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NASCAR updates competition rules for Darlington and Charlotte

NASCAR has updated the competition rules for Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway as the teams prepare to hit the track for the first time since March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.

The races will be run with no fans in attendance due to the Covid-19 pandemic with heightened rules for the safety of the teams and other personnel in attendance.

NASCAR will also expand the Xfinity Series and Gander RV and Outdoors Truck Series teams to a field of 40 participants for the upcoming May races at Darlington and Charlotte which will allow more teams to participate.

There will be modified competition pit stops which will allow the teams extra time to make any adjustments needed.

The field will be frozen at the time of the competition caution and line up behind the pace car. The wave around rule will not be in effect. Pit road will first open to the top 20 and the drivers must beat the pace car off pit road to retain their position. Pit road will then open to the next 20 cars. The pit cycle will repeat allowing each team to pit twice.

Drivers cannot beat the pace car off pit road. Doing so will result in the loss of a lap and the driver will have to start at the rear of the field. If a driver pits more than twice or out of sequence they will have to restart at the rear of the field.

The competition cautions will occur at or around the following laps:

May 17: Cup Series, Darlington: Lap 30

May 19: Xfinity Series, Darlington: Lap 15

May 20: Cup Series, Darlington: TBD

May 24: Cup Series, Charlotte: TBD

May 25: Xfinity Series, Charlotte: TBD

May 26: Gander Trucks, Charlotte: TBD

May 27: Cup Series, Charlotte: TBD

There will be no practice or qualifying except for the Coca-Cola 600 race on May 24 and all races will be run over the course of one day. NASCAR has also provided new guidelines for the starting lineups with random drawings and position inversions playing a role as specified below for each race.

Darlington Raceway May 17 Cup Series Starting Lineup:

Positions 1-12 will be determined by a random draw from charter teams in those positions in team owner points.

Positions 13-24: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

Positions 25-36: Random draw among charter teams in those positions in owner points.

Positions 37-40 will be filled out by open, non-chartered teams in order of owner points.

Pit Selection:

Pit selection is based on charter team owner points followed by open team owner points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Darlington Raceway May 19 Xfinity Series Starting Lineup:

Starting positions 1-12 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.

Starting positions 12-24 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.

Starting positions 25-36 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.

Starting positions 37-40 among teams in those positions in owner points will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

Pit Selection:

Order based on Phoenix qualifying.

Darlington Raceway May 20 Cup Series Starting Lineup:

Positions 1-20: The top 20 finishers from the May 17 event will be inverted for the start of the May 20 race.

Positions 21-40: The bottom 20 finishers from the May 17 event will be inverted for the start of the May 20 race; any new entries will be placed at the rear of the field.

Pit Selection:

Pit selection will be determined by the finishing order of the May 17 race. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Charlotte Motor Speedway May 24 Cup Series Starting Lineup:

Order set by same-day qualifying for the Coca-Cola 600.

Pit Selection:

Pit selection based on finishing position from the May 20 race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance, pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Charlotte Motor Speedway May 25 Xfinity Series Starting Lineup:

Starting positions 12-24 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.

Starting positions 25-36 among teams in those positions in owner points will be determined by a random draw.

Starting positions 37-40 among teams in those positions in owner points will be assigned starting positions based on their order of eligibility.

Pit Selection:

Pit Selection based on finishing position from the May 19 race at Darlington, followed by new entries in order of points.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Truck Series May 26 Starting Lineup (Teams will draw for starting position based on groups in team owner points)

Starting positions 1-10 among teams in those positions in owner points

Starting positions 11-21 among teams in those positions in owner points

Starting positions 22-32 among teams in those positions in owner points

Starting positions 33-40 among teams in those positions in owner points, followed by a draw among new teams without owner points

Pit Selection:

Pit selection based on Las Vegas qualifying.

Charlotte Motor Speedway May 27 Cup Series Starting Lineup:

Positions 1-20: Invert the top 20 from the May 24 race at Charlotte.

Positions 21-40: In finishing order from the May 24th race at Charlotte, followed by new entries.

Pit Selection:

Pit selection based on qualifying for the May 24 race at Charlotte, followed by new entries in order of points. If qualifying is rained out, pit selection will be determined by finishing order on May 24.

