Joe Graf Jr. / No. 19 G-Coin Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

Joe Graf Jr. / No. 19 G-Coin Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

GRAF JR. 2024 NXS 3rd  Race of Season: The August 31st race at Darlington Raceway will mark Joe Graf Jr.’s 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) 3rd  race thus far in the season.  With 2 of the 4 scheduled starts for Graf Jr. behind him, Joe has returned to the Xfinity series better than ever.  With an average finish through the first two races of 14.5, he is on pace to shatter his previous season’s number of 25.3.  Joe will look to continue his success thus far at Darlington.

RETURN TO JGR: Graf Jr. competed in the full, 33 race NXS season in 2023 where he had three impressive top-10 performances at Daytona, Homestead, and Kansas, highlighted by a best finish of seventh at Daytona.

DAYTONA RECAP:  Joe Graf Jr. started off his weekend strong in Daytona qualifying in 4th position.  The No. 19 Reagan Toyota GR Supra even got to start front row due to the 21 car making an adjustment to their race car.  Joe kept it clean and managed to secure a strong finish of 12th for his team. (more…)

Sheldon Creed / No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

Sheldon Creed / No. 18 Friends of Jaclyn Foundation Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

CREED AT DARLINGTON: Sheldon Creed heads to Darlington Raceway this weekend for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. Creed has claimed Darlington as one of his favorite tracks throughout his Xfinity Series career, making this weekend a highlight on his 2024 schedule. As he heads into his seventh NXS start at the lady in black, Creed holds one top-five, three top-10s. and 47 laps led. He narrowly missed his first career win at the track in 2022 as he lost the lead on a pass in the final corner by Noah Gragson. In his last run at Darlington in the spring, Creed came home in ninth.

DAYTONA RECAP: In typical Daytona fashion, Creed had an up-and-down day under the lights of Daytona, but he showed up when it mattered. After starting seventh, Creed raced his way to a fourth-place finish in stage one and a seventh-place finish in stage two, thus securing a crucial 11 stage points on the day. After falling back in the lead pack during the third stage, Creed worked his way back up to an eighth-place finish, which secured his 14th top-10 on the year. (more…)

Chandler Smith – No. 81 QuickTie Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

Chandler Smith – No. 81 QuickTie Toyota GR Supra Preview – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway

SMITH AT DARLINGTON: Chandler Smith has three previous NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Darlington Raceway with a best finish of 12th earlier this year. He also has four NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series (NCTS) starts at the Lady in Black with one top-10 finish.

DAYTONA RECAP: Smith finished runner-up to Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) teammate Ryan Truex on Friday night at Daytona. The No. 81 team earned their first pole of 2024 Friday afternoon and ran in the top-10 for most of the night, finishing Stage 1 in second and Stage 2 in eighth. (more…)

Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

Denny Hamlin – No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

HAMLIN AT DARLINGTON: Denny Hamlin leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers with four wins, 13 top-five finishes, 17 top-10s and 979 laps led at Darlington Raceway. His 8.8-average starting position and 8.3-average finishing position are also best among active drivers. Last September, Hamlin led 177 laps and won both stages before an unscheduled pit stop dropped him to a 25th-place finish in the Southern 500. Earlier this year, Hamlin started seventh and finished fourth at the 1.366-mile oval. He has led in nine consecutive Darlington races dating back to May 2020. Hamlin’s Darlington resume also includes six NASCAR Xfinity Series wins.

