Welcome everyone to the Complete NASCAR DFS Preview for DraftKings and FanDuel: Darlingotn. For this edition, we will take a quick look at the upcoming Cup, Xfinity, and Truck Series races at Darlington Raceway. This article is brought to you by DFSArmy.com and written by Ryan Larkin. You can catch up with Ryan on Twitter or in the DFSA VIP slack @Larkin8
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Sep 6, 2020; Darlington, South Carolina, USA; NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott (9) and Martin Truex Jr. (19) get into each other in turn one during the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports
Darlington Raceway
Big week in Darlington, SC as all three NASCAR series will compete on the best race track (personal opinion) on the schedule. Darlington is a super tricky 1.3 mile track with completely different corners on both ends of the track. Tire wear is off the charts here with fall off likely to be over 4 seconds at the end of a green flag run. Long run speed is vital and everyone will want new tires every single caution. Long green flag runs are the norm but with the craziness that is the Xfinity and Truck series you can never truly predict how they will fall. Due to limited sets of tires, there could be some strategy involved as a result.
The best place to research this race would be in the comparable track sections of the DFS Army Research Station.
Cup DFS Outlook
A couple of key differences this week is that this race will be 400 miles. Aside from the Covid return doubleheader we got here last spring, Darlington races have been 500 miles. This means the dominator statistics, race incidents, and other variables are impacted. We lose 74 laps for this race which means we have about 55 fewer dominator points available. While that isn’t something to be ignored it still will not change the number of dominators I will play. For each lineup, I will look to play 2 to 3 Dominators. I will also make deciding on doms the most important part of lineup building. Truex, Elliott, Hamlin, Harvick, and Keselowski are going to be the top-tier potential doms and should see the most attention. The other major change for this race is the return of the 750 hp package to Darlington. Over the last couple of years, the Cup Series has used the high downforce, 550 hp rules package. This will make the cars much harder to drive which should be fun to watch. Overall, the 5 drivers I listed above have been great here no matter the rules package and should be considered the top plays no matter what.
Quick Facts
Date: May 9th
Race: Sunday 3:30 pm ET.
Laps: 293 Stages: 90/185/293
Drivers: 40
Defending Champion: Kevin Harvick
AVG. # of Cautions: 7 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 5 per race
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Xfinity Series DFS Outlook
Both races here last year saw 3 doms equally split the laps led. It was honestly a bit of an oddity due to circumstances more than a reflection of how the race should have gone. Kyle Busch sped on Pit Road in race one and Hamlin started last and worked his way to the front in race two. Both had the best cars but neither scored the race win. Given our starting lineup this week, we should look to play one to two dominators. The drivers starting on the front row have the best potential based on where they start but also based on their 2021 speed. Gragson and Allgaier both had great speed here last year and the Gibbs cars always have the potential to win. This race offers a lot of chalk so it will be important to look for leverage plays in gpps. Cash games should be fairly strat forward.
Quick Facts
Date: May 8th
Race: Saturday 1:00 pm ET.
Laps: 134 Stages: 45/90/147
Drivers: 40
Defending Champion: Brandon Jones
AVG. # of Cautions: 4 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 7 per race
Sep 2, 2018; Darlington, SC, USA; A general view of the grandstands during sunset during the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports
Truck Series DFS Outlook
We saw a fairly event-free race here last year in the Truck Series return to Darlington. Sheldon Creed and Brett Moffitt were the clear best trucks but failed to capture the trophy which went to Ben Rhodes. For this race, you will mainly want to focus on the place differential plays and then determining how much you believe Nemechek or possibly Austin Hill, Zane Smith can dominate to make themselves worth playing. Kligerman, David Gilliland, and Bayley Currey are monster place diff plays. Sheldon Creed and Grant Enfinger are fantastic plays who can both add place diff points but also have race winning upside. I have made lineups with zero dominators in mind. A bunch with 1 and some with 2 if you count Creed as a potential race dominator. There’s a group of about 8 drivers that feel like will absolutely determine this slate. Finding ways to maximize this group will not playing trash at the bottom end is key. Should be a fun race to watch and play.
Quick Facts
Date: May 7th
Race: Friday 7:30 pm ET.
Laps: 147 Stages: 45/90/147
Drivers: 40
Defending Champion: Ben Rhodes
AVG. # of Cautions: 5 excluding stage breaks
AVG DNF’s: 4 per race
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