Darlington & Charlotte Stage Lengths:

Darlington:

May 17 – NASCAR Cup Series): 90 / 185 / 293 laps

May 19 – NASCAR Xfinity Series): 45 / 90 / 147 laps

May 20 – NASCAR Cup Series): 60 / 125 / 228 laps

Charlotte:

May 24 – NASCAR Cup Series: 100 / 200 / 300 / 400 laps

May 25 – NASCAR Xfinity Series: 45 / 90 / 200 laps

May 26 – NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: 30 / 60 / 134 laps

May 27 – NASCAR Cup Series: 55 / 115 / 208 laps

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

May 13, 2020
Back to almost normal

With a deep breath, we will see live racing on Sunday. No, you will not hear the roar of the crowd, and you won’t see much of a victory lane celebration, but in these days of pandemic, it’s still much better than virtual racing, that depended on how well the driver had experienced the computer program. I had grown tired of the “computer racing.” I’m glad to get back to man and machine. I’m looking forward to real racing.

It’s going to be different, though. Most events this month will probably be one-day events and qualifying based on a draw. Media availability will be shortened to only a few outlets, and driver reactions after the race will be done remotely. Yes, it won’t be the same. Races at Chicagoland, Richmond, and Sonoma will be replaced with the Darlington-Charlotte marathon this month. My sources tell me that Fox will have all races as it stands.

NASCAR is the first major sport trying to do this, so they will be under the microscope, thus the harsh requirements. All must wear masks. Teams are allowed fewer people. Big fines or punishments will follow. Yes, the days of old are gone. Cleanliness is important. Following the rules will depend on whether we see a season or not. MLB, the NBA, and all major sports are watching us. Our success means their success. We must make this work.

So, we head to Darlington, as far as I can tell, the series’ second-oldest track, and have a race. I love Darlington. I’ve covered races there, even when the little red press box used to feel the vibrations when drivers hit the wall in front of it and you had to run to the back of the press box to post stories. It’s altogether good and proper we start this new experiment there. The good news is the statement that we will have a fall race – a throwback race at the track in September if all goes well. It must, not only for NASCAR but all big-time professional sports. Cross your fingers and pray, if you pray, for success this weekend for these races.

May 13, 2020
Darlington Cup races to feature new and familiar names

It is almost time. The time for NASCAR’s long-awaited resumption of on-track racing is days away as the drivers and teams are set to embark on an 11-day racing span across the Carolinas, beginning at Darlington Raceway on May 17. Already, the spotlight focuses on Sunday’s 400-mile race serving as the initiating phase for NASCAR to complete this season amid the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. While veterans Ryan Newman and Matt Kenseth highlight the names of Cup Series drivers set to return to racing on an extended, weekly basis, there are other notables that will compete on Darlington’s racing surface.

The first is Tommy Baldwin Racing, owned by Tommy Baldwin Jr., winner of the 2002 Daytona 500 as crew chief. TBR will field the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro sponsored by Gravely Mowers and CNC Swiss Machining with Josh Bilicki set to pilot the car in Sunday’s 400-mile event. This weekend’s event at Darlington will be TBR’s first Cup race since November 2017 at Phoenix Raceway and the first at Darlington since September 2016. The team attempted to qualify for the 2019 Daytona 500 with Ryan Truex but they failed to do so and did not attempt additional races throughout last season.

For Bilicki, who has competed in 13 previous Cup races and has finished as high as 29th, Sunday’s event will be his first with TBR. This season he has competed in two of four Xfinity races and one Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series event, all in February, prior to racing’s hiatus. Thus far, his lone NASCAR start at Darlington came in September 2018 in the Xfinity Series where he drove for JP Motorsports and finished 28th.

Next is B.J. McLeod Motorsports, owned by B.J. and Jessica McLeod, which will make its NASCAR Cup Series debut on Sunday. BJMM will be fielding the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro with B.J. McLeod as the driver. McLeod has been racing in NASCAR since 2010 and has operated BJMM in the NASCAR Xfinity Series for the last five seasons. The team currently fields three full-time operations.

While the team is new to the Cup Series, the driver/owner is not. McLeod has made 42 starts in NASCAR’s premier series, including the last two Daytona 500s. His best result is 25th, coming at Indianapolis Motor Speedway last September. McLeod is also currently in his third season driving for JD Motorsports with Gary Keller in the Xfinity Series, with a best result of 13th at Daytona in February. He has competed at Darlington in the last five Xfinity seasons and two Cup seasons.

