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Race Central Stories

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. William Byron: Byron avoided the late Ross Chastain-Kyle Larson melee and went on to win the Goodyear 400.

    “It was a super special win,” Byron said. “It was the 100th win for car No. 24, and my car sported the throwback Jeff Gordon paint scheme. If my life could match that of Jeff Gordon, I would be a happy man, except for the part in which I’m married to a gold digger.”

    2. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington.

    “You probably noticed my No. 4 Ford was sporting ‘Sunny D’ as a sponsor,” Harvick said. “And speaking of ‘Sunny D,’ if you mix one-half part Sunny D and one-half part Busch beer, you are one sick individual.”

    3. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished ninth at Darlington.

    “Luckily,” Blaney said, “I didn’t have any issues with Ross Chastain. Not every driver can say that. Not surprisingly, Chastain has a target on his back. Unfortunately, he sees a target on everyone else’s back.”

    4. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished 12th at Darlington.

    “Kyle Larson may be the unluckiest driver in NASCAR,” Hamlin said. “In consecutive weeks, he’s been wrecked by me and Ross Chastain. I know Kyle said he’s not much of a fighter, but at some point, he’s got to take a stand, and start his own podcast.”

    5. Ross Chastain: A battle for the lead on Lap 288 resulted in Chastain pushing Kyle Larson into the wall, sending both cars spinning. The damage knocked Chastain out of the race for a 29th-place finish, while Larson continued with a damaged car and crossed the line 20th.

    “I was fully committed to going into Turn 1 and coming out of it with the lead,” Larson said. “And I failed. I know I have a reputation as a driver who’s wrecked every other driver at least once. But I’m not going to beat myself up over it. But someone else might.”

    6. Kyle Larson: Larson wrecked while battling Ross Chastain for the lead on Lap 288. Chastain went high into Turn 1 and pressed Larson’s No. 5 Chevy into the fence. Larson was able to continue but finished 20th.

    “That’s three times this season Chastain’s wrecked us,” Larson said. “One thing me and all the other drivers can agree on is that Chastain drives car No. 1. And, we can all agree on which finger to use to represent that No. 1.”

    7. Christopher Bell: Bell finished 14th at Darlington.

    “The paint scheme on my No. 20 Toyota honored Matt Kenseth’s No. 17 car,” Bell said. “Matt’s former teammate Carl Edwards was in the Fox broadcast booth, which is a reminder that Matt for once known as the ‘Intimidated.’”

    8. Kyle Busch: Busch finished seventh at Darlington, posting his sixth top 10 of the year.

    “I got caught with a dangerous weapon in my luggage once,” Busch said. “In a simple analogy, Ross Chastain is my gun, and his No. 1 car is my luggage.”

    9. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex started on the pole and dominated early, winning Stage 1 and leading a race-high 145 laps. But a wreck triggered by Ross Chastain sent Truex’s No. 19 spinning into the apron, and the resulting damage made it impossible to challenge for the lead. Truex finished 31st.

    “Ross has made quite a name for himself,” Truex said. “He’s also made quite a verb for himself because being ‘Chastained’ is becoming quite a useful term. In fact, you could say it’s a verb that is quite overused.”

    10. Joey Logano: Logano finished 18th at Darlington.

    “I had an incident with Martin Truex, Jr.,” Logano said. “I can’t blame Martin for the accident. His car was damaged from his earlier wreck caused by Ross Chastain, and the impact to Truex’s handling caused him to squeeze me into the wall. So Chastain pretty much wrecked me. I think everyone can agree Chastain is guilty. And I think I can agree that he’s guilty by association.”

  • William Bryon Tames Darlington, wins third race of the season

    William Bryon Tames Darlington, wins third race of the season

    William Byron was in the right place at the right time at Darlington Raceway and took advantage of the opportunity to score his third NASCAR Cup Series win of the season in overtime at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”

    As the final laps wound down, Ross Chastain and Kyle Larson wrecked each other while racing for the win, bringing out the final caution flag and setting up an overtime finish in the Goodyear 400.  

    “Larson’s crew chief, Cliff Daniels, was furious and expressed his anger on the team radio.

    How does that make any sense, running us into the fence? That’s three races he’s taken us out of—the 1 car—three races he’s taken us out of.”

