MotorSportsNews.Net posts about the Darlington Raceway, one of the race tracks used in NASCAR Cup Series, XFINITY Series, Gander Trucks Series racing.
Driver talent will truly be tested this weekend, as Darlington Raceway sets the stage for the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale, the Cook Out Southern 500, this Sunday, September 1 at 6 p.m. ET on USA Network, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Only three spots are still available in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, and this is the final chance the drivers have to lock themselves into the postseason.
Facing the competitors Sunday night is the historic Darlington Raceway, which is unlike any other track on the schedule. The 1.366-mile, egg-shaped, paved oval has hosted 126 NASCAR Cup Series races dating back to 1950, and with its rich tradition of history it has become one of the most iconic tracks amongst competitors, earning the nickname ‘The Lady in Black’, and this weekend’s Cook Out Southern 500 is considered a ‘Crown Jewel’ event.
The cutoff race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs won’t take place until Friday, Sept. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway, leaving plenty of time for drivers to jockey for position on the Playoff grid.
That said, for practical purposes, the race to qualify for the Playoffs on points features a small field. Ryan Sieg leads Sammy Smith by 15 points for the final Playoff-eligible position entering Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway (3:30 p.m. on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Among winless drivers in the series, Parker Kligerman leads Smith by 44 points, Sheldon Creed holds a 93-point edge, and AJ Allmendinger enjoys a 113-point cushion with four races left in the regular season.
It could happen again.
Harrison Burton’s unlikely victory in last Saturday’s Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway caused consternation around the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff bubble.
The same thing could happen in the “last-chance qualifier” for the Cup Playoffs—Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Movin’ on Up!: In January, Young’s Motorsports announced it would graduate from the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN® Truck Series to the NASCAR Xfinity Series full-time in 2024 with rising star Leland Honeyman Jr. behind the wheel of the team’s No. 42 Young’s Motorsports Chevrolet Camaro for the entire 33-race season continuing with Saturday afternoon’s Sport Clips Haircuts Help a Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
About Leland: The Phoenix, Ariz. native began honing his racing skills at the tender age of two racing Quads. By four years old, he moved into Trophy Karts and then collected three series championships in off-road racing Trophy Karts.
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway… In 145 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, Richard Childress Racing has eight wins, all by Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt claimed the checkered flag in 1986 (spring), both races in 1987, 1989 (fall), another sweep in 1990 plus spring events in 1993 and 1994. RCR drivers have 26 top-five and 48 top-10 finishes at the historic South Carolina speedway.
Richard Childress Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at The Lady in Black… Richard Childress Racing is looking to find Victory Lane for the first time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway. Austin Hill owns back-to-back second-place finishes in his two most recent starts at the track. The Welcome, N.C. based team has 14 top-five and 32 top-10 finishes.
DARLINGTON, S.C.: The fourth installment of a part-time NASCAR Xfinity Series program for Rette Jones Racing and Noah Gragson will take the checkered flag in Saturday afternoon’s Sport Clips Haircuts Help a Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.
Rette Jones Racing graduated from the ARCA Menards Series and invaded the NASCAR Xfinity Series with arms wide open, guiding Gragson, a native of Las Vegas, Nev., to three straight top-10 finishes at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway, Nashville (Tenn.) Superspeedway and Michigan International Speedway respectively.
Justin Haley, driver of the No. 51 NC Fraternal Order of Police Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Rick Ware Racing (RWR), returns to Darlington (S.C.) Raceway looking to build on a solid performance in the May 12 Goodyear 400 at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. His ninth-place finish was his first of two top-10s this season, his third top-10 at Darlington, and it marked RWR’s best finish at a non-superspeedway-type track.
Kaz Grala returns to the No. 15 Meat N’ Bone Ford Mustang Dark Horse for his second Cup Series start at Darlington after earning an 18th-place finish in his Darlington debut in May.
The Cook Out Southern 500 Sunday at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway will mark Ryan Preece’s 10th career NASCAR Cup Series start at the 1.366-mile oval and his fifth in the Southern 500. The driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang Dark Horse for Stewart-Haas Racing has a best finish of 12th at Darlington, earned in the 2021 Southern 500. In his most recent Darlington start in May for the Goodyear 400, Preece finished 17th.
Preece has one Darlington start apiece in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. In his September 2016 Xfinity Series start, he qualified 22nd and finished 10th in a JD Motorsports entry. His Truck Series appearance came in May 2017 when he started 13th and finished seventh for David Gilliland Racing. (more…)