Finally, Gray Gaulding will return to NASCAR following a six-month absence. Gaulding will be piloting the No. 27 Ford Mustang for Rick Ware Racing sponsored by Panini America at Darlington, but not until Wednesday, May 19, as J.J. Yeley will drive the No. 27 car on Sunday. Following Wednesday, Gaulding will make a second Cup appearance in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway on May 24.

Gaulding has not competed in NASCAR since last season, where he drove for SS-Green Light Racing in the Xfinity Series. He had a productive season with four top-10s, including a career-best runner-up finish at Talladega Superspeedway in April and a final standings result of 13th. He has made 50 Cup starts with a best result of ninth at Talladega in October 2017, but none since 2019, where he drove for Rick Ware Racing and finished 36th at Bristol Motor Speedway in April. His lone Cup start at Darlington came in 2017, where he finished 36th driving for BK Racing, and his lone Xfinity start at Darlington came last September, where he finished 15th.

All drivers and teams scheduled to compete on Sunday will round out the 40-car field as NASCAR prepares to drop the green flag and resume a bizarre season in the making. How the new driver-team pairings, the weekly balance of competitiveness and safety between the competitors and crew members and the state of NASCAR for the remainder of 2020 fares will be assessed next week.

May 13, 2020
Xfinity regulars look to extend momentum in 2020

Potential milestones are in the making for this year’s NASCAR Xfinity Series season in its resumption at Darlington Raceway in mid-May.

Through the first four races of the 2020 Xfinity season, each event has been won by non-NASCAR Cup Series regulars. The last time the exact achievement was made was in 2012, when NASCAR Truck Series contender James Buescher opened a new year by claiming an upset victory at Daytona followed by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. winning at Las Vegas and Elliott Sadler notching two wins at Phoenix and Bristol. The early streak ended the following week when Cup regular Joey Logano won at Auto Club.

With the series heading to Darlington, Xfinity regulars have a chance to extend the winning streak to five races, a feat last made in 1995. In that year, Chad Little won the first two races of the season at Daytona and Rockingham followed by Kenny Wallace winning at Richmond, Johnny Benson Jr. at Atlanta and David Green at Nashville.

The recent success of the Xfinity Series regulars stretches to not only the first four completed races this season, but also includes the previous two seasons. In 2018, 20 of the 33 scheduled races have been won by non-Cup competitors, which includes part-timers Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe and John Hunter Nemechek. Last season, 28 of 33 races were won by Xfinity competitors, including AJ Allmendinger winning at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Of the 28 events, 21 were won between championship contenders Tyler Reddick, Cole Custer and Christopher Bell. With all three having graduated to the Cup Series this season, it opens opportunities for their fellow competitors and new faces to shine and make a bid for this year’s championship.

It also opens one of two scheduled opportunities for a 2020 Xfinity regular to win at Darlington for the first time. Only three series regulars have won at the venue in the previous 10 seasons: Chase Elliott in 2014, Elliott Sadler in 2016 and Cole Custer in 2019.

Currently, Joe Gibbs Racing has the most victories at Darlington with 10, two from Kyle Busch and five from Denny Hamlin. JGR’s current lineup, featuring Brandon Jones and rookies Harrison Burton and Riley Herbst, aims to extend the team’s recent dominance at the historic circuit. Jones is the most recent winner of this season, having won at Phoenix, and has made four previous starts at Darlington, earning two top-10 results. Burton is the points leader and is coming off his first career win at Auto Club. He, however, will make his first start at a track where his father, Jeff, and uncle, Ward, have won a combined eight times between the Cup and Xfinity Series. Like Burton, Herbst will make his debut at Darlington. He has earned three top-10 results, including a career-best runner-up finish at Auto Club this season. Should either Burton or Herbst win, it would mark the first time an Xfinity event at Darlington was won by a newcomer since Chase Elliott did in 2014 with a last-lap pass.

Speaking of first-time winners, Darlington is no stranger in making winning aspirations come true. It has not, however, been done since 1984 when Ron Bouchard won. Other competitors to do so includes Geoffrey Bodine in 1982 and Neil Bonnett in 1983. Including Herbst, among other competitors looking for their first Xfinity career win this season, are Ryan Sieg, Justin Haley, Brandon Brown, Alex Labbe, Josh Williams, Ray Black Jr., Jesse Little, Joe Graf Jr., Daniel Hemric, Anthony Alfredo and Myatt Snider.

