NASCAR Fantasy Picks: Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

This week’s NASCAR fantasy picks for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol.

With only two races left before the playoff stage is set, you can expect to see plenty of risks and probably a few wrecks at the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. Tensions will run high, and drivers will have little patience with each other as they all try to race their way into history.

But Darlington is always a fun place to be at the end of summer. With the throwback car designs and the high-energy atmosphere, you never know what you’ll see. Check out some of the fabulous throw-back designs for 2019 that will make watching from home so much more exciting. It’s hard to pick a favorite, but some of the coolest include:

• The 24 of William Byron, the 88 of Alex Bowman, and the 34 of Michael McDowell all have strikingly beautiful coloring.
• Jimmie Johnson’s 48 is like nothing we’ve seen on his ride since the Baja 1000 Trophy Truck division in 1995.
• Ryan Newman (No.6) will be paying homage to Mark Martin by rolling out with an Oscar Meyer-inspired theme.
• Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Snickers Bar car is like a sweet all-American throwback.
• Bubba Wallace honors Adam Petty in his brightly color-blocked 43 car.
• The 14 of Clint Bowyer, 41 of Daniel Suarez, and 10 of Aric Almirola all pay tribute to Tony Stewart for his Hall of Fame selection.

One more throwback for Darlington is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite the accident that miraculously spared his life, Junior plans on racing in the Xfinity Series race on August 31^st.  Though his lower back was bruised in the incident, he’s been treating it all week. Junior plans on being behind the wheel of the Hellman’s Mayonnaise No. 8 car, inspired by his father, on Saturday.

Last Week’s NASCAR Fantasy Picks: Recap from the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol

Brilliant NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Kyle Busch – finished 4^th
• Kurt Busch – finished 9th
• Joey Logano – finished 16^th

Bold NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Jimmie Johnson – finished 19^th
• Kyle Larson – finished 6^th
• Alex Bowman – finished 15^th

Bonkers NASCAR fantasy picks:

• Daniel Suarez – finished 8^th
• William Byron – finished 21^st
• Martin Truex Jr. – finished 13^th

And now, here are this week’s Brilliant, Bold, and Bonkers NASCAR Fantasy picks for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Brilliant NASCAR fantasy picks

Denny Hamlin

• Wins: 2
• Top 5 finishes: 7
• Top 10 finishes: 11

Like a hamburger with mustard, Hamlin is spicy, hot, and on a roll. This guy is locked-in and ready to capture what he missed out on in 2010. Darlington is one of his best tracks, so don’t be shocked if he takes over the top spot with his 5^th win this weekend.

Brad Keselowski

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 3
• Top 10 finishes: 5

Brad’s season has been pretty erratic.  His three wins came early on, and everything from there has been filled with ups and downs. His best finishes have happened at intermediate tracks, however, and I think that gives him an edge this week. Look for the #2 to get upfront fast and stay there when it counts.

Martin Truex Jr.

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 2
• Top 10 finishes: 6

Truex has had some great finishes this season, especially in the last several weeks. It’s been a while since his last win, so I’m sure he’s ready to cross the finish line first this week. If he can hold off the 11 team, he just might be the first one to 5 wins this season, courtesy of Darlington.

Bold NASCAR fantasy picks

Kyle Larson

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 2
• Top 10 finishes: 4

Larson has been warming up to a steady burn since Pocono, and I have a feeling that he’ll be burning it down at the end of this wild race. He’s led a bunch of laps here, and he has a great average finish. Look for the 42 to make some magic Sunday night.

Erik Jones

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 1
• Top 10 finishes: 2

Before the last two weeks happened, Jones was on a 4-race hot-streak. 4 finishes under 5^th place made it seem like the 20 was going to bust through any minute. I think the energy of Darlington is just what this team needs to prove it’s the real deal in 2019.

Kevin Harvick

• Wins: 1
• Top 5 finishes: 7
• Top 10 finishes: 11

Forget the bad luck at Bristol, and concentrate on the 4 races prior to that. Harvick was hot, and it’s pretty much a guarantee that he’ll get hot again. Darlington is hit-or-miss for the 4 team, but I have a feeling he’s going to hit it on Sunday night.

Bonkers NASCAR fantasy picks

Ryan Blaney

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 0
• Top 10 finishes: 0

Darlington is one of the worst tracks for the 12 team. With an average finish of 22^nd, don’t expect to see this one roll into the top spot unless something desperate happens. Blaney just hasn’t had the season that many people predicted of him, but he’s still 9^th in points, which makes him a shoo-in for the playoffs.   

Aric Almirola

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 0
• Top 10 finishes: 0

Almirola has talent; we saw that last season and at the start of this one. But you’d have to go back to the 4^th race of the year at ISM raceway to get him inside the top 5.  This track has not been kind to double-A in the past, and I don’t expect it to welcome him to victory lane this week.

Clint Bowyer

• Wins: 0
• Top 5 finishes: 0
• Top 10 finishes: 1

Clint has two weeks to finish first (or win some stages) if he wants to get into the playoffs. Desperation can do wild things to a driver, but he has a better shot next weekend at The Brickyard than he has here. His average finish at Darlington is in the 20’s, and it’s seriously his worst track.