NASCAR Cup Series

NASCAR: Five Drivers Most Likely To Win At Darlington

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

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It’s throwback weekend at Darlington as the Southern 500 is the next race on the NASCAR schedule. Check out a few drivers who could win on Sunday.

After success last season, NASCAR brought back throwback weekend at Darlington.

With throwback paint schemes inspired from cars driven by Cale Yarborough, Alan Kulwicki, Bobby Allison, Buddy Baker along with many other classic drivers, the track will have plenty of throwback schemes to go along with the thrills of night racing.

Darlington serves as one of the most unique tracks in the NASCAR circuit. With it’s egg shape, the track has different degrees of banking in Turns 1 and 2 and Turns 3 and 4.

Coming off of his first Cup Series win last season, Kyle Larson has now locked his spot in the Chase. That makes him the 13th different driver to win a race this season.

With just two weeks left until the Chase begins, drivers like Chase Elliott, Austin Dillon and Jamie McMurray will be looking to further solidify their spot while drivers like Kasey Kahne, Trevor Bayne and Ryan Blaney will be looking to earn a win and make the race even tighter.

Take a look at a few drivers who could make it to Victory Lane this weekend.

Jul 29, 2016; Long Pond, PA, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Denny Hamlin (11) during qualifying for the Pennsylvania 400 at Pocono Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Matthew O

The Favorite: Denny Hamlin

Stats at Darlington:

Denny Hamlin is one of the four Joe Gibbs Racing members that’s been enjoying tons of success in 2016. Darlington is a place where Hamlin thrives and he’ll look to keep his streak going this Sunday.

Throughout his career at the track, Hamlin’s most impressive achievement is obviously his lone win in 2010, where he led 104 laps. But there’s something quite impressive about his racing at Darlington: his average finish. He has an average finish of 6.5, which is the best among all active drivers and one of the best you’ll see at any track.

He’s finished in the top-10 in eight of his ten starts at the track and has three second-place finishes to go along with that. In the process, he’s led laps in six out of ten races including his career high of 179 back in 2007.

His two wins this season have come at Daytona and Watkins Glen while he’s also finished in the top-10 in his last six races.

Denny Hamlin is the favorite heading into the weekend.

Aug 28, 2016; Brooklyn, MI, USA; Sprint Cup Series driver Jimmie Johnson (48) races during the Pure Michigan 400 at the Michigan International Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Contender No. 1: Jimmie Johnson

Stats at Darlington:

It’s been a brutal four-month stretch for Jimmie Johnson, as he’s earned just four top-10’s since the beginning of May. However, as a six-time champion, he always breaks out of any tough stretch, and he’s finished seventh and sixth the past two weekends as he looks to gear up for the Chase.

Darlington is his next task, and fortunately for him, he has a pretty good history at the track. Besides, Jeff Gordon, Johnson will have the most wins out of drivers competing on Sunday.

His first two came in the form of a back-to-back as he swept 2004–the final year that the track had two races in a season. He earned his third win in 2012 as he led a career-high 134 laps. Johnson’s average finish is a 9.1 at the track as he’s finished outside of the top-15 just three times in 17 starts.

While it hasn’t been the season we’re used to seeing out of Johnson, there’s no doubt he’s turned things around in the past two races. Look for him to be in contention on Sunday.

Jul 8, 2016; Sparta, KY, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kyle Busch (18) during practice for the Quaker State 400 presented by Advance Auto Parts at Kentucky Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

Contender No. 2: Kyle Busch

Stats at Darlington:

Kyle Busch has been racing like he wants to successfully defend his title this season.

He’s had some pretty dominant days at Darlington in the past. His lone win there came back in 2008, when he led 169 laps. He even managed to bump that total up to 265 in 2013, despite a sixth-place finish.

He hasn’t had an extraordinary career at the track, but he serves as one of the eight Cup Series drivers to have won at Darlington.

Busch will be entering the weekend with hopes of putting together a good performance. A couple of weeks ago at Bristol, he had a wreck, which led to a 39th-place finish. Then last weekend at Michigan–a place where he has struggled at in the past–he finished 19th.

Busch will be looking to turn his fortunes around this weekend at a track where he has earned four straight finishes in seventh or above. Look for him to stay near the front of the pack this weekend.

Aug 21, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Kevin Harvick (4) during the rain delayed Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

Contender No. 3: Kevin Harvick

Stats at Darlington:

Kevin Harvick has had another year of high-level racing–something we’ve grown accustomed to seeing.

Harvick hasn’t had the best career at Darlington though. In his 19 starts, he’s only placed in the top-10 on eight different occasions. However, his past three races at the track have been some of his best.

In 2013, he finished fifth, earning his first top-5 finish since 2003. In 2014, he started from the pole and finished with his first victory at the track after leading 238 out of 374 total laps. In 2015, he got out front for 44 more laps but eventually settled for another fifth-place finish, marking the first time in his career he had earned three straight top-10’s at Darlington.

He’ll enter the weekend with the most overall points in the Cup Series as he looks to embark on another long Chase run in a couple of weeks.

Kevin Harvick is sure to be in contention again this Sunday.

Aug 19, 2016; Bristol, TN, USA; NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Jeff Gordon (88) during practice for the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

The Underdog: Jeff Gordon

Stats at Darlington:

I was hesitant to put Jeff Gordon back on this list again, but then I remembered what all he has accomplished at Darlington.

Through 35 starts, Gordon has done just about everything a driver could possibly do at one of NASCAR’s toughest tracks. He won three straight races ranging from 1995 to 1996 and won his fourth overall just a year later.

In the process of his long career at the track, he led over 100 laps a total of eight times, including a stretch from 2001 to 2002 where he led at least 125 in three races. One of his most impressive accomplishments is leading laps in 27 of 35 races at Darlington.

His first win at the track came in 1995 while his last came in 2007, giving him 12 years in between wins. He’s also added in top-5 streaks of seven (2004-2010) and eight (1995-1998).

Gordon certainly isn’t racing like he used to, but he’s had solid runs in all of his races this season and even came close to leading laps at Bristol. You can’t really count him out at one of his best tracks.