In addition to Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones, Chase Briscoe and Noah Gragson have won a race this season and look to extend their strong start throughout the Carolinas, starting with Darlington, in an effort to contend for their first NASCAR title. Those who have won within the last three seasons but are winless in 2020 includes Austin Cindric, Ross Chastain, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett and Jeremy Clements.

In a series where names are made, this year’s Xfinity field, featuring a mix of new and familiar notables aiming to outcompete one another and emerge as future NASCAR stars, will set their sights and proceed with the competition in the sport’s return at Darlington on May 19 followed by Charlotte on May 26. The remainder of the schedule is to be determined.

May 7, 2020
Cup rookies prepare to tackle Darlington for the first time

The ongoing Coronavirus pandemic has provided a series of unexpected challenges to the 2020 NASCAR season since its abrupt hiatus following the first week of March. With the sport set to resume in less than two weeks, it will present a new weekly approach for the teams, competitors and the sanctioning body to complete this season. The return of the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway in the spring will be a new yet familiar approach for the veterans while it will be an entirely first experience for this year’s rookie class.

None of this year’s rookies have started a Cup race at Darlington. To add to the challenge, a Darlington race has never been won by a newcomer since the Rookie of the Year award was established in 1958. Nonetheless, they will all receive their first of three opportunities in 2020 to master their toughness against every corner of the disproportionate circuit.

Through the first four races of the 2020 campaign, Cole Custer leads the rookie standings and holds an average result of 20.75. He finished 37th in the Daytona 500 due to a late mechanical failure but rallied with top-20 results at Las Vegas and Auto Club before earning his first career top-10 finish at Phoenix prior to the hiatus.

One benefit for Custer is that he has raced at Darlington in the previous three seasons in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, where he averaged a 4.0 result and emerged victorious last September when initial winner Denny Hamlin was disqualified for failing post-race inspection. Another benefit is that Darlington has been a relatively strong track for Custer’s team, Stewart-Haas Racing, with 18 top-10 results and a win in 2014 with Kevin Harvick. The experience of notching a win along with driving for one of NASCAR’s competitive teams could all serve as potential factors for Custer to build toward his recent momentum at one of NASCAR’s demanding venues.

If there is someone who has momentum on his side this season, it is Tyler Reddick. The two-time reigning Xfinity Series champion’s season has been a roller coaster. Through the first four races, his best result has been an 11th-place finish at Auto Club. He had a potential top-10 performance at Phoenix the following week spoiled by a late wreck, which dropped his average result to 22.5.

Like Custer, Reddick has raced at Darlington in the Xfinity Series with three teams, averaging a result of 7.0 with a best result of second last September. Of the teams representing this year’s rookie class, Reddick’s team, Richard Childress Racing, has the most starts at Darlington. Since 1976, RCR has eight wins at the track, all with the late Dale Earnhardt, but none since 1994. Having on-track speed early in a season to compete against NASCAR’s current stars could give the young Californian the confidence to flip his misfortunes into fortunes and tame the challenges at Darlington.

Next is John Hunter Nemechek, a second-generation racer from Mooresville, N.C., whose interim role in the final three Cup races last season netted him a full-time ride this season with Front Row Motorsports. He earned his career-best result of 11th in the Daytona 500 before finishing in the top 25 the following three weeks, pulling an average result of 21.25. His only attempt at Darlington came last September, where he finished 21st driving for GMS Racing. Front Row Motorsports has been racing at Darlington since 2005 with best results coming in 2016 with Chris Buescher (17th) and in 2018 with David Ragan (18th).

Having a young driver like Nemechek in FRM’s two-car stable goes a long way toward building a winning success in the current season and beyond. It is a matter of the team providing more horsepower and generating consistency for the rookie to contend against the veterans and navigate a track where his father, Joe, raced 29 times.

