NASCAR.com's 36 for 36 picks for Darlington fall race
NASCAR.com‘s 36 for 36 continues at Darlington Raceway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there‘s a simple twist: once they‘ve made the pick, they can‘t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We‘ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
Steve Luvender: 635
r/NASCAR Community: -44
Dustin Albino: -68
Cameron Richardson: -104
Race 26 of 36: Darlington
The end of the regular season is here! Coming off a dramatic Daytona finish last week where r/NASCAR‘s 36 for 36 pick of Harrison Burton scored his first-ever win, the points have tightened. Points leader Steve Luvender‘s selection of Erik Jones netted 20 points, providing Redditors with momentum heading into Darlington. John Hunter Nemechek delivered a solid 22 points for Dustin Albino, while Cameron Richardson‘s pick of Zane Smith earned an above-average 24 points.
Darlington will be a challenge for our picking panel. With just 11 possible picks remaining, playoff-qualifying desperation reaching a fever pitch, and the trickiness of the track “Too Tough to Tame,” it may be as unpredictable as Daytona.
Jayski‘s Dustin Albino: No. 24, William Byron
Dustin‘s pick last week: No. 42, John Hunter Nemechek (22 points)
Total season points: 567 (third place)
Dustin: Both William Byron and myself have shown plenty of inconsistency throughout the summer months. We also share Darlington as being one of our favorite race tracks — his stats back it up — on the schedule. The No. 24 team enters the Southern 500 with four straight top-10 finishes at the track “Too Tough to Tame.” Technically, it should be five, but Joey Logano bumped Byron into the wall for the win in the spring 2022 event. Byron earned his win back last spring and is averaging 44.5 points per race in that four-race timeframe. Hoping Byron bookends the regular season with victories.
NASCAR.com‘s Steve Luvender: No. 1, Ross Chastain
Steve‘s pick last week: No. 43, Erik Jones (20 points)
Total season points: 635 (first place)
Steve: Ross Chastain enters the regular-season finale 27 points out of the playoffs, a tall order for Sunday night. We already know Chastain can get the job done when the pressure‘s on — his 2022 “Hail Melon” move that fans recently voted the most memorable moment of the playoff elimination era comes to mind — and now he needs a single outstanding race to save his season and race for a championship. Darlington is a good track for Chastain, where he‘s won in the Craftsman Truck Series. While he‘s never scored a win at the track in the Cup Series, he‘s found himself in the mix plenty in recent years (controversially so, in some cases — see the 2023 spring race where he tangled with Kyle Larson late). I‘m hoping for the trademark frontstretch-melon-smashing victory celebration when the lights turn on Sunday.
NASCAR.com‘s Cameron Richardson: No. 43, Erik Jones
Cameron‘s pick last week: No. 71, Zane Smith (24 points)
Total season points: 531 (fourth place)
Cameron: What if I told you that Erik Jones is on a multi-time wins list that not even 200-time Cup winner Richard Petty is on? Shocking, but Jones has double the Southern 500 wins compared to the Hall of Famer and motorsports icon. Entering the regular-season finale, Jones‘ 2024 campaign hasn‘t exceeded expectations, but there‘s no reason to believe why the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club driver can‘t be in the mix late on Sunday. With multiple drivers in pressure-filled scenarios this weekend, Darlington will be the ultimate test of mental and physical strength and with only one path for Jones to the postseason, the vision is clear. Also, Jones has only failed to finish outside the top 10 once in seven Southern 500 starts.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 43, Erik Jones r/NASCAR‘s pick last week: No. 21, Harrison Burton (40 points)
Total season points: 591 (second place)
The NASCAR subreddit has spoken, and Erik Jones is this week‘s pick based on community activity in the voting thread. What Redditors had to say:
u/Extreme-Bite-9123: “Definitely take Jones. Darlington is his by far best track, and even if I doubt he wins, this is his best shot at a good day”
u/Joey_Logano: “Jones might also not be a bad pick since this is his best remaining track.”
u/MsCompy: “It’s that time again!”
Check back next week to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues.
And, if you‘ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!
