Darlington | The MotorSportsNews.Net(work)

Stewart-Haas Racing: Darlington NXS Advance (Cole Custer | Riley Herbst)

by MikeAugust 30, 2024

Cole Custer and the No. 00 Haas Automation team are hoping to rebound after bad luck struck in last Friday’s race at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway. In the rearview mirror for Custer is a superspeedway where anything can happen as he looks to Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, a track he’s tamed in the past. Custer started 14th at Daytona after a qualifying session shortened by lightning. He ran in the top-10 in the first stage of the race before finishing it just outside the points-paying position. (more…)

Todd Gilliland, Long John Silver’s Ready for Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

by MikeAugust 30, 2024

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (August 28, 2024) – Todd Gilliland returns to the Darlington (S.C.) Raceway for the famed Southern 500. Long John Silver’s will partner with Gilliland for the crown-jewel event.

Gilliland heads to the 1.3-mile track facing a must-win situation in order to make the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Gilliland has a career best finish of 11th at the “Track too Tough to Tame” in the Cup Series, and a 4th place finish in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series. He finished 15th in the May Cup race at Darlington.

The weekend will kick off on Saturday, August 31 with practice and qualifying at 12:30 pm ET. The Southern 500 is scheduled for Sunday, September 1 at 6:00 pm ET. Fans can watch the action live on the USA Network. Fans can also listen in from the Motor Racing Network and SiriusXM channel 90. (more…)

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

by MikeAugust 30, 2024

SMITH AT DARLINGTON: Chandler Smith has three previous NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) starts at Darlington Raceway with a best finish of 12^th 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…)

JR Motorsports — NXS Darlington Preview

by MikeAugust 30, 2024

JR Motorsports at Darlington Raceway: JR Motorsports has competed at Darlington Raceway a combined 72 times in the NXS since its first trip there in 2006. In those starts at the 1.366-mile oval, the organization has recorded seven wins, 23 top-fives and 45 top-10s, with an average finish of 11.7.

Souvenir Rig: JRM drivers Sam Mayer, Justin Allgaier, Sammy Smith, Brandon Jones and Carson Kvapil will be signing autographs at the JR Motorsports / Legacy MC souvenir rig on Saturday, Aug 31 from 12:45 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. ET. (more…)

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

by MikeAugust 28, 2024

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…)

Ty Gibbs – No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE — Southern 500 – Darlington

by MikeAugust 28, 2024

SECOND SEASON: Ty Gibbs is competing in his second full NASCAR Cup Series season driving the No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota Camry XSE for Joe Gibbs Racing. He has 11 top-10 and seven top-five finishes and 15^th in points 39 points ahead of 17^th place Bubba Wallace. The top-16 advance to the Playoffs.

LAPS LED: He has led 351 laps this season, which is the most he has led in any Cup season.

FIRST: In May at Charlotte Motor Speedway, Gibbs scored his first career pole position in the Cup Series. He second pole position was won on July 13 at Pocono Raceway. (more…)

Christopher Bell – No. 20 Rheem Toyota Camry XSE Preview – Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway

by MikeAugust 28, 2024

BELL AT DARLINGTON: Christopher Bell had one of his strongest NASCAR Cup Series (NCS) runs at Darlington a year ago when he qualified on the pole and led 40 laps. Overall, Bell has one top five and two top-10 finishes in his previous 10 starts at Darlington Raceway.

DOUBLE DUTY: Bell will be driving the No. 20 Sport Clips Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200. This is the second NASCAR Xfinity Series (NXS) start for Bell this season. Bell ran double duty at New Hampshire Motor Speedway and swept the weekend. (more…)

RFK Advance | Darlington II

by MikeAugust 27, 2024

The 2024 regular season culminates this weekend with the running of the Southern 500. Chris Buescher sits on the cut line in the playoff picture, but 21 points to the good entering the weekend.

Brad Keselowski enters the weekend coming off his second win at the track this spring, where both RFK cars led significant laps.

In the last seven races at Darlington, Keselowski has the fourth-best average finish of any driver (11.9) with five top-10s in that stretch. Buescher also has four top-10s in that stretch, tied for second-most of any driver in the Cup Series. (more…)

Bass Pro Shops Racing: Martin Truex Jr. Southern 500 at Darlington Advance

by MikeAugust 27, 2024

Where We Stand: Martin Truex Jr. sits ninth in the driver standings with 695 points, 128 behind Tyler Reddick. All four Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) entries are currently inside the top-10 in the standings, with Christopher Bell sixth, Denny Hamlin eighth and Ty Gibbs 10th as the series heads to the final race of the NASCAR Cup Series regular season this weekend at the track “Too Tough to Tame.” (more…)

Bass Pro Shops/Winchester Racing: Noah Gragson Darlington Advance

by MikeAugust 26, 2024

The Cook Out Southern 500 will mark Noah Gragson’s third career NASCAR Cup Series start at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway, but his first in the Southern 500. Both of Gragson’s previous Cup Series starts at the 1.366-mile oval have come in May during the Goodyear 400. Gragson finished 26th in last year’s Goodyear 400 and improved on that number this year when he finished 14th.

Gragson’s lack of NASCAR Cup Series experience at Darlington does not mean he’s lacking experience at the egg-shaped oval. In fact, Gragson has seven NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at the “Track Too Tough To Tame,” and he seemed to tame Darlington by scoring an average finish of fourth. His worst finish was eighth, and in his last three Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, Gragson scored two wins and earned one second-place finish. The Las Vegas native has a 100 percent lap-completion rate at Darlington and he led a total of 253 laps, nearly 25 percent of the 1,035 laps available.

(more…)