Bojangles’ Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Welcome back! After a week off following the phenomenal race at Bristol, that saw Kyle Busch hold off the field for his second win of the season and his sixth at the track, it’s time for The Lady in Black. Bristol is known as the fastest half-mile in the world due to it’s steep banking in the turns, but it also is one of the most exciting tracks on the schedule. Erik Jones, Kyle Larson, and Matt Kenseth were all in contention for the win throughout the night with Jones leading the most laps at 260 before finishing nearly a second and a half behind Busch.
It’s down to the middle of South Carolina for the Labor Day Weekend spectacle that is the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. It is up there with Pocono in terms of uniqueness of layout, not only in distance but also shape. Often referred to as an egg-shaped oval, the 1.336-mile track is narrower at one end than the other, due to the pond, that according to apocryphal tales, couldn’t be moved. Aside from being known as “The Lady in Black” it’s also known as the track “Too Tough to Tame.” Those that find the wall, which happens quite often, have earned their Darlington Stripe and only hope that it won’t slow them down or blow a tire.
For those who are unaware, this race is also an annual throwback night as teams honor paint schemes of the past from their favorite former drivers, so cars will look different than normal when tuning in to watch.
Over the course of the 501.3-mile race, encompassing 367 laps around the egg, the asphalt racing surface will take a big toll on the tires, making pit strategy just as key as how well the driver can move up through the field or get the jump on restarts. This is typically a one to one-and-a-half groove track, meaning 95% of eventual winners have come from the top-five starting spots in the grid. Only once in the last seven races have there been two drivers in triple-digits in laps led, and five out of the seven times, the dominator was the pole sitter. That fact also makes this track different from others near this distance.
DFS Playbook
| Driver | Draft Kings | NASCAR Live | Description |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $10,700 | $28.00 | Truex is the defending winner and starts second on Sunday. He ran as fast as fourth in practice and 18th in the other session. He is one of only two drivers to run faster than 177 in qualifying. |
| Kyle Busch | $10,600 | $28.25 | Busch led the second practice before placing third in Saturday's qualifying session. Busch has finished P7 & P11 in the last two races and leads the field in laps led over his career with 592 led. |
| Kyle Larson | $10,300 | $27.50 | Larson has only run thrice here in the MENCS but has finished top-10 all three times. His pracitce times have been a bit up and down this week but he starts P4. He's fourth in laps led with 48. |
| Denny Hamlin | $9,900 | $27.25 | Hamlin has been one of the more consistent drivers this week at practice. He has finished P3 & P4 the last two races and owns the best AVG finish (6.27) drivers with 10+ career races here. |
| Kevin Harvick | $9,700 | $27.75 | Harvick is on the pole on Sunday and the only other driver to go faster than 177 in qualifying. He's finished P2 & P5 the last two races and led 258 laps (the most). His 132.3 rating is the best |
| Brad Keselowski | $9,200 | $26.25 | Keselowski, along with Hamlin, was the other most consistent drivers at practice. Keselowski has two top-10s in the last two races and the second most laps led at 243. He can be in either |
| Jimmie Johnson | $9,100 | $24.25 | JJ is the best driver in the field over his career with three wins, nine top-fives, and 12 top-10s in 18 races. The last two years have been iffy though. His speed hasn't been great this week. GPP |
| Jamie McMurray | $8,500 | $26.00 | McMurray has run in the top-10 in a practice and qualifying while running P17 in the other practice. He has run 14th and 15th the last two races here. He does have speed, but remains a GPP |
| Ryan Newman | $8,100 | $22.50 | Newman has a very solid +8 position differential the last two races and a top-10 while also have 12 top-10s in 18 total races. His 11.94 AVG finish in that span is third-best. He is cash or GPP |
| Daniel Suarez | $7,800 | $22.75 | Suarez is a rookie, which usually isn't great here. However he has two top-three finishes in his Xfinity races at Darlington. He flashed top-10 speed in practice. He starts P19 and works in both |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | $7,600 | $14.25 | Jr. ran top-15 speeds in both pracitce before qualifying P22 for Sunday. He has the best PD in the field, though only over one race and has 10 top-10s in 21 career races here. Cash or GPP work |
