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NASCAR Cup Series 2021 Goodyear 400 Throwback Race at Darlington: Prediction and Preview

Published 05/08/2021, 2:00 PM EDT

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USA Today via Reuters

A lot of the attention in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 race at Darlington Raceway will be on the throwback paint schemes. But once the drivers are on the race track, it is another points race this season and the drivers will look to take their respective scheme to Victory Lane.

Brad Keselowski starts on pole position alongside Kevin Harvick on the front row and both drivers have found good momentum lately. Keselowski has had a mixed bag of results at Darlington, with his solitary win coming in 2018. He will look to start strongly on Sunday and the Talladega win is still fresh for him.

Meanwhile, Darlington comes at the perfect time for Harvick. The Stewart-Haas Racing star has two wins in the last three races there, including the 2020 playoff win. He also has five consecutive top-5s at the iconic track and Harvick will certainly look to make the most of his newfound momentum in 2021, on Sunday.

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USA Today via Reuters

Can Kyle Larson get the job done at one of his strong tracks?

Kyle Larson has already won this year, but he might rue the chances that slipped away. Larson dominated again at Kansas last week but could not win. He is bringing a throwback scheme remembering his first-ever race car, to Darlington, a track where he has five top-10 finishes in six races.

Now with his no. 5 Hendrick Chevy that competes for wins almost every week, Larson will be one of the men to beat in the 2021 throwback race.

Another driver who has seen multiple chances to win slip away this season is Denny Hamlin. The current points leader goes to another of his strong tracks, where he has many strong finishes and has won three races overall.

Can Kyle Busch go back-to-back in the NASCAR Cup Series 2021 season?

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Kyle Busch finally got rid of the monkey off his back with last weekend’s win at Kansas. Busch has been quite good at Darlington with five top-10 finishes (three top-5s) in his last six races at the track. Now with all the momentum and confidence, Busch will look to become the first driver with wins in consecutive races this year.

Meanwhile, his teammate Martin Truex Jr. is the only driver with two wins in 2021. Darlington has been topsy-turvy for Truex, but he has shown what he can do this season and is always in contention.

USA Today via Reuters

Chase Elliott is another driver who would want to improve his Darlington record as the reigning champ looks to open his wins account this season and at Darlington overall.

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Who will win the NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Throwback race?

The 2021 season has shown the tendency to surprise us all with unexpected winners. While each of the drivers would be very keen to take their throwback schemes to Victory Lane, only one can.

With his form and going to a track where he is quite comfortable, Denny Hamlin should finally get that win.

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Prediction: Denny Hamlin to win the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Throwback race.

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Written by:

Aayush Majumdar

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Aayush Majumdar is a NASCAR content strategist, a Tennis Writer, and a sports analyst at EssentiallySports. He is well-tenured as a tennis and NASCAR writer, with over 900 articles across both sports. After pursuing a Post Graduate program in Sports Management, Aayush explored various roles in Sports Media, including a Sports Reporting role at a leading English daily.
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