In a season where racing as a Cup driver has been a first for Brennan Poole, the Darlington race in mid-May will also be his first in NASCAR’s premier series. He earned an impressive 16th-place result in his Daytona 500 debut but finished 29th, 32nd and 31st the following three races. In two Xfinity starts at Darlington, where he drove for Chip Ganassi Racing, he averaged a result of 5.5, finishing fifth in 2016 and sixth in 2017. While Poole’s results at the track have been impressive, the results from his team, Premium Motorsports, have been dismal. In eight Darlington races, the team’s best result has been 28th with Ross Chastain in 2018 and 2019, which indicates how far away the team fares against the majority.

Like Poole, this season has been entirely new for Christopher Bell with the opportunity to race full time in the Cup Series. In comparison to his previous four seasons and successes between the NASCAR Truck Series and the Xfinity Series, Bell’s first Cup season has been disappointing. Thus far, the Oklahoma native has sustained two DNFs and has only finished as high as 21st from the Daytona 500. In two Xfinity starts at Darlington, his average finish is 17.0, finishing 34th due to an accident in 2018 but rallying to finish fourth last season.

On the bright side, Bell’s team, Leavine Family Racing, recorded an eighth-place result last season in their fourth attempt at the track with Matt DiBenedetto behind the wheel. The result indicates that LFR is striving to contend for wins on a weekly basis, even on NASCAR’s historic venues, and aims to repeat the success of last season as they set aside their early misfortunes and start generating positives for Bell.

Finally, Quin Houff is a total newcomer at Darlington, having never raced at the track in any series. Of all the competitors in this year’s rookie class, he has the most Cup Series starts at 21, but has only finished as high as 30th. His team, StarCom Racing, has recorded a best result of 11th at Daytona last July with Landon Cassill, and their best performance at Darlington is 25th, coming last season with Cassill, giving both the driver and the team a lot to develop for the future.

With six rookie candidates, this season features the largest rookie class in a Cup season since 2014, which had eight, and features the next wave of developing stars who have worked their way through the ranks of NASCAR and now get to display their full potential against the sport’s elite. Will Darlington feature a potential upset similar to when Regan Smith wheeled to the first win for himself and Furniture Row Racing in 2011? Only the sport’s return will evaluate how the rookies will fare in their first attempt at the track deemed, “Too Tough to Tame.”

May 6, 2020
NASCAR is back or is it?

The news all NASCAR fans were waiting to hear came this past Thursday when the sanctioning body announced the next race would be held on Sunday, May 17 at Darlington Raceway. This 400-mile race would be televised on FOX and begin at 3:30 p.m., Eastern time. Then came the rest. There would be no fans in the stands. I would assume the network’s media people would be attending, but it’s not clear about print and other media. There will be strict rules dealing with social distancing, of course.

The rest of the initial schedule is equally different. The next race is an Xfinity Series race two days later on May 19at Darlington. The third race would be a Cup race on Wednesday, March 20 and would be 500 km in length. Both races will air on FSI. The Xfinity race would be broadcasted at 8 p.m. and the race at 7:30 p.m. Then, the stagiest thing happens.

Four days after the second Darlington Cup race, we get the Coca-Cola 600 on May 24 at 6 p.m. on FOX and the Xfinity race the next day at 7:30 p.m. on FS1. A Gander Outdoors race would be the next day, March 26, also on FS1 and another 500km Cup race on May 27 at 8 p.m. on FS1.

The reason given was the two tracks are in proximity to most team’s Charlotte-area shops. Count them, folks. That is seven races at those two tracks in 8 days. I cannot imagine this is going to be easy for drivers, teams, and media. All would be run with empty bleachers. This cannot be normal, and results would probably not be what fans are used to seeing, but as someone who lost interest in the computer races, I welcome this.

I am proud of NASCAR keeping fans teams safe with these measures. It will be interesting how fans, teams, and tracks react. Four races at Charlotte and three at Darlington with the promise of the Southern 500 on Labor Day? Stay tuned.

May 3, 2020
NASCAR returns with three points-paying races at a single track
Five months into 2020, NASCAR’s 72nd season of existence has been a bizarre season in the making highlighted with a hiatus in racing spanning two months due to the ongoing Coronavirus pandemic. With the season two weeks away from resuming, a major twist to the racing schedule is in the making.

For the first time since 1981, a NASCAR season will feature three points-paying races at a single track as the sport strives to make up the lost time of on-track racing.

On April 30, NASCAR disclosed that Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway will host additional NASCAR national series races throughout the second half of May, totaling to seven in a span of 11 days across the Carolinas.

