Expert picks: Darlington
by FOXSports.com
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Owners pick four drivers every event but can only choose a driver four times in a segment.
| Roger Rotter FOXSports.com fantasy senior editor | |
| Greg Biffle: He's finished outside the top 10 in four of the last five races, but is aiming to make amends at Darlington. He's had great success at the track, winning in 2005 and '06. | |
| Ryan Newman: Residing in 11th place in the Cup standings, he's clinched top 10s in half of the 10 Cup races this season. This includes three top 10s in the last four races, culminating in a sixth at Richmond. Boding well for this week's race, Newman has recorded six top 10s and five top fives in nine races at Darlington. Impressively, he's had four top sixes in the last five races, including a fourth last year. | |
| Juan Pablo Montoya: After finishing second at Talladega, Montoya is aiming for his second top 10 of the season. Though he finished just 23rd in his first race at Darlington last season, Montoya climbed to that spot from 41st. | |
| Mark Martin: He's only raced in seven of 10 events this season, but he's done well lately. He's placed in the top 10 in four of the last races, including a fifth and a third at Phoenix and Richmond, respectively. Martin has posted excellent success at Darlington, clinching 25 top 10s and 16 top fives in 41 career events. This includes top 10s in four of the last five races at the track. | |
| Mike Harmon FOXSports.com fantasy contributor |
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| Clint Bowyer: Bowyer took advantage of some late-race issues to capture victory at Richmond. Following a slow start to the season, Bowyer has charged toward the top of the pack with a streak of seven consecutive top-10 finishes. The No. 7 Richard Childress Racing Chevy is running hot right now and is a good bet for another top-tier effort at Darlington. Bowyer qualified third in his first Darlington run in 2006 and claimed the pole last year. He led 16 laps en route to a ninth-place finish in 2007. | |
| Carl Edwards: Edwards rebounded nicely from his 40th-place run at Talladega with a strong push to seventh place at Richmond, his sixth top-10 finish of the year. He's a top-notch choice for fantasy participants this weekend. Edwards owns three top-10 finishes in his four career starts and has also produced three top-10 qualifying runs. He's regularly raced among the leaders, having run inside the top 15 in 81.2 percent of the laps run in the past three years. | |
| Ryan Newman: Newman experienced handling issues at Richmond, but that didn't stop him from claiming his third top-10 finish in his past four starts. What can we expect from Newman at Darlington? We can bank on a top-tier qualifying effort. Newman has qualified seventh or better in seven of nine Darlington entries (one pole). Newman has parlayed those efforts into six top-six events. | |
| Jeff Gordon: Gordon ended a three-race mini-drought with a fabulous run-up of 19 slots to capture ninth place at Richmond. He has been one of the top performers at Darlington historically, posting a mind-boggling 15 top-five finishes in his 27 career starts at the track. Gordon starts strong, having claimed four poles here. He's also raced into victory lane seven times. How about this stat? Gordon has raced inside the top 15 in 98.8 percent of the laps run in the past three Darlington events. I have a gut feeling that the No. 24 team is about to go on a tear, and I'm jumping on the bandwagon for a monster run this weekend. | |
| Gerrit Ritt FOXSports.com fantasy editor | |
| Clint Bowyer: Upholding my tradition of always using last week's winner on my team the very next week, that is what I'm going to be doing yet again with Bowyer. It may not have been the prettiest of victories, but he had a strong car all night long and he should be strong once again this week, despite not having the best of records at Darlington. Don't care. He won last week, so you ride the hot driver. | |
| Denny Hamlin: There was no way Hamlin was gonna lose last week's race at Richmond until his tire inexplicably exploded on him with less than 20 laps to go. Just heartbreaking. He was coasting well in the lead all day long, but the bad luck came up and bit him. That won't happen this week. He has a great track record in his few trips to Darlington and should be in the top five. | |
| Jimmie Johnson: When you've made the trip to Darlington nine times in your career and come away from there with eight top 10 finishes, you're a guy I want leading the charge on my squad. J.J. surely hasn't impressed too many this season (outside of his win at Phoenix), but this is a chance for him to get back in the good graces of race fans with a big-time performance. | |
| Ryan Newman: He has five top fives and six top 10s in just nine races at this track. He's also sat on the pole once. This is a course you have to give him an edge at and one in which I entirely plan on using him on my team. | |
| Sleeper: Bobby Labonte: The veteran is always a strong play at Darlington. He's finished in the top 20 in six of the seven times he's run there, and he's placed 12th and 13th in two of his last three races this season. He has as good a chance as anyone to get himself in the top 10 this week. | |
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