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Fantasy Fastlane: Throwback lineup for Throwback Weekend
By Dustin Albino | Published: May 12, 2023 16
Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
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Jared C. Tilton | Getty Images
Both NASCAR Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway last year were wild. The first featured a nine-car pileup, while the postseason opener saw several playoff teams have troubling days. Darlington is known to be a fast and unforgiving track, so who will tame the "Lady in Black" this weekend? Fantasy players will earn 10 Fan Rewards points each time they set their lineup in NASCAR Fantasy Live. Fan Rewards is a way for registered users on NASCAR.com to earn points toward things like NASCAR tickets, NASCAR merchandise and more. Learn more about Fan Rewards.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
MUST START:
Denny Hamlin | View stats
Joe Gibbs Racing, No. 11 Toyota
Odds: 6-1
Hamlin stamped his name in the record book last weekend as the winningest driver at Kansas Speedway with a last-lap pass on Kyle Larson. The 49-time Cup Series winner predicted he was going to get hot a month ago. Since then, he’s had three top-five finishes in four races. It just so happens that Darlington is one of his best tracks on the circuit, with four victories and top-10 finishes in more than 76% of his starts at the 1.33-mile oval.
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Tim Nwachukwu | Getty Images
MUST START:
Kyle Larson | View stats
Hendrick Motorsports, No. 5 Chevrolet
Odds: 5-1
Speaking of Larson, he’s done just about everything there is to do at Darlington besides win. Prior to last year’s set of races in South Carolina, he had four consecutive podium finishes at the track — one of which is still played on highlight reels for riding the wall trying to chase down Hamlin in the 2021 Southern 500. In 10 starts, Larson averages 68.6 laps led per race at the track and has five top fives. It should be beneficial to use the No. 5 car this weekend.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
MUST START:
Kyle Busch | View stats
Richard Childress Racing, No. 8 Chevrolet
Odds: 10-1
With how much time Busch spends at the front of the field at Darlington, it’s hard to believe he has just one win at the famed track, coming 15 years ago. If memory serves correctly, he recently snapped a 15-year skid on superspeedways. Not saying KFB will win on Sunday — at NASCAR's original superspeedway — but he has 13 top 10s in 22 starts at Darlington. Granted, he has DNFs in the last three Darlington races, with two crashes and a blown engine last fall.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
MUST START:
Joey Logano | View stats
Team Penske, No. 22 Ford
Odds: 10-1
Logano is one of two drivers (Tyler Reddick the other) to score top fives in the first two Darlington races in the Next Gen car. Last spring, he dominated the weekend by winning the pole and leading eight times for 107 laps. With how the No. 22 team enters Darlington this weekend, it isn’t too dissimilar from how it was performing at this time last year. This race happened to be the turning point of its eventual championship-winning year.
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James Gilbert | Getty Images
SLEEPER PICK:
Erik Jones | View stats
Legacy Motor Club, No. 43 Chevrolet
Odds: 40-1
A driver who has two Southern 500 wins and is the most recent winner at Darlington might not be too much of a sleeper. But with how the No. 43 team’s season has gone, it might take a Herculean effort to post similar results this weekend. Conventional wisdom says that if you’re going to use Jones anytime soon, it will be this weekend or at a superspeedway. Jones has an average finish of 10.7 in 10 Darlington starts.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
SLEEPER PICK:
Michael McDowell | View stats
Front Row Motorsports, No. 34 Ford
Odds: 100-1
The chances McDowell wins on Sunday are slim, but he did have top-10 finishes in both Darlington races last season. Those finishes mark just the second oval that’s not a superspeedway in which he’s earned multiple top 10s at. McDowell quietly sits 20th in the championship standings and could go for a good run this weekend.
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James Gilbert | Getty Images
SLEEPER PICK:
Austin Dillon | View stats
Richard Childress Racing, No. 3 Chevrolet
Odds: 100-1
Last weekend at Kansas, the No. 3 team finally had a clean day and recorded its first top-10 finish on pavement since Fontana, the second race of the season. Dillon is no scrub at Darlington, either, recording five top 10s in 13 starts. Three of those have come in the last five races, which included a runner-up finish to Kevin Harvick in the 2020 Southern 500.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
STAY AWAY FROM:
Ryan Blaney | View stats
Team Penske, No. 12 Ford
Odds: 16-1
Like Dover two weeks ago, Darlington is another track that hasn’t been in Blaney’s wheelhouse throughout his Cup career. The good news is that he tallied his best run at the Monster Mile earlier this month. When it comes to Darlington, though, Blaney has just a solo top-10 finish (eighth), coming in 2021. Entering the weekend, stay clear of the No. 12 car.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
STAY AWAY FROM:
Austin Cindric | View stats
Team Penske, No. 2 Ford
Odds: 80-1
Over the last month and a half, Cindric has freefalled in the championship standings, dropping 14 positions to 21st. His struggle continued at Kansas last week, finishing 31st and he now has four consecutive finishes outside the top 25. The No. 2 team had an average finish of 17th in the Darlington races last season, but it’s a place Cindric has struggled to get around dating back to his four full-time seasons in the Xfinity Series.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
STAY AWAY FROM:
Daniel Suarez | View stats
Trackhouse Racing, No. 99 Chevrolet
Odds: 40-1
At a track Suarez has historically struggled at, he showed up to Kansas with some of the rawest speed the No. 99 team has shown in 2023. His numbers don’t get any better at Darlington, however, as he has one top-10 effort in 10 starts. The good news is that the top 10 came in this race last year. The bad news: Suarez has an average finish of 21.9.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUP:
Denny Hamlin vs. Kyle Larson
Hamlin and Larson have put on multiple instant classics in recent years, including last weekend at Kansas. Another was in the Southern 500 two years ago. This is surely a heavyweight bout, and it could go either way. The No. 11 team is getting hot, and it’s very possible Hamlin pulls off his second straight win this weekend.
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Jonathan Bachman | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUP:
Christopher Bell vs. Erik Jones
While Darlington has the potential to be Jones’ breakthrough race of 2023, Bell is second in the championship standings for a reason. The No. 20 team has been the model of consistency and leads the series with eight top 10s in the opening third of the year (no other team has more than six), and it’s hard to see him having a second consecutive bad finish.
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James Gilbert | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUP:
Kevin Harvick vs. Joey Logano
These two drivers carried the Ford banner at Kansas last weekend, as the manufacturer’s tough season continued. Statistically, Harvick has the advantage with a trio of wins, but the No. 22 team has corralled the track "Too Tough to Tame" in recent years, with five top 10s in the last six events. Harvick had a 13-race top-10 streak snapped last fall when his car caught ablaze. Think I’ll give the slight upper hand to Logano. This could change following Saturday’s practice session.
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Sean Gardner | Getty Images
FEATURED MATCHUP:
Noah Gragson vs. Daniel Suarez
This is an interesting one, because as I previously documented Suarez’s struggles at Darlington, Gragson is going through a dreadful rookie season with Legacy Motor Club. Gragson has won two of the last three Xfinity races at the egg-shaped oval. But the Next Gen is a different animal, and though I said stay away from Suarez, stay even further away from the No. 42 car.
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Sean Gardner Getty Images
MY LINEUP: Denny Hamlin, Kyle Larson, Joey Logano, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr.
GARAGE: Kevin Harvick