Darlington will feature two additional Cup races (May 17 & May 20) and an extra Xfinity Series event (May 19) to go along with the Labor Day Weekend events that still includes the Southern 500 for the postseason opener (September 5). Charlotte, additionally, will host an extra Cup race on May 27 three days after the Coca-Cola 600 past Memorial Day Weekend. The NASCAR XFinity Series (May 25) and the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series (May 26) will follow coincidentally while the Bank of America Roval 400 at Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval remains as scheduled (October 11).

The last time NASCAR raced at a track three times in a season was at Riverside International Raceway in Riverside, CA, in 1981, where the season raced its opener in January, returned midway into the season in June and added another event in November to conclude the season. This does not, however, mark NASCAR’s only time pulling this feat.

The first track to host three points-paying races in a season was at Carrell Speedway in Gardena, CA, in 1951 during NASCAR’s third season of racing. Among other examples where a track featured three racing events in a season includes:
- Langhorne Speedway (1953).
- Columbia Speedway (1955, 1958-1960).
- Charlotte Speedway (1956).
- Hickory Speedway (1956).
- Portland Speedway (1956-1957).
- Southern States Fairgrounds (1957 & 1959).
- Concord Speedway (1957 & 1962).
- Bowman Gray Stadium (1959-1963).
- Asheville-Weaverville Speedway (1959).
- Martinsville Speedway (1961).
The featured events at Darlington and Charlotte will mark NASCAR’s return to on-track racing since the week of March 6-8 at Phoenix Raceway. NASCAR was also intent on racing the following week at Atlanta Motor Speedway, but the racing activities for the weekend were postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. Other postponements that followed suit in the spring included Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Talladega Superspeedway, Dover International Speedway and Martinsville Speedway.

An announcement for the remainder of this year’s NASCAR national series schedule has not been determined, though the sanctioning body intends to hold all 36 Cup races this season, including the postseason as originally scheduled from September through November.
May 3, 2020
NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Kyle Busch: An engine change sent Busch to the rear at the start but he steadily climbed forward, ultimately falling short of catching Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Erik Jones, who secured his first win of the year.

“I nearly pulled off the ‘last to first’ run,” Busch said. “I’ve done it many times, the first being when I was born after my older brother Kurt, only to finish first in my parents’ favorite child vote.”

2. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin was collected in a final stage wreck and finished 29th, his worst finish of the year.

“It was a tough weekend,” Hamlin said. “I won the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, but I was disqualified for what’s known as a ‘ride-height violation.’ There’s a fine line between ‘high enough’ and ‘too high,’ and it’s just one of the many things that’s straddled in track infields every week.”

3. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 15th at Darlington, one lap down.

“The race started 4 hours late,” Truex said. “That’s a long time. Drivers even had time for naps. Believe it or not, not racing makes you sleepy. Ask most fans, and they’ll tell you racing makes them sleepy.”

4. Kevin Harvick: Harvick finished fourth at Darlington, and is now fourth in the points standings.

“It was ‘throwback’ week at Darlington,” Harvick said. “That doesn’t mean Bubba Wallace was tossing the football with fans during a rain delay. It does mean that throwback stock cars had crappy paint schemes.”

5. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski took fifth in the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

“My No. 2 Mustang honored Rusty Wallace’s 1996 paint scheme,” Keselowski said. “It looked so much like Rusty’s version, Ryan Newman tried to wreck me.”

6. Joey Logano: A cut tire forced an unscheduled pit stop midway through the race, and Logano limped home to a 14th-place finish at Darlington.

“We appreciate all the fans who outlasted the rain delay and stayed until the end,” Logano said. “To those who didn’t, well, we’re not going to lose any sleep over it.”

7. Chase Elliott: Elliott finished 19th at Darlington, two laps down, his night hindered by damage suffered in a lap 260 multiple-car accident.

“My Hendrick teammate William Byron’s paint scheme was inspired by Cole Trickle’s car in the ‘Days Of Thunder’ movie,” Elliott said. “Personally, I would have much rather seen a paint scheme honoring the legendary Dick Trickle. That’s a paint scheme that would have been difficult to keep secret. In other words, it would have ‘leaked.’”

