The Wide World of Dirt

1. Joey Logano

In the Cup Series’ first trip to the Lady in Black with the NextGen car, the eventual champion had one of the best cars all day before unleashing his vengeance upon William Byron with the white flag in sight.

Logano brought home the 2022 Goodyear 400 trophy, his first of his second championship season, and it should be a surprise to no one if he does it again.

Even after a rough few stages in Kansas, Logano and Paul Wolfe cooked up a strategy that helped them recover to 6th by the finish.

This race will be a prove-it race for Team Penske; they’ve been a shell of what they were in 2022 from several aspects. Despite going to some of his best tracks already, Logano has seldom contended this season outside of his dominating victory in Atlanta.

Sporting the paint scheme that scored Roger Penske his first NASCAR win, look for Joe Log to really get Penske’s year started this weekend.

2. Erik Jones

The 2019 Southern 500 winner turned a promising season into a promise fulfilled when he brought the famous #43 into victory lane after winning the 2022 Southern 500.

The win marked the 200th win for the Petty family and the first win for the team at Darlington since The King won the Southern 500 in 1967.

Now, Jones and teammate Noah Gragson are carrying another legacy on the team in the form of new owner Jimmie Johnson.

Though it was just announced last week that Legacy Motor Club would be switching to Toyota in 2024, Jones and the #43 bunch know how to get around this track in a hurry.

Maybe it was 55 years between Darlington victories for Richard Petty, but don’t be shocked if the gap to the next win is much shorter.

3. Brad Keselowski

Yes, I am picking a guy who hit the wall on the exit of turn 2 last year and ended his race.

Because Brad Keselowski is a Cup Series champion and a former winner in South Carolina’s premier racing facility.

Brad came back to finish 7th after methodically picking his way through the field over the course of 500 miles.

The owner-driver hasn’t returned to the winner’s circle since his Penske days, which I am certain is weighing on him. It’s been over two calendar years since he took his MoneyLion Ford to victory at Talladega in spring 2021.

Keselowski got Castrol back on the hood for this weekend, and in a scheme reminiscent of Casey Atwood’s Xfinity car, he will be hunting the checkered flag for his first win driving his own car.

4. Tyler Reddick

It doesn’t get much simpler than this: Tyler Reddick’s average finish at Darlington last season was 2.5.

After a second-place effort in the spring, Reddick charged to the front again in the fall but fell two spots short of claiming his first crown jewel victory.

23XI Racing (and Toyota in general) danced well with the Lady in Black in the fall, and I believe Reddick only elevates their program.

Much like Kyle Larson, Reddick isn’t afraid of putting a few Darlington stripes on his car, running right up against the wall to find every single inch of clean air on the narrow track.

Wanting to add to his playoff point total, the driver of the #45 will get the win in a scheme honoring Kurt Busch’s near-miss at victory 20 years ago.

5. Denny Hamlin

If Denny Hamlin isn’t in your lineup for this race, then I’m going to raise both of my eyebrows at you in disbelief.

His track record here speaks for itself: 4 wins, 12 top-5s, and only 5 finishes outside of the top-10 in 21 career starts.

Denny Hamlin knows how to dance with the Lady in Black better than anyone since Jeff Gordon in the early 2000s, and I expect him to have his dancing shoes ready Sunday.

He’s fresh off of a thrilling victory in Kansas, and as he’s said several times this season, the #11 team needs more wins to keep up with the front runners for the postseason.

Running it back to a previous throwback, Hamlin wants to improve the result for the Federal Express Camry from 13th to 1st, and I think he just might do it.