    Chastain, who finished 29th, took the blame for the incident but indicated it was not intentional.

    “Full commit into Turn 1,” he said. “I got really tight and drove up and turned myself. I wanted to squeeze him. I wanted to push him up. We’d been racing back and forth all day. But I definitely didn’t want to turn myself.”

    Bryon, now in the lead, led the field back to green and held off Kevin Harvick to capture his seventh career Cup Series victory and the 100th NASCAR win for the No. 24 car.

    But it was also a bittersweet moment for Byron.

    “Yeah, it’s pretty amazing,” he said. “My granddad passed away on Thursday, and just, man, I wish my family could be here. Just things have a way of working out, honestly. It just worked out that way today. We didn’t have the best third stage. We just kept battling, and things just kind of come back around. Definitely didn’t expect this.”

    Kevin Harvick finished second followed by Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace, rounding out the top five.

    “We had a good car all day,” Harvick said. “We just never could get up towards the front in our Sunny Delight Ford Mustang. Struggled in traffic today, but we were really good at the second half of the run and just struggled at the beginning of the run.

    “But we had good track position, then had a bad pit stop under green, and then wound up having everything work out there at the end, didn’t have anything for William. The front is torn up pretty good. But they did a great job and just kind of kept ourselves in the game, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

    Martin Truex Jr. was dominant for much of the race, winning Stage 1 and leading 145 laps, but developed handling issues after contact with Chastain and finished in 31st.

    “When we got into Chastain there at the end of the second stage going for the win in that, it knocked the toe out, so we were tight from there on out,” Truex said. “Just an unfortunate deal. There was plenty of room there, but he just came off the wall and hit me.

    “Like I said, knocked the toe out in the right front. Pretty crappy from there, and then on that restart (Lap 281), I guess I just got real tight, and I don’t even know who I squeezed into the wall, but I apologize to them. Probably my fault, just got real tight and couldn’t stay down the track.”

    Ross Chastain currently leads the Cup Series points standings. Christopher Bell is second (– 27), Harvick is third (– 29), Denny Hamlin is fourth (– 36) and William Bryon is fifth – 42.

  • Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington Duel

    Kyle Larson wins NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington Duel

    Darlington Raceway lived up to its Too Tough to Tame moniker as Kyle Larson battled John Hunter Nemechek for the win in the Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 Saturday afternoon.

    It all came down to the end of the race with Nemechek in the lead as a relentless Larson finally overtook him on the final lap to win in the No. 10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.

    Larson’s victory was hard fought after a penalty for speeding on pit road relegated him to the back of the field for the final stage of the race.

    I knew we were going to have time to get to the front if we had a caution,” Larson said. “We were picking off cars really fast and had some lane selections work out for me. We were just bouncing off each other a little bit. I don’t know what happened in (Turn) 3. It seemed like he (Nemechek) tried to get behind me to shove me into the corner. It kind of hooked me right, and I hit the wall, and I was trying to stay away from him and get off of (Turn) 4.” 

    Nemechek, who lead a race-high 57 laps, was understandably disappointed after his contact with Larson resulted in a fifth-place finish, but indicated that he will use it as motivation moving forward and learn from his mistakes.

    “I feel like we both had dominant race cars at times,” Nemechek said. “I feel like him and I were definitely the class in the field as the day went on, and I don’t know if he wouldn’t have got a speeding penalty how we would’ve ended up but I felt like we were really good for portions of the run, and he was really good other portions of the run.

    “So ultimately, he probably should’ve won the race. He shouldn’t have been that close to me, come the white-flag lap, but he was fast, and he’s one of the best in the sport. There’s a reason that he’s a NASCAR Cup Series champion and wins a lot. So we’ll take it and move on with it. I learned a lot today for when we come back here in the fall and just got to be a little bit smarter about it.”

    Justin Allgaier finished second followed by Cole Custer in third and Austin Hill in fourth, with Nemechek rounding out the top five.  

    Nemechek currently leads the Xfinity Series driver standings with 424 points, followed by Austin Hill (-1), Allgaier (-53), Josh Berry (-57) and Cole Custer (-9).