8. Kurt Busch: Busch started fourth at Darlington and finished seventh at Darlington.

“We’re headed to Indianapolis next,” Busch said. “There are some playoff spots on the line so I’m guessing you might see some drivers who don’t even win the race ‘kissing the bricks.’ If the actual win puts a driver in the Playoffs, you might see a ‘bricklayer.’”

9. Kyle Larson: Larson took the runner-up spot in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, earning his fifth-straight top-10 finish.

“Ryan Newman’s No. 6 car had the Oscar Mayer paint scheme,” Larson said. “The ‘Wienermobile’ even made an appearance. ‘Weinermobile’ is also what Ryan calls anything Kurt Busch is driving.”

10. Ryan Blaney: Blaney finished 13th at Darlington. He is now 10th in the Monster Energy Cup points standings and clinched a spot in the playoffs.

“Ty Dillon’s crew chief Matt Borland failed a recent drug test,” Blaney said. “He claimed it was the result of his consumption of diet coffee. Borland defended himself by saying, ‘Say it ain’t so, Joe.’”

September 2, 2019
Erik Jones wins the Southern 500 at Darlington

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Erik Jones had the best car when it mattered most leading the final 42 laps to claim his first win this year in the 70th annual Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

The Joe Gibbs Racing driver also clinched his spot in the upcoming Playoffs with only one race remaining in the regular season. It was his second career Cup Series victory and his ninth top-five finish of the season.

He not only grabbed the trophy but held off his teammate Kyle Busch, the current points leader.

“It was a lot of pressure,” Jones said. “Kyle (Busch) is a great race car driver. I’ve raced him a lot, and obviously you want to beat him to win, right? I was just locked in, man. I stayed focused. I really thought it was our night when we got out front.

“It’s amazing for me to be able to hold off Kyle. It’s really cool, just for the history we have with Kyle giving me my first opportunity in the Truck Series (at Kyle Busch Motorsports). To race him for the win in such a big race, that’s pretty cool and something I’m never going to forget.”

Jones is also hoping the win will put an end to any questions about his place in the JGR organization.

“There’s been a lot of doubt and speculation, he continued. “I’ve put my heart and soul into this race team. This is my living and how I want to make a career and what I want to do. It doesn’t get any better than this. On my list, this race is really high and it’s going to look damn good to see my face on that trophy.”

Chip Ganassi Racing’s Kyle Larson finished second after leading 44 laps to score his sixth top-five this year and secured his spot in the Playoffs on points.

“Erik (Jones) did a good job on that last restart to get by me and I was better than him all throughout that run,” Larson said. “It’s just I couldn’t ever do anything with him, just because the dirty air was really bad. Wore out surface and the groove is already narrow, and it was just extra difficult. I felt like both the 18 (Kyle Busch) and I were a little bit better than he was at the end, but couldn’t do nothing with him.”

Kyle Busch led a race-high 118 laps to finish third and clinched the regular-season championship. Kevin Harvick finished fourth as Brad Keselowski rounded out the top five. All three drivers have secured a place in the Playoffs with wins this season.

Ryan Blaney, William Byron and Aric Almirola accumulated enough points to make it into the Playoffs which leaves two open spots.

Clint Bowyer placed sixth and earned six stage points which should help secure his playoff hopes. He is currently in 15th place and has +8 points over Daniel Suarez (16th) and Ryan Newman (17th) while Johnson is -18 points.

Suarez and Newman are tied in points but Suarez wins the tiebreaker leaving Newman on the outside looking in. Newman recorded a 23rd place finish after an eventful night that included tight handling conditions, mechanical issues and contact from other cars, including an incident with Suarez. With Newman and Suarez tied in points, things could get interesting next weekend at Indianapolis.

Johnson’s No. 48 was strong, finishing second in Stage 1 and seventh in Stage 2, earning valuable points. But Johnson was caught up in a multi-car accident on Lap 275 and lost much of the advantage he had gained earlier in the race. He will probably need to win next week to advance to the Playoffs.

Tune in to the Big Machine Vodka 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway Sunday, Sept. 8 as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series regular-season concludes with two open spots undecided.

Follow @angiecampbell_ for the latest NASCAR news and feature stories.

