Sober or Slammer 200
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Course: Darlington Raceway
Format: Egg-Shaped Oval
Lap Length: 1.36 miles
Total Laps: 147
Sober or Slammer 200 Preview
Just like we'll see in the Cup Series on Sunday, the Truck Series will kick off the playoffs this weekend at Darlington. Ten drivers are currently in the field, with Corey Heim the runaway favorite. He won seven of the 25 regular-season races while finishing inside the top five on 12 occasions and in the top 10 on 14 occasions. Layne Riggs and Chandler Smith were the other multi-race winners, with Riggs and Heim having combined to win the final five races of the regular season.
That said, one under-the-radar winner can change the outlook of the playoffs quickly, which is the beauty or flaw in the playoff system – depending on perspective.
Key Stats at Darlington Raceway
- Number of races: 12
- Winners from pole: 2
- Winners from top-5 starters: 8
- Winners from top-10 starters: 10
- Winners from 21st or lower starters: 0
Previous Darlington Winners
2024 – Ross Chastain
2023 - Christian Eckes
2022 - John Hunter Nemechek
2021 fall - Sheldon Creed
2021 spring - Sheldon Creed
2020 - Ben Rhodes
2011 - Kasey Kahne
2010 - Todd Bodine
2004 - Kasey Kahne
2003 - Bobby Hamilton
Darlington, or The Lady in Black, is a classic NASCAR track, hosting Cup Series races since 1950 and the Xfinity Series since 1982. The history with the Truck Series is a bit more sporadic, which includes two significant gaps since the inaugural race in 2000. However, this year's edition will mark the sixth consecutive year that Darlington has hosted the truck series.
The track is regarded as one of the most difficult on the schedule for a multitude of reasons, including the different degrees of banking for each end of the track and the unique egg shape of the circuit. The track surface is also more abrasive than most, causing extreme tire wear. Finally, the high line is typically preferred, meaning there will likely be a lot of contact with the wall.
Those factors introduce some variability from qualifying to race day. In the six races since the Truck Series returned, only two winners have started on pole. We've seen race winners come from starting positions of fourth, fifth, sixth and 15th.
RotoWire NASCAR DFS Trucks Tools
DraftKings Value Picks for the Sober or Slammer 200 (Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap)
DraftKings Tier 1 Values
Corey Heim - $13,000
Layne Riggs - $11,500
DraftKings Tier 2 Values
Grant Enfinger - $9,000
Corey Lajoie - $8,700
Tyler Ankrum - $8,500
Kaden Honeycutt - $8,200
DraftKings Tier 3 Values
Ben Rhodes - $8,000
Rajah Caruth - $7,700
Jake Garcia - $7,500
DraftKings Tier 4 Values
Tanner Gray - $7,300
Matt Crafton - $7,000
Matt Mills - $6,200
NASCAR DFS Picks for the Sober or Slammer 200
Corey Heim - $13,000
Grant Enfinger - $9,000
Jake Garcia - $7,500
Tanner Gray - $7,300
Matt Crafton - $7,000
Matt Mills - $6,200
Given the results we've laid out in the intro, it's difficult not to roster one of the two Tier 1 drivers. Heim will make the salary cap tricky to navigate, but he's clearly the top choice and there are ways to make the salary work. Riggs opens up more salary and is a viable option.
Enfinger doesn't rival Heim overall, but he's been a decent match for him at Darlington. Enfinger has an average starting position of 4.7 in his last three races at the track and a 104.7 driver rating. He's my favorite driver to target in Tier 2. Darlington is unique, so we should be careful in extrapolating other results to predict what will happen Saturday, but Lajoie has scored 60 and 61 DK points in his two races in the Truck Series this season.
From there, it's time to search for value. The good news is that Tiers 3 and 4 are plentiful in that regard. Darlington's unique characteristics mean we can rely heavily on past data points at the track and points us to options that we may not consider on typical weekends. Garcia hasn't had good results in his two races at Darlington, but he has qualified fifth and 14th. Rostering him would be hoping that he can turn his proven speed at the circuit into better results and at a reduced price.
Gray's veteran status has served him well, as his results at Darlington have turned drastically in recent years. After finishing no better than 24th in his first four races at the track, he's finished third and 10th in the last two years. Crafton has a mixed history with the Lady in Black, but he's another veteran and has a long stretch of top-10 finishes at the track. Finally, Mills is mostly to make salaries work, and he pops as one of the better values on our optimizer.
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