Martin Truex Jr. holds off Kevin Harvick to win Southern 500

Harvick was still the top points’ earner in most fantasy games, however, and that is what players are truly concerned with.

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Larson enters this weekend riding high on momentum as he scored his first career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory. But the competition for the final three spots in the 16-driver postseason got tighter after Sunday’s race.

Kevin Harvick had the top vehicle throughout the Southern 500, but far from the top pit crew.

The race featured throwback paint schemes for nearly the entire field, appropriate at a venue where NASCAR first raced in 1950.

Edwards believes it’s because NASCAR drivers and fans cherish the past, sometimes moreso than other sports.

On the flip side, the field being set by points makes sleeper tough to come in the FOX game. Remember, a top five finish can steal result in around 40-plus fantasy points, even if place differential bonus points are nonexistent. “With that said, we’ve got two (victories) and I really feel like we’ve got a legitimate shot at this championship”.

In NASCAR’s long history, only two drivers have ever won the sport’s so-called “Triple Crown”, the Daytona 500, the Coca-Cola 600 and the Bojangles’ Southern 500 in the same season: The late LeeRoy Yarbrough did it in 1969, and David Pearson did it in 1976.

There are plenty of strong A-List plays, but starting on the pole gives Harvick a big boost in value.

Martin Truex Jr. has already won two of NASCAR’s most coveted races. “We can’t just continuously shoot ourselves in the foot every few pit stops”. In this one, Busch’s Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Hamlin, made a late charge and nosed in front two laps from the end. It’s not easy. They had a great auto again tonight.

GOING GREEN: The first 95 laps of the race were run under green-flag conditions, a rarity at tight Darlington, where wrecks are considered part of the race-day fabric. “I think that based on the team we have and the way we’ve been running, we could honestly be sitting here with seven, eight, nine wins if things had gone a little different here and there”.

GORDON STRUGGLES: The evening was not a great one for Jeff Gordon, who replaced Dale Earnhardt Jr.in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet.

The last time Harvick started on the pole at Darlington was in 2014.

Custer led 39 of the 66 laps but wound up second.

At that point, Harvick had led 213 of the first 283 laps.

Harvick had the dominant vehicle – he led 214 of 367 laps – but this run was cut short by slow pit stops.

He has shown signs of emerging from his summer slump, and Johnson had one of the best cars during practice Saturday. This is the time to get focused on bringing their best to the Chase. Power crashed just past the midpoint of the race and finished 20th.

Millican had a track-record time of 3.692 at 316.82 on Saturday.

His price tag is a selling point, but Scott also has a chance to post a useful point total while freeing up plenty of cap space.

The cream rises to the top at Darlington.

Kyle Larson: Backed up first victory of his career last week with a third-place finish. They took a lot of heat from last week with what happened.