FLYING 11: The No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE will feature the Flying 11 this weekend to pay homage to the late Roy Hendrick. Hendrick, who passed away earlier this month, was a weekly competitor at Hamlin’s home track, Southside Speedway. The No. 11 Sport Clips team previously honored the Hendrick family, including Roy’s father, Ray Hendrick, by carrying the Flying 11 colors to victory lane in the 2017 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. (more…)

Denny Hamlin ­– No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry TRD Preview – Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

Denny Hamlin ­– No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry TRD Preview – Busch Light Clash at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum

No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry TRD News and Notes

  • LA COLISEUM DEBUT: Denny Hamlin finished 23rd in last year’s inaugural trip to Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum after a mechanical issue ended his race early. To advance to the main event, Hamlin had to battle his way in through a last-chance-qualifying race where he started first and led all 50 laps to secure his position in the 150-lap race.
  • HAMLIN CLASH HISTORY: Hamlin is a three-time Busch Clash winner with all three victories coming at Daytona International Speedway. He won the annual exhibition race to kickstart his rookie season in 2006 and followed up by winning again in 2014 and 2016.
  • 2022 SEASON RECAP: Last season marked the fourth consecutive season where Hamlin ended up in the top five in the series standings. While the final result was solid, the road there was a trying one for the No. 11 team. After finishing every race in 2021, various misfortunes saw Hamlin out of the race at the end of four of the first nine events in 2022. A win at Richmond Raceway in early April solidified his place in the playoffs and Hamlin added another crown jewel victory to his resume when he won the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May. Once the playoffs began, Hamlin turned in an impressive stretch with a series-best 6.6 average finish over the final 10 races.
  • SPORT CLIPS: Sport Clips will be featured as the primary sponsor for Hamlin at the Busch Clash. The sports-themed haircutting franchise based in Georgetown, Texas is a longtime supporter of Joe Gibbs Racing dating back to 2009 and has more than 1,850 stores in the United States and Canada.
  • JGR CLASH STATS: Joe Gibbs Racing has earned 10 victories in the Busch Clash. Kyle Busch (2012 and 2021), Denny Hamlin (2006, 2014, 2016), Erik Jones (2020), Matt Kenseth (2015) and Tony Stewart (2001, 2002, 2007) have all won the race while driving for JGR.
  • TUNE IN: Coverage of the Busch Light Clash at The Coliseum begins Sunday, February 5, at 5 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN Radio, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. The main event is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m. ET.

 

Denny Hamlin, Driver of the No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry TRD

What are your thoughts on returning to the LA Coliseum for the second time?

“I’m looking forward to going back. NASCAR has done a great job putting this event together and I know there has been a lot of effort put in when you look at the celebrities coming out and the musical acts. It’s a fun atmosphere and an exciting way to start the season. From a racing perspective, we definitely want to have a better showing than we did last year, and I think we will. We improved so much from the start of the season to the end and everyone has worked really hard this offseason, so it’s always fun to see where we stack up.”

Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Stats at Los Angeles Memorial Stadium

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
10000017.023.0

Hamlin 2022 NASCAR Cup Series Season Stats

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
3621016362413.115.5

Hamlin NASCAR Cup Series Career Stats

StartsWinsTop 5Top 10PolesLaps LedAvg. StartAvg. Finish
614482083213613,35412.013.2

About Sport Clips Haircuts

Sport Clips Haircuts is headquartered in Georgetown, Texas. It was established in 1993 and began franchising in 1995. The sports-themed haircutting franchise, which specializes in haircuts for men and boys, offers online check in for clients, and ranks #30 in the Entrepreneur “Franchise 500” for 2023 and is listed in Franchise Direct’s 2021 “Top 100 Global Franchises”. There are almost 1,900 Sport Clips stores open in the U.S. and Canada. Sport Clips is the “Official Haircutter” of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), offers veterans preferential pricing on haircuts and franchises, and was named a 2021 Top Franchise for Veterans by Entrepreneur. Sport Clips provides “Haircuts with Heart” through its annual Help A Hero fundraiser that has contributed $13 million to the VFW; national partnership with St. Baldrick’s Foundation, the largest private funder of childhood cancer research grants; and other national and local philanthropic outreach. Sport Clips is a proud sponsor of NASCAR’s Joe Gibbs Racing team and SRX Racing, and partners with other NCAA and professional sports teams. To learn more about Sport Clips, visit sportclips.com.