Fantasy Preview: Darlington 4/12

This week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to the Lady in Black, Darlington Raceway.  Read on to find out which drivers I'm starting on my fantasy team this weekend!

Tier A
Kyle Busch

Photo courtesy Chris Trotman/Getty Images

Darlington is a good track for Kyle Busch.  It's a track where you can run right next to the wall, get into it a little bit and keep racing.  Busch is always one of the first drivers to get a Darlington Stripe, but that shouldn't slow him down.  I always think of his victory in the 2008 race at Darlington, when he drove an Indiana Jones car and completely flattened the right side.  Too bad that only made his car go faster.

Bench:
Clint Bowyer

Tier B
Tony Stewart
I was surprised Tony Stewart ran so well at Texas.  I think that team is starting to turn the corner, and I think he should run well at Darlington.  A strong run at this track will help that team build even more confidence heading towards the summer months.

Greg Biffle
Greg Biffle is always strong at Darlington, and I think he'll run well this weekend.  That team just seems to be missing something, but I expect them to find it this weekend, or at least come close.  Biffle knows how to get around Darlington, and he should run well this weekend.

Bench:
Carl Edwards
Brad Keselowski

Tier C
Michael Annett
Honestly, I'm just picking Annett because I can't keep using Austin Dillon and Kyle Larson every weekend.  He's shown a few flashes (and by that, I mean he's run in the top 20 a few times).  He finished 26th at Bristol, which is the closest thing on the schedule to Darlington.  Expect him to run around the same place this weekend.

Bench:
Danica Patrick

My pick to win the Bojangles' Southern 500: Kyle Busch

Kyle Busch celebrates his victory earlier this season at Auto Club Speedway. (Photo courtesy Brian Lawdermilk/Getty Images)

That's all for this week's fantasy preview!  Check back next week for my race recap, and be sure to comment below with who you're picking this weekend!

Logano Wins the Duck Commander 500 from Texas

Joey Logano ran away from the field to win the rain-delayed Duck Commander 500 from Texas Motor Speedway on Monday afternoon.

 

Photo courtesy Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images

Logano led during the race’s final green flag run, but he almost lost the race when the caution came out coming to the white flag.  Logano said he was upset the caution came out when it did.

“You’re like, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me,’” said Logano.  “You get so mad that you can barely control yourself.”

The caution set up a green-white-checkered finish that saw Logano restart in third after making a pit stop.  He started behind Jeff Gordon and Brian Vickers after both drivers only took two tires.  The tires couldn’t stand up to Logano’s four, and he was able to get around Gordon after taking the white flag.

“This team has been doing a great job giving me what I need to win these things.  To have both Team Penske cars with a win already is big.  You feel a little bit more comfortable.”

The race was postponed on Sunday afternoon due to rain, and the green flag was set to fly at 12:08 p.m. on Monday.  After running the first 11 laps under caution to help dry the track, the field finally took the green flag and the excitement soon followed.

Just two laps into the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. saw his day go up in flames.  He clipped the grass, which was wet from all the rain, and it tore his front end off.  He hit the outside wall hard, and his car caught on fire.  He was able to get his car stopped, and he got out of the car without injury.

“I was following the 43 [of Aric Almirola] and just didn’t see the grass,” said Earnhardt.  “With the way the A-post is in these cars, you can’t really see.  I didn’t have a good visual of where the grass was, and got into the grass pretty good.”

The accident also caused major problems for Jimmie Johnson, who was running directly behind Earnhardt at the time.  In addition to some minor damage to the front end, Earnhardt’s car also kicked up a lot of mud that caused part of Johnson’s windshield to cave in.

Photo courtesy Nick Laham/Getty Images

When the race finally restarted following a lengthy cleanup, it was dominated early by pole-sitter Tony Stewart.  After winning his first pole position since 2012, he led 74 of the first 77 laps.

After chasing down Stewart, Brad Keselowski took the lead for the first time on lap 78.  He traded the lead with Jeff Gordon during a cycle of pit stops, and Denny Hamlin took the lead after running down Keselowski.

During the next set of green-flag pit stops, Hamlin was caught speeding while exiting pit road, and the resulting pass-through penalty cost him a shot at the win.

Kyle Busch took over the lead when Hamlin pitted, but he was quickly caught by Gordon, who retook the lead on lap 153.  

Over the next 100 laps, Gordon and Keselowski swapped the lead numerous times, before Joey Logano took the lead on a restart on lap 227.  

Logano ran away from the rest of the field until Kurt Busch blew a tire coming to the white flag.  The leaders hit pit road one last time, and Gordon and Vickers only took two tires to get out first.

On the restart, Logano worked his way around Vickers and made a last-lap pass of Gordon to take the victory.

Here are the unofficial results:

1. Joey Logano

2. Jeff Gordon

3. Kyle Busch

4. Brian Vickers

5. Kyle Larson

6. Greg Biffle

7. Matt Kenseth

8. Clint Bowyer

9. Paul Menard

10. Tony Stewart

11. Kasey Kahne

12. Aric Almirola

13. Denny Hamlin

14. Carl Edwards

15. Brad Keselowski

16. Ryan Newman

17. Jamie McMurray

18. Martin Truex Jr.

19. Trevor Bayne

20. Marcos Ambrose

21. Austin Dillon

22. David Gilliland

23. AJ Allmendinger

24. Justin Allgaier

25. Jimmie Johnson

26. Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

27. Danica Patrick

28. Casey Mears

29. Michael Annett

30. Michael McDowell

31. Cole Whitt

32. Alex Bowman

33. Reed Sorenson

34. Landon Cassill

35. David Ragan

36. Josh Wise

37. Travis Kvapil

38. David Reutimann

39. Kurt Busch

40. Parker Kligerman

41. Dave Blaney

42. Kevin Harvick

43. Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Next week, the Sprint Cup Series heads to Darlington for the first official night race of the season.  The Bojangles’ Southern 500 can be seen at 6:30 p.m. EST, only on FOX.

Logano celebrates his fourth career victory. (Photo courtesy Chris Graythen/Getty Images)