    Next up for the Xfinity Series is the Alsco Uniforms 300 on Saturday, May 27 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It will be televised on FS1 with radio coverage provided by PRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Results:

  • Truex snares pole for Darlington Throwback Cup Series main event

    Truex snares pole for Darlington Throwback Cup Series main event

    Martin Truex Jr. topped qualifying Saturday morning with a lap of 169.409 mph at Darlington Raceway in his Joe Gibbs Racing No. 19 Toyota and will lead the Cup Series field to green for Sunday’s Goodyear 400.  It’s his first Busch Light Pole Award at Darlington, his first this season and the 21st of his career.

    Truex described the pole-winning run as a team effort.

    “It’s, I think, just a matter of everything coming together with your team,” he said. “Our cars are fast, we’re executing and we’re making good decisions. Things are coming together lately and it feels like momentum but it’s really just things coming together. It takes a lot to be running good in this series at this level consistently.”

    Bubba Wallace will join Truex on the front row in his 23XI Racing Toyota after posting a 169.339 mph lap while Chevrolet drivers Ricky Stenhouse Jr., William Byron and Ross Chastain completed the top five fastest drivers in qualifying followed by Daniel Suárez, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Brad Keselowski. Keselowski was the lone Ford in the top 10.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Christian Eckes wins Darlington Truck Series race in dramatic double-overtime finish

    Christian Eckes wins Darlington Truck Series race in dramatic double-overtime finish

    Christian Eckes led the most laps, 82 of 158, and held on through two overtimes Friday night to claim victory in the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 at Darlington Raceway. The win was even more rewarding after lackluster finishes in the previous five races this season of three 30th place and two 15th place results.

    “I don’t really feel that excited, because the truck was so good it drove itself,” Eckes said, adding, “It’s been a really, really rough couple of weeks.”

    “To come back and win shows the resilience of this team, and how we had to win it just shows the fight in this team. I was really determined. It’s really, really fun to be here, man, and when you have a truck like this, you’ve just got to finish it out.”

    “We needed a little bit longer runs, I think,” he said. “Our truck was strong on longer runs – we just had too many medium to short runs, and it was hard to get track position there to advance forward.

    Stewart Friesen finished second posting this third top-10 result of 2023. Tanner Gray, William Byron, and Carson Hocevar completed the top five at Darlington. Rajah Caruth finished sixth and was the highest-finishing rookie.

    Full-time Cup Series driver Bryon, was piloting the No. 51 Kyle Busch Motorsports entry, and won Stage 2, but had to settle for a fourth-place finish.

    “Hopefully, we learned some stuff for the Cup race. We usually run really good here, so it’s just a matter of trying to put it all together and learn some nuances with the race track, so hopefully we did that.”

    Zane Smith currently leads the driver standings with 338 points, followed by Ty Majeski (-9), Corey Heim (-15), Ben Rhodes (-37) Christian Eckes (-39), Grant Enfinger (-39), Matt Crafton (-78), Tanner Gray (-84), Nick Sanchez (-105) and Stewart Friesen (-111).

    The first two stages of the race were caution-free, excluding state breaks, but the final stage had six cautions with two overtime attempts to finish under green flag conditions.

    Next weekend the Truck Series travels to North Wilkesboro Speedway. Television coverage will be provided by FOX, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Results:

  • John Hunter Nemechek grabs pole for Xfinity Series race at Darlington

    John Hunter Nemechek grabs pole for Xfinity Series race at Darlington

    John Hunter Nemechek won the pole for Saturday’s Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 with a 29.613 lap at 166.062 mph in his Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. It was his second career pole in the series and his first this season.

    “I feel really, really good about our Pye-Barker Toyota,” Nemechek said. “The guys on this 20 team have worked really hard and have prepared really fast race cars every single week.

    “Darlington is one of my favorite racetracks to come to. So really proud of all the guys on this team, proud to come out here and get the pole.”

    Ryan Truex, who won at Dover in the most recent Xfinity race, will start on the front row next to his teammate, Nemechek, after a lap of 165.275 mph. Kyle Larson, driving the No. 10 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing, qualified third at 165.081 mph. Sam Mayer (164.749 mph) in the JR Motorsports Chevrolet and Sewart-Haas Racing’s Cole Custer (164.578) completed the top five in qualifying.

    Chandler Smith, Sheldon Creed, Parker Retzlaff, Sammy Smith and Austin Hill will start the race in positions six-10th, respectively.

