The NASCAR Cup Series heads to Darlington for the final race before the playoffs begin. There is a battle for the final spots but Chris Buescher and Ty Gibbs have a decent cushion as they are both over 20 points above the cut line. Bubba Wallace and Ross Chastain are likely going to need a win or a very bad run by the guys ahead of them at Darlington to get in the playoffs.
Potential Dominators
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Tyler Reddick
Reddick, Larson, and Hamlin were the favorites coming in to the weekend and I don't think practice changed too much. They all should be fast and top contenders this week. Reddick had the best 10 lap averages of the drivers in his practice group. With the speed he had here in the spring, I expect him to be very fast and one of the top options for lap leaders and a threat to win the race. Hamlin and Larson was right behind Reddick in lap averages as they were all in the same practice group. They both are great at Darlington and will be at the front of the field. Hamlin does start back in 14th so he has some place differential potential as well. Due to that Reddick and Larson will have the better opportunity to lead laps early in the race if they get to the lead at the start or early in the race.
If you want some contrarian dominators, William Byron and Ryan Blaney both had speed in practice and looked good on the lap averages. I could see them contending throughout the race as well, I just think it is more likely we see the trio of Reddick, Larson, and Hamlin being the best cars.
Place Differential
Joey Logano
Alex Bowman
Erik Jones
Noah Gragson
Logano starts mid pack in 23rd so he has a good amount of place differential potential this week. He had around top 10 lap averages in practice which doesn't jump out to you for him, but he is a driver that works with his team throughout a race and gets his car a lot better and to the front. He also had his teammates of Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric that looked really good on the long run on lap averages in practice. Logano could be a great value play this week.
Alex Bowman had the best 10 and 15 lap average of anyone in practice. He starts back in 27th and finished 8th here in the spring. He has a bunch of place differential and is a great option this week with top 10 potential for the race.
Everyone knows that Darlington is Erik Jones' best track and that alone with him starting 28th will attract a lot of people to him this week. He had fast single lap times in practice but I am a little concerned with the fall off his car will have. I think he is still a usable option but I would be a little cautious with him this week as I think there could be better options out there.
One of those options that I like this week is Noah Gragson. The Stewart Haas cars were fast here in the spring and they looked fast again in practice for this week. Gragson and Josh Berry were near the top of the board in their practice group for lap averages and they should be solid options for the race. Gragson starts back in 29th giving him major place differential upside and is a great value at $7000 salary.
Cheap Options
Todd Gilliland
Ricky Stenhouse
Ryan Preece
I liked Gilliland coming into the week as I bet him to get a top 10 in my EARLY WEEK BETS article. He showed why in practice as he had top 5 lap averages in his practice group. He also starts back in 33rd giving him huge place differential upside and I think is a good option to move forward quite a bit this week.
Stenhouse caused the only caution in one of the groups in practice, but his car wasn't damaged too much and I think he will be fine for the race. He starts almost dead last in 36th for the race so he only has room to move forward. He runs solid at Darlington and should have potential for a top 20 finish.
Preece is a great cheap option this week as he starts back in 30th and is another one of those Stewart Haas cars that has looked good here. Also Preece was right behind the trio of Reddick, Hamlin, and Larson in that practice group in the 10 and 15 lap averages. He won't be on that level but he could be a sleeper for a top 10.
High Risk Low Owned Tournament Plays
Bubba Wallace
I am not going to say Bubba Wallace is a good tournament play this week as I seem to have him in a lot of my tournament picks when he starts up front. But he does start on the pole and as we have seen with this car, clean air is king. He obviously has a fast car and he doesn't need to lead most of the race to be optimal at his salary. I am not sure about the long run speed in his car and him likely going all out for the win is a big risk in using him in lineups. But he is a potential dominator option at $7700 salary.
Josh Berry
As I said about Noah Gragson, Josh Berry was one of the top cars in his group in practice and should be good in the race as the SHR cars were in the Spring at Darlington. Berry starts up in 15th though and I think that will keep his ownership down a little bit, especially since he is priced around drivers starting more than 10 spots farther behind him in Gragson, Bowman, and Jones. He may not be super low owned but he could be a solid pivot off high owned drivers that start towards the back.
Please follow us @Rounders_Sports on both Twitter and Instagram. It would really help us to grow these pages if we can get more followers outside of my personal Twitter.
Check out our NFL content we have coming this week as well!