Darlington is different this year. NASCAR’s 750-horsepower package comes to the track for the first time, the same setup that turned Phoenix into a tire war two weeks ago. Tire managers win here. The egg-shaped 1.366-mile surface already punishes drivers who push too hard ā now it has more power to exploit every mistake
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Set your DraftKings fantasy NASCAR lineups here: NAS $350K Burnout [$100K to 1st] (Cup)
Top DraftKings Picks for the 2026 Goodyear 400
1. Tyler Reddick ($9,500) ā Reddick is the best Darlington driver in the Gen 7 era. Eight starts, 9.6 average finish, 320 laps led, six top-10s. His finishes read 2, 3, 22, 2, 32, 10, 4, 2 ā four runner-up finishes at a track most drivers struggle to figure out. He also leads the points standings after three wins to start 2026. The top target.
2. Kyle Larson ($10,500) ā Nobody at Darlington swings wilder between dominant and disastrous. He has led hundreds of laps here and won, and he has also finished 37th after spinning on lap four. The new Chevrolet body has been a question mark all season, and this track will expose any weakness it has.
3. Denny Hamlin ($11,000) ā Hamlin won the 2025 Southern 500 the old-fashioned way ā patience and tire management. He owns 278 laps led in eight Gen 7 Darlington starts and gets measurably faster as races go on. He led early at Las Vegas, absorbed a pit road penalty, and still won. Darlington rewards exactly what he does.
4. Chase Briscoe ($10,700) ā Two wins and two disasters in eight Darlington starts. But nobody in this field takes better care of tires late in a run at this track. With the 750-horsepower package amplifying wear, that skill is worth more Sunday than it’s ever been. His Phoenix night ended with a blowout running third, but his long-run pace before that was legitimate.
5. William Byron ($10,000) ā Byron dominated the 2025 spring Darlington unlike anything the track has seen in years ā he led every lap of the first two stages and won. His Gen 7 average is 10.6 with 328 laps led, second only to Reddick. A tire issue in the fall inflated his average. Remove that result and he’s top-five every time he shows up here.
6. Christopher Bell ($9,700) ā Bell was robbed at Phoenix. He led 176 laps, had the fastest car all day, and lost on a late caution. That long-run dominance translates directly to Darlington with the same package. He earned back-to-back third-place finishes at Darlington in 2024 and 2025. The speed is real.
7. Ross Chastain ($8,800) ā Three top-fives and a 14.8 average in eight Gen 7 starts. He runs consistently better than his average suggests and closes stronger than he starts. Four of his last five Darlington finishes are fifth, fifth, seventh and 11th. That floor is real.
8. Bubba Wallace ($8,500) ā Finished sixth at Phoenix and sixth at Darlington last fall. He runs up front more consistently than his results show and his pit crew is among the two or three fastest in the field. Track position matters enormously at Darlington. He has the tools to keep it.
9. Joey Logano ($9,000) ā Won the 2022 spring Darlington and has four top-10s in eight Gen 7 starts. He led 73 laps at Phoenix on a long run before a wreck ended his day ā that pace translates directly. Logano is a closer who gets better as tires cycle, which is exactly what Sunday calls for.
10. Kyle Busch ($7,800) ā Struggling in 2026, but his Darlington history is legitimate. A second-place finish in the 2024 fall race, a 10th in 2025 spring, and 174 laps led in eight starts. He doesn’t fade late in runs. If the car shows up, the track suits him.
11. Brad Keselowski ($7,600) ā Won the 2024 spring Darlington race and has four top-10s in eight Gen 7 starts. He gets stronger as tires go away ā exactly what the 750-horsepower package rewards. He finished 15th at Las Vegas but ran better than that for most of the day.
12. Chris Buescher ($8,300) ā Three straight top-10s at Darlington including a third in the 2023 fall race. Nobody in the field takes better care of tires deep in a run at this track. His pit crew is the fastest four-tire crew in the field. The combination of late-race tire management and elite pit road execution makes him dangerous every week here.
13. Ty Gibbs ($8,000) ā A second-place finish at Darlington in 2023 and three straight top-10s leading into NASCARāS showdown in South Carolina. The JGR cars are fast right now and he manages long runs well. Solid mid-tier target.
14. Chase Elliott ($9,300) ā A 12.5 average at Darlington with a closing style that doesn’t show up in early-race position. He consistently runs better in the final stage than the first. His Phoenix result was 23rd and did not reflect the actual car.
15. John Hunter Nemechek ($6,200) ā Finished fourth in the 2025 Southern 500 ā his best-career Darlington result. His team has made real gains this season and his pit crew consistently delivers clean stops. Worth a look at the bottom of the board.