    The Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 will be televised on FOX at 1:30 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon with radio coverage by MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Corey Heim captures first Truck Series pole of 2023 at Darlington

    Corey Heim captures first Truck Series pole of 2023 at Darlington

    Corey Heim will start on the pole for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Buckle Up South Carolina 200 after a qualifying lap of 168.048 mph in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota. It’s his first pole of the year and the third of his career.

    Chevrolet will occupy the next four positions with Grant Enfinger in second (167.710 mph followed by the fastest qualifying rookie Nick Sanchez (167.676 mph) starting third in a throwback truck scheme that pays homage to Mario Andretti. McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Christian Eckes (167.197) and rookie Jake Garcia, (167.106 mph) completed the top five.

    There will also be four Cup Series drivers competing in the Truck Series race. William Byron was the fastest and will start eighth followed by Bubba Wallace in 15th, Ross Chastain in 16th and Corey LaJoie in 29th.

    The Buckle Up South Carolina 200 will be broadcast Friday night with the green flag set for 7:42 p.m.

    Starting Lineup:

  • Weekend schedule for Darlington

    Weekend schedule for Darlington

    It’s time for Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway as all three NASCAR national series compete to tame the Lady in Black. On Sunday afternoon the Cup Series Goodyear 400 takes center stage. Kurt Busch and Ricky Craven will serve as the Grand Marshalls as the FOX television team continues the Throwback theme with Richard and Kyle Petty joining the broadcast booth for Stage 1. Carl Edwards will step in during Stage 2 as Bill Elliott takes us to the checkered flag at the conclusion of Stage 3.

    Denny Hamlin leads all active Cup Series drivers with four wins at the 1.366-mile oval followed by Kevin Harvick with three. Joey Logano is the defending race winner.

    The CRAFTSMAN Truck Series headlines the action Friday night with the Buckle Up South Carolina 200 followed by the Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200 on Saturday afternoon.

    There have been 10 previous CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Darlington and Matt Crafton has been there for all of them with seven top-10 finishes. Four Cup Series drivers will also attempt to qualify and compete for the Truck Series race – William Byron, Ross Chastain, Corey LaJoie and Bubba Wallace.

    Three Xfinity Series drivers entered in Saturday’s race have been to victory lane at Darlington, led by Justin Allgaier with two wins (2021 and 2022), Brandon Jones (2020) and Cole Custer (2019).

    You can check out all of the Darlington Throwback Schemes as they are unveiled throughout the week.

    All times are Eastern and Press Pass is available after each race.

    Friday, May 12
    3:05 p.m.: Truck Series Practice – FS1
    3:35 p.m.: Truck Series Qualifying – FS1
    Impound (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries) FS1
    5:05 p.m.: Xfinity Series Practice – All entries – FS1
    5:35 p.m.: Xfinity Series Qualifying
    Impound (Single Vehicle/1 Lap/All Entries) FS1

    7:30 p.m.: Truck Series Buckle Up South Carolina 200
    Stages: 45/90/147 Laps = 200.8 Miles
    The Purse: $690,259
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

    Saturday, May 13
    10:35 a.m.: Cup Series Practice – Groups A & B
    FS2 (moves to FS1 at 11 a.m.)
    11:20 a.m.: Cup Series Qualifying
    Impound (Groups A & B/Single Vehicle/1 Lap/2 Rounds)
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM
    1:30 p.m.: Xfinity Series Shriners Children’s 200
    Stages: 45/90/147 Laps = 200.8 Miles
    The Purse: $1,399,187
    FOX/MRN/SiriusXM

    Sunday, May 14
    3 p.m.: Cup Series Goodyear 400
    Stages: 90/185/293 Laps = 400.2 Miles
    The Purse: $7,722,261
    FS1/MRN/SiriusXM

  • NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Kansas

    Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

    1. William Byron: Byron started on the pole at Kansas and recovered from an early speeding penalty, and a later brush with the wall, to finish third.

    “It’s not about how you start,” Byron said, “it’s how you finish. Unless you finish by writing a $100,000 check to NASCAR for a failed inspection.”

