers at Darlington, don’t consider starts.
Jones and Newman
Why Newman?
7 top tens in his last 9 here.
Pole winner?
Newman
Got to pick Menard at darlington or indy. What you think?
He won at Indy before.
I need a solid finish this week.
Considering Ryan Newman – will extra tire testing help?
Ryan Blaney – I have left him on the sideline all season and was thinking I may need him down the stretch (only two races left in my game).
Erik Jones – appears to be a solid performer over the past month plus
Alex Bowman – I hear chatter about him, but just don’t know.
Any insights?
I like Newman, Jones, and Byron instead of Bowman
Who do you think will win pole?
Thanks
Glad they qualify tomorrow. Todays practice will help with picks for tomorrow
Preliminary pick before practice.
Harvick, Hamlin
Jones, Newman, Elliott, Busch
Buescher, Ragan
Thinking of throwing bowman instead of ragan. Busch instead of Harvick for possible q points.
Thoughts?
Do you still like Byron over Bowman after practice?
Not really.
I do draftkings and I was looking and Austin, Ty and Matt.K in some lineups. But what do you make of them (along with other drivers). That never made 10 lap runs in either practice?
They might think they are fast enough and have a good amount of adjustments built into the car. Tough to call though.
I have 4 11 18 22 78 & 42 in the garage! Would you swap any of these for the 31 this week Jeff?
I would probably save either the 78 or 42 and take a chance on Newman this week.
I still have 2 uses on 78 & 1 on the 42
Hamlin, Newman, Busch, Buescher
Harvick, Jones, Elliott, Ragan.
Your thoughts? B drivers a tossup for me. Thinking Newman and Busch because of experience but all 4 are close.
Forgot to mention the shr cars didnt q well and Hendrick cars did so Elliott?
still picking the 4 for the 🏁? Or someone else Jeff? I may go on a limb & go with the 42 getting the W?
Hey only have one use left with the 78, 4 and 18. What would be the best use of them. Use all three at Darlington or keep some for Indy?
Thanks
Harvick or Turex?
Thanks
Don’t consider starts, would you use 2, 3, or 41? Thanks in advance.
Good Afternoon Jeff!. Sorry for the late question.. I have the 18(4), 31(8), 9(4), 88(3) starting over 4(2), 41(2), 12(3), 24(3)…..I had Hamlin but switched him last second. I’m sure the 41,maybe even the 12 will be better than Elliot. Do you think I should stick to what I got? Or burn one of those precious B starts?. Thanks! Have a great race day
Who are your starters Jeff?