April 6, 2025
Christopher Bell of Joe Gibbs Racing will start 17th for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This is Bell's lowest Darlington Cup start since his first race at the site with JGR back in 2021. In 11 starts at Darlington, Bell has eight top-20 finishes, with three inside the top 10. With seven races completed so far this season, Bell has three wins, four top-10 finishes, and an average finish of 11.0. In practice, Bell ranked 35th in overall lap averages and ranked as high as 16th in 20 consecutive lap averages. Bell has upside and great equipment from his team with solid track history, making him a decent DFS option who works best as a top-priced pivot option.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Starting in the 33rd position for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway is Alex Bowman of Hendrick Motorsports. Bowman is the only Hendrick driver to qualify outside of the top 20 for this week's race. In 14 starts at Darlington, Bowman has eight top-20 finishes, including two top-10 finishes within his last four appearances at the site. After seven races wrapped up in the 2025 season, Bowman has five top-10 finishes and an average finish of 12.0. In practice, Bowman ranked 13th in overall lap averages while ranking 30th in 15 consecutive lap averages. Although Bowman's practice speeds weren't the greatest, he is still in top-notch Hendrick equipment and has incredibly high upside, making him worth rostering in all DFS formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Ryan Preece of RFK Racing will start in the second position after qualifying for this week's race, the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This will be Preece's first start on the front row of any race since April 2023 at Martinsville when he won the pole position. In 10 previous starts at Darlington, Preece has six top-20 finishes, with none of them being inside the top 10. Through seven races so far this season, Preece has five top-20 finishes, including three consecutive top-10 finishes during the last three Cup events for the first time ever in his career. In practice, Preece ranked 12th in overall lap averages while showing great speed during the long run as he ranked second of all drivers in 20, 25, and 30 consecutive lap averages. Preece starting on the front row makes him a huge Place Differential risk, but his practice speeds on the long run, making him a driver worth consideration for tournament lineups at best this week.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Daniel Suarez of Trackhouse Racing will start 30th for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. This is the third time since 2022 that Suarez will start a race at the site either 30th or lower. In 14 starts at the site, Suarez has five top-20 finishes, with three of them being scored since 2022. After the first seven races this season, Suarez has two top-20 finishes, but also five finishes with positive PD earned. In practice, Suarez ranked 25th in overall lap averages while displaying top-20 speeds in the 10, 15, and 20 consecutive lap average categories. Due to his high upside and practice speeds, Suarez is a driver worth consideration for all formats this week, despite his shaky history at Darlington.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Team Penske's Austin Cindric nabbed a starting position of sixth after qualifying for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Cindric was the top qualifier of the three Penske entries for this week's race. In six starts at Darlington, Cindic has five top-20 finishes, but none inside the top 10, and he did score positive Place Differential three times. Through seven races so far this season, Cindric has two top-10 finishes and only once has scored positive PD. In practice, Cindric ranked fifth in overall lap averages, third in five consecutive, sixth in 10 consecutive, and fourth in 15 consecutive lap averages. Despite great practice speeds, Cindric is a risk who provides low upside with a track history that shows that he may not stay inside the top 10. Fantasy players should use Cindric mainly as a pivot option in tournament lineups for Sunday.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Austin Dillon of Richard Childress Racing will start 23rd for this week's Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, the Goodyear 400. Dillon's starting position in this race is the same exact one as last year's spring race at the site. In 17 races at Darlington, Dillon has 14 top-20 finishes, including four of the last six Cup events. In seven races completed this season, Dillon has four top-20 finishes and obtained positive Place Differential three times. In practice, Dillon ranked sixth in overall lap averages while displaying top-10 speeds in the five, 10, and 15 consecutive lap average categories. Considering his upside, practice speeds, Darlington history, and salary ($6,300 on DraftKings), Dillon is one of the top value options of the week to utilize in all formats.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April
6,
2025
Kyle
Larson
is
one
of
the
best
racers
in
the
Cup
Series
garage,
especially
at
tracks
like
Darlington
Raceway,
where
the
speed
of
the
car
gets
put
into
the
driver's
hands
a
little
bit
more.
Another
important
component
of
success
at
read more...