    2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin outdueled Kyle Larson in a wild finish at Kansas to win the AdventHealth 400. After a back-and-forth battle over the final laps, Hamlin got position on Larson and clipped Larson’s rear, spinning the Hendrick driver, but he held on to finish second.

    “You can hear all about it on my new podcast,” Hamlin said. “It’s called ‘Actions Detrimental To Kyle Larson.’”

    3. Kyle Larson: Larson finished second at Kansas after a spirited battle with Denny Hamlin over the closing laps. Hamlin clipped the rear of Larson’s car, and Larson hit the wall, while Hamlin took the win.

    “Right in the middle of my interview after the race,” Larson said, “the Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson fight broke out. So it interrupted some harsh words I had in store for Denny Hamlin. So, that fight did me a favor: it prevented me from saying something I would greatly regret later.”

    4. Christopher Bell: Bell finished last at Kansas after contact with Ross Chastain on Lap 157 sent him into the wall and out of the race.

    “I guess Chastain is on a mission,” Bell said. “That mission is to touch everyone, with either his car or his fist.”

    5. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished fifth at Kansas and then clashed with Noah Gragson after the race.

    “If Noah Gragson has a problem with my driving,” Chastain said, “then he’s no different than 34 other drivers.”

    6. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished eighth at Kansas.

    “What else is new?” Truex said. “Ross Chastain ‘made contact’ with someone. Ross must have been pretty angry with Gragson because Ross was ‘right cross’ with him.”

    7. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 16th at Kansas.

    “We’re gonna be talking about this Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson incident for a while,” Blaney said. “What’s most amazing is that, given Chastain’s various and multiple clashes with other drivers, I’m surprised he punched someone before they punched him.”

    8. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished 11th at Kansas and is fifth in the point standings.

    “I was just named to ‘NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers’ list,” Harvick said. “There are a lot of drivers on that list that I respect a great deal, 73 to be exact. And then there’s Kyle Busch.”

    9. Tyler Reddick: Reddick finished ninth in the AdventHealth 400.

    “NASCAR ratings are down,” Reddick said. “But after Ross Chastain’s punch of Noah Gragson, I expect the impact to be anything but a black eye for the sport.”

    10. Joey Logano: Logano rebounded from two consecutive 30th or worse finishes with a sixth at Kansas.

    “My former Penske teammate Brad Keselowski had to be happy to see that Ross Chastain-Noah Gragson clash. Why? Well, for at least a day, Brad wasn’t the owner of the ‘most punchable face’ title.”

  • Chastain and Gragson trade blows on pit road

    Chastain and Gragson trade blows on pit road

    What started as a heated discussion devolved into a punching match.

    As Denny Hamlin celebrated his victory, Sunday, in the Advent Health 400, Noah Gragson approached Ross Chastain to chew him out. He grabbed him and the talk continued, until Chastain connected with his left cheek.

    “There’s no talking to the guy,” Gragson told Bob Pockrass of FOX Sports, after the scuffle.

    It ceased just as quickly as it started, after multiple officials swarmed them both to break up the fight.

    “Sucks that they all get involved,” he said. “Just let us two work it out and finish it off.”

    This stems from an incident during the race, in which Chastain put Gragson into the wall off Turn 4. Based on Gragson’s comments, post-race, it happened somewhere between Lap 200 and 210.

    “Yeah, definitely crowded him up off of (Turn) 4, and he took a swipe at us in 3, and then he came down and grabbed a hold of me, and a very big man once told me we have a no-push policy here at Trackhouse,” Chastain said.

    Gragson adds his name to the growing list of drivers displeased with Chastain’s aggressive style of racing. Most famous of which is Hamlin, who spent several laps, last season, at Gateway to put on some fun-dumb racing with him. Then again at The Clash and climaxed a few weeks later at Phoenix.

    As for Gragson, it wasn’t the first time, either.

    “He did the same thing after Talladega on the plane and nothing happened,” Chastain told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic.

    Only this time, Gragson was tired of nobody confronting Chastain.

    “The guy just runs into everyone,” he said. “When you’ve got guys like Chase Elliott saying, ‘Go beat his ass,’ everyone is sick and tired of him and nobody has the balls to go up and get him.”

    What repercussions this leads to for Chastain, down the road, only time will tell. For now, however, he leaves Kansas with a 27-point lead over Christopher Bell.