Fantasy NASCAR Racing

Fantasy NASCAR preview: Showtime Southern 500

May 5, 2010 @ 13:00:00

By Eric McClung
Edited by Cory J. Bonini

Among the most legendary tracks on the schedule, Darlington Raceway has earned its two well-deserved nicknames. The "Lady in Black" is known to leave marks along the sides of the numerous cars that brush against its walls, outfitted with trademark red and white stripes. The unique egg-shaped layout gives different challenges in each set of turns. It is indeed "The Track Too Tough to Tame." Last week's race was held at Richmond International Raceway, another short track, which could provide some momentum for the top performers.

Location: Darlington, S.C.
Shape: Egg-shaped oval
Length: 1.366 miles
Laps: 367
Turns 1 & 2: 25 degrees
Turns 3 & 4: 23 degrees
Front stretch: 3 degrees
Back stretch: 2 degrees

Drivers to keep an eye on

Matt Kenseth | No. 17 Crown Royal Black Ford | Roush Fenway Racing

No stranger at getting out in front at Darlington, Kenseth has led at least one lap in six straight races at the site and in seven of the last eight. In four straight years, Kenseth has finished in the top 10. Capturing the pole last year was a surprise, as Kenseth had started outside of 30th spot in three previous attempts. After starting the season off with six top-10 finishes in the first seven races, Kenseth has fallen off in recent weeks. Over the last three races, Kenseth has an average finish of 20.3 with no top-10 results. Darlington, however, looks like a great place for Kenseth to retake the throne.

Martin Truex Jr. | No. 56 NAPA Auto Parts Toyota | Michael Waltrip Racing

Over the last six races of the season, Truex has three top-10 results while finishing outside of 12th only once. Heading to Darlington, where he has never failed to finish outside of 14th, Truex is in position to add on another top 10. The last two years at the site have been particularly impressive for Truex. He held average running positions of eighth and fifth, while recording over 94 percent of his laps in the top 15. We may not know how to get to the moon, but if you want your lineup to fly, Truex and crew know what to do.

Ryan Newman | No. 39 Haas Automation Chevrolet | Stewart-Haas Racing

Newman a sound play this week

Since loop data was introduced in 2005, Newman has held an average running position of sixth or better in all but one start at Darlington. In three of those events, aided by excellent starting position, Newman spent the entire race running inside the top 15. Last week at Richmond, Newman started fifth, finished eighth and was outside of the top 15 for only one lap. Success in recent weeks, coupled with his history at Darlington, make Newman an automatic middle-tier selection.

Joey Logano | No. 20 Home Depot Toyota | Joe Gibbs Racing

For a track known for being difficult to figure out, Logano solved Darlington in no time. As a rookie last year, Logano qualified fifth and finished ninth. Logano spent 89.9 percent of the race running in the top 15 and was out in front to lead 19 laps. Last year, in his only Nationwide Series start at the site, Logano finished 12th. It has been a bumpy couple of weeks for Logano, but another good qualifying run could put him position to tame Darlington once again.

Bobby Labonte | No. 71 TaxSlayer.com Chevrolet | TRG Motorsports

Although he has finished no better than 21st this season, Labonte warrants some consideration among low-tier drivers. In the last three races at Darlington, Labonte has finished in either the 18th or 19th position. Nearly all the other drivers in his tier are coming off down weeks at Richmond and possess uninspiring numbers at Darlington. Labonte's veteran savvy, which includes a win from back in 2000, may propel him past them this week.

Temper your expectations

Kevin Harvick | No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil Chevrolet | Richard Childress Racing

He may be leading the Sprint Cup Series in points and average finish (9.0), but Darlington is a place Harvick has not been very successful at in recent years. His last top-10 finish at the site came back in 2004, although he did finish 11th last year. From 2006 to 2008, Harvick's best average running position at Darlington was only 20th. Last week's race at Richmond illustrated how strong RCR is on short tracks, but past performance at Darlington suggests this is a good week to pass on Harvick in allocation formats.

Kurt Busch | No. 2 Miller Lite Dodge | Penske Championship Racing

Since joining Penske in 2006, the Blue Deuce has run dry at Darlington. Despite starting 10th or better in three of four starts, Busch's best finish is just 12th. Add in a vanilla 18th-place performance at Richmond and there's little reason to believe there is much room for improvement this week.

Juan Pablo Montoya | No. 42 Target Chevrolet | Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

Juan Pablo Montoya, Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

Montoya poised to disappoint

Coming off a career-best sixth-place finish at Richmond last week, Montoya might be able to right himself at another short track he's struggled at. However, a quick review of his performance at Darlington will make you think twice. In three career starts, Montoya has never finished better than 20th and has only ran in the top 15 for a total 23 of 1,101 possible laps. We are expecting more but are not willing to pay full price for JPM this week.

Jamie McMurray | No. 1 McDonald's Chevrolet | Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing

In four of the last five races at Darlington, McMurray has held an average running position of 16th or better. While that doesn't sound so bad, McMurray has only one top-10 result on non-restrictor plate races in what has been a very up-and-down season. Until McMurray shows some kind of consistency on other kinds of tracks, he's best reserved for plate races. Even with the Mickey D's paint scheme on the car this week, we are not lovin' it.

Kasey Kahne | No. 9 Budweiser Ford | Richard Petty Motorsports

Despite some excellent starting positions, including a pole, Kahne has been unable to finish better than 20th in four straight races at Darlington. Over the last two races, Kahne has been nearly invisible on the track, unless you count last week's nifty retro Bud paint scheme. Good looks aside, Kahne has started 22nd and finished 21st in back-to-back races. Bad luck has played some part in Kahne's poor finishes at Darlington, but bad luck has been the story nearly all season.

Author Bio

Eric McClung

Eric McClung is a FSWA member and has been a KFFL contributor in addition to fantasy NASCAR consultant since 2008. His work has been published on several prominent NASCAR websites, and McClung is one of KFFL's featured fantasy NASCAR experts.

He can be followed on Twitter @ericmcclung