After a 68 minute rain delay, the Cup drivers got back to it with few cautions until the very end when the final caution came out with Chase Elliott on his way to what appeared to be Victory Lane. (more…)
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
RCR Post Race Report – Darlington 200
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FedEx Racing Express Facts – Charlotte
Race Info:
Race: Charlotte Coca-Cola 600
Date/Time: Sunday, May 24/6 p.m. ET
Distance: 400 laps/600 miles
Track Length: 1.5 miles
Track Shape: Quad-oval
2019 Winner: Martin Truex Jr.
Express Notes:
Darlington Toyota 500 Recap: Denny Hamlin won Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway in the #11 FedEx “Delivering Strength” Toyota, after a late-race call to stay out on older tires with less than 30 laps to go was followed by a wreck and rainfall, cancelling the end of the race. Hamlin and crew chief Chris Gabehart elected to come to pit road to put on new tires – the team’s last set – during a caution on Lap 183, just a handful of laps after pitting under green flag conditions. Hamlin lined up fourth for the ensuing restart, and quickly moved into third. Another caution came seven laps later, and Hamlin elected to stay out having already used all of his fresh tires. The move proved prophetic because Hamlin inherited the lead when the lead lap cars pitted and held the point after the restart. Then, following a wreck and caution on Lap 202, the skies opened up and NASCAR called the race official. Hamlin started 16th based on an inversion of the top-20 finishers from Sunday’s race at the same track, but was bogged down in traffic in the early going. He climbed to eighth at the end of Stage 1, and finished seventh in Stage 2. The race length – only 300 miles – increased the drivers’ sense of urgency to move to the front, but with a host of cautions and a car built for long-run speed, Hamlin could never show his true strength. That changed in the final segment, as Hamlin picked off cars in a march to the front. He got up to second before a green flag stop on Lap 178. The win is the second of the season for Hamlin and the 39th of his NASCAR career. He moved up two spots to fourth in the 2020 NASCAR standings following the victory, now 57 points behind leader Kevin Harvick after six of 26 regular season races.
Charlotte Coca-Cola 600 Preview: The series heads home to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday night for the annual 600-mile event on Memorial Day weekend. Hamlin owns nine top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 27 career races at Charlotte, leading a total of 377 laps. Hamlin looks to this weekend’s race to secure his first victory at the North Carolina track. As part of NASCAR’s “600 Miles of Remembrance” tribute, the #FedEx11 car’s windshield will honor U.S. Army 1SG Russell Bell. The Ohio native, who had been based at North Carolina’s Ft. Bragg, was killed in action in 2012 in Afghanistan.
FedEx “#SupportSmall” Paint Scheme: The #11 FedEx Toyota will sport a special paint scheme for the Charlotte NASCAR race. The paint scheme pays tribute to small business owners, the real backbone of America, which is represented through the stars on the car. #SupportSmall is also included on the hood to highlight the support FedEx has and will continue to show small businesses during the ongoing fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of that support, FedEx has announced a new grant for small businesses to help them get back to business from COVID-19 impacts, with $1 million available in grant money. Small businesses can head to fedex.com/supportsmallgrants to learn more. FedEx has also teamed up with BigCommerce to help get businesses online and products in customers’ hands, fast. Head to FedEx.com/bigcommerce to find out more.
Hamlin Statistics:
Track: Charlotte Motor Speedway
Races: 27
Wins: 0
Poles: 2
Top-5: 9
Top-10: 17
Laps Led: 377
Avg. Start: 10.9
Avg. Finish: 12.3
Hamlin Conversation – Charlotte Coca-Cola 600:
What is behind the look of your new paint scheme for the Charlotte race?
“We’re happy to have the new #SupportSmall paint scheme for this weekend’s race in Charlotte. The scheme pays tribute to small business owners, the real backbone of America, which is represented through the stars on the car. FedEx knows how valuable small businesses are to our country and economy, so they have been working to ensure they are supported during this difficult time.”
How do you get yourself ready for the longest race of the year, especially when you had a long hiatus out of the car?
“I’ve been driving in this race for years now, and I know what to expect. I’ve also kept in shape