September 2, 2019
Southern 500 delivers some of NASCAR’s biggest moments

It goes without saying that the Bojangles’ Southern 500 is one of NASCAR’s biggest Crown Jewel events, ranking up there with the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte and the Daytona 500. One of the main reasons for this is because Darlington Raceway is the sport’s first superspeedway. Before the grace of Daytona and the pageantry of Charlotte, NASCAR muscled hard, rough, and fast on Darlington’s egg-shaped oval.

With Darlington playing host to NASCAR’s annual throwback event, several teams and drivers are paying homage this year with different schemes paying tribute to the early part of the 1990s, which brought the dominance of Bill Elliott, Mark Martin, and Dale Earnhardt Sr. Here are some memorable events in the Southern 500’s 1990s chapter.

1990 – Earnhardt, Elliott, and Geoff Bodine were the three fastest cars of the day; they combined to lead 286 of the 367 scheduled laps. Earnhardt would go on to win his third Southern 500 in four fall events, while Elliott faded back to fourth and Bodine to eighth. Ernie Irvan, who led 70 laps, would finish in second place, 4.19 seconds behind Earnhardt.

There were plenty of fireworks during the day, most notably when early in the event Ken Schrader and Morgan Shepherd made contact which sent Schrader’s No. 25 Chevrolet to the garage. Several laps later Schrader would get back on track and return the favor to Shepherd before being parked for the race. Shepherd would go on to finish 21st.

1991 – Harry Gant began his famous four-win streak in the Fall of ’91 when he won his second Southern 500, leading 152 laps and finishing 10.97 seconds ahead of runner-up Irvan. Schrader finished third and was the last car on the lead lap.

Davey Allison started on the pole and led 151 laps, but finished 12th, four laps off the pace. Gant’s ensuing winning streak was the first since 1987.

1992 – Credited as Darrell Waltrip’s 84th and final Cup win, the 1992 edition of this event originally looked to be in the hands of Allison, who was looking to become only the second driver to win the Winston Million coming into the weekend. Allison and Gant led a total of 163 laps as rain threatened the area. During a cycle of pit stops on Lap 292, several drivers opted to stay out. Allison’s Crew Chief Larry McReynolds sent a crew member to check on the weather forecast in the NASCAR hauler, only for that crew member to misinterpret the weather radar which led to Allison coming down pit road.

Waltrip stayed out, however, and was credited with the win after 298 laps while Allison was credited with fifth-place after starting sixth and leading 72 laps. Martin, Elliott, and Brett Bodine placed second, third, and fourth respectively.

1993 – Martin won the Southern 500 at Darlington. That’s a fact that doesn’t look impressive on paper. But it’s worth noting that Martin won the race without power steering, which is something else entirely since Darlington is such an unforgiving speedway.

Martin started fourth and led 178 laps, dueling most of the day with Earnhardt and his No. 3 Lumina. However, after leading 101 laps on the day, Earnhardt made hard contact with the wall and faded back to fourth in the final running order. Brett Bodine and Rusty Wallace finished second and third respectively. Irvan would go on to finish fifth in his first race in the No. 28 Robert Yates Racing Ford.

1994 – Although Schrader and Martin combined to lead 232 of the race’s 367 laps, engine failure would sideline both drivers, leaving Earnhardt and Elliott to battle for the race win.

Ultimately it was Elliott who took the win, leading 21 laps against Earnhardt’s 87 en route to the checkered flag. Shepherd, Ricky Rudd, and Sterling Marlin rounded out the top-five. It would be Elliott’s final win for Junior Johnson, as Elliott wouldn’t win again until the Pennzoil 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway in November 2001.

One of the top notable finishers of the day was Kenny Wallace, who finished 11^th while filling in for an injured Irvan in the No. 28 RYR Ford after the latter’s accident at Michigan International Speedway the month before. Irvan would make his return in the fall of 1995.

Although the upcoming Bojangles’ Southern 500 will be celebrating the early 90s’ era of NASCAR, the Southern 500’s very legacy is based off some of the sport’s greatest names and greatest battles since the speedway’s inception in 1950.

There’s a quote by none other than Earnhardt himself that perfectly sums up the allure of the Southern 500 and the place it holds in the sport:

“You never forget your first love, whether it’s a high school sweetheart, a faithful old hunting dog, or a fickle race track in South Carolina with a contrary disposition. And if you happen to be a race car driver, there’s no victory so sweet, so memorable, as whipping Darlington Raceway.”

September 1, 2019