| Kasey Kahne | $7,500 | $15.50 | Kahne ran in the top-10 in both practices and then qualified P23. He has finished P7 & P12 in the last two races with three top-fives and five top-10s in 14 races with 353 laps led, good for 5th |
| Chris Buescher | $6,600 | $14.25 | Buescher went from P31 to P17 in the one race he's run here in the last two years. He starts 27th and ran as fast as 21st in practice. He's a low-level upside play with his price and starting spot |
| Aric Almirola | $6,400 | $12.25 | Almirola does have an 11th place finish in the last two races. He's run 19th and 16th in practice and stats P15 on Sunday. At this price point, it's hard to turn down a potential top-15 finisher |
| A.J. Allmendinger | $6,300 | $11.75 | Allmendinger starts P29 but ran 18th in the final practice of the week. He hasn't shown much here the last two years, but has moved up through the pack. He's worth a GPP play at this price |
Optimal Lineups
| Draft Kings Cash | |
| Martin Truex Jr. | $10,700 |
| Kevin Harvick | $9,700 |
| Daniel Suarez | $7,800 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | $7,600 |
| Kasey Kahne | $7,500 |
| Aric Almirola | $6,400 |
| Total | $49,700 |
The two fastest cars in qualifying in Martin Truex Jr. and Kevin Harvick anchor the cash lineup this week. Both have great histories here, including Truex winning last year’s race and Harvick winning from the pole in 2014. Daniel Suarez, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Kasey Kahne make up the middle of the lineup, and are all near the same price. There is some risk with these drivers, based on their respective seasons, but all of them have a good history at Darlington and have shown solid speed in practice. Aric Almirola starts P15 and has run near that in practices, which gives us a potential top-15 finisher towards the bottom of the salary list, in addition to him having a P11 finish recently.
| Draft Kings GPP | |
| Kyle Busch | $10,600 |
| Denny Hamlin | $9,900 |
| Jimmie Johnson | $9,100 |
| Ryan Newman | $8,100 |
| Chris Buescher | $6,600 |
| Reed Sorenson | $5,000 |
| Total | $49,300 |
My first GPP lineup starts with a guy who won three races two weekends ago all by himself in Kyle Busch. He ran the fastest time in the final practice and starts P3, in addition to having led the most laps here in the field in his career. Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, and Ryan Newman are the middle three drivers. Denny ran consistently at practice and has nine top-10s in 11 career races here. Johnson hasn’t looked great here this week, but is the best driver in the field career-wise, his P18 could provide the upside we need. Newman could be a bit of a sleeper this week with his recent solid history and career 12 top-10s in 18 races. Chris Buescher and Reed Sorenson finish off the lineup with two guys that have combined for +22 positional differential points in the last race at Darlington. They are cheap upside plays to round it out.
| Draft Kings GPP #2 | |
| Kyle Larson | $10,300 |
| Kevin Harvick | $9,700 |
| Brad Keselowski | $9,200 |
| Jimmie Johnson | $9,100 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | $6,300 |
| Reed Sorenson | $5,000 |
| Total | $49,600 |
The second GPP this week has both Jimmie Johnson and Reed Sorenson in it again, but adds in a few big names too. Kyle Larson, Kevin Harvick, and Brad Keselowski sit at the top of the roster in this one. Larson has just three races here but has three top-10s in that time, including a third-place finish, while also posting the fastest practice time in the first session. Harvick is the pole sitter and stands to dominate the laps led points. Keselowski is second in the field in laps led in the last two races while also having four top-10s in eight career races and flashing top-five speed this week. A.J. Allmendinger is the last new name in the roster as a guy who could finish in the top-20 given his practice speed, while starting P29 on Sunday.
| NASCAR Live | |
| Kevin Harvick | $27.75 |
| Jimmie Johnson | $24.25 |
| Kasey Kahne | $15.50 |
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | $14.25 |
| A.J. Allmendinger | $11.75 |
| Bonus Winner | Kevin Harvick |
| Bonus Manufacturer | Ford |
| Total | $93.50 |
The NASCAR Fantasy Live lineup has a five-driver combination made from drivers we’ve already discussed. Kevin Harvick figures to get us the laps led dominator points. Jimmie Johnson, Kasey Kahne, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. figure to boost our positional differential points if they all show up to the best of their ability. Lastly A.J. Allmendinger is the budget-play that can also get us a surprise top-20 finish.
| Streak To The Finish | Kyle Larson |
Kyle Larson has three-straight top-10s here and fixes to do it again on Sunday.