April 6, 2025
Look for William Byron to be strong in this weekend's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. In addition to winning the pole for Sunday's race, the No. 24 Chevrolet was very strong in practice ranking fourth-best in 10-lap average. Additionally, Byron has been one of, if not the best at Darlington in the Next Gen era, as the Hendrick Motorsports driver has the best average finish (10.3) and the best Driver Rating (107.2) in the six races here with this car. Look for Willy B to lead early and often in Sunday's Goodyear 400. The Hendrick Chevrolets have been great on the long run all season long, and Byron excels at Darlington Raceway. He's priced at $9,900 on DraftKings and with his dominator upside as well as his race-winning potential, he enters Sunday's race as one of the strongest fantasy options on the slate this weekend.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
April 6, 2025
Despite his strong practice speeds this weekend, you should be leery of Ryan Blaney this weekend for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Why? Because, for whatever reason, the Team Penske driver can't seem to figure this track out. In 16 career starts at "The Lady in Black," Blaney has led a combined 22 laps at this track and has yet to post a top-five finish. Additionally, he has just three top-10 results, and his 19.6 career average finish at Darlington makes it one of the worst tracks on the schedule for Blaney. Of course, the lackluster results here will eventually turn around for the Cup Series Champion, but when will that happen? Until it does, it may be best to look elsewhere with your fantasy picks. There's a big difference between being fast in practice and being fast in the race at a track like Darlington, and Blaney hasn't shown to be capable of doing the latter as of yet.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Driver Averages
April
6,
2025
The
last
time
the
NASCAR
Cup
Series
raced
at
Darlington
Raceway,
Kyle
Busch
was
very
close
to
victory
lane,
ultimately
finishing
as
the
runner-up
to
race-winner
Chase
Briscoe
when
the
checkered
flag
flew.
The
winless
weekends
continue
to
pile
up
for
read more...
April
6,
2025
It
has
been
a
rough
start
to
the
2025
NASCAR
Cup
Series
season
for
Brad
Keselowski
and
the
No.
6
team.
Through
the
first
seven
races
of
the
year,
Keselowski
has
zero
top-10
finishes
and
only
two
results
better
than
26th.
read more...
April 6, 2025
Look for Josh Berry to move up once the green flag waves on the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday afternoon. The Wood Brothers Racing driver had one of the fastest cars during practice on Saturday afternoon--Berry actually posted the second-fastest lap in the session--but the No. 21 Ford wasn't able to back up that speed in qualifying. In terms of 15-lap average, Berry ranked fastest in that category, so his long-run speed looked strong as well. Last season at "The Lady in Black," Berry posted a legitimate third-place finish in the spring before ending up a disappointing 31st in the fall after a wreck. With that being said, he had top-10 speed in the fall, too. As far as DFS goes this weekend, Josh Berry (priced at $7,800 on DraftKings) is a strong daily fantasy option to work with and is a viable option in all fantasy formats on Sunday.
--Jordan McAbeeSource: ifantasyrace
April 6, 2025
Haas Factory Team driver Cole Custer will start 31st for this week's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway after qualifying. Custer's starting position for this week's race matches his lowest-ever in his Cup career at the South Carolina track. In seven Cup starts at Darlington, Custer has three top-20 finishes, with his last one being scored during September 2022. Custer is also a former Xfinity Series winner at Darlington, where he has six top-5 finishes in seven starts. Through seven races so far this season, Custer has a best finish of 21st and acquired positive Place Differential in three different events. In practice, Custer ranked 33rd in overall lap averages while ranking 28th in 15 consecutive lap averages. While he may have plenty of potential upside from his starting position, Custer's practice speeds are not as great as others in his price range ($5,800 on DraftKings), and his overall performance this season makes him mainly a cash game play at best.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
April 6, 2025
Erik Jones will likely be a very popular DFS pick at Darlington on Sunday afternoon. Despite posting the third-fastest lap in practice on Saturday, Jones wasn't able to follow that up with a good lap in qualifying and will start from way back in 34th-place when the Goodyear 400 goes green. That gives daily fantasy players massive Place Differential upside by picking Erik Jones ($7,500) at one of his best race tracks on the schedule. Jones is a two-time Darlington winner and has finished 25th or better in all six Next Gen races here since the start of the 2022 season. Even though Legacy Motor Club has struggled this year, Jones has been serviceable for DFS players, including grabbing a 15th-place finish at Homestead a couple of weeks ago after starting back in 28th (+13 Place Differential points).
--Jordan McAbeeSource: Jayski
April 6, 2025
John Hunter Nemechek of Legacy Motor Club will start 27th after qualifying for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. It will be Nemechek's lowest starting position at Darlington since his first at the site in 2021. In five previous starts at Darlington, Nemechek has one top-20 finish, a ninth-place result from his first race at the site (May 17, 2021). In the Xfinity Series at Darlington, Nemechek has four top-10 finishes and 156 laps led through six starts. After seven races so far in the 2025 Cup Series season, Nemechek has four top-20 finishes and gained positive Place Differential five times. In practice, Nemechek ranked first in overall lap averages and 21st in 10 consecutive lap averages. Based on his equipment, results from this season so far, and practice speeds, Nemechek is a driver who can be a sneaky value option who can compete for a top-20 finish.
--Sean Engel - RotoBallerSource: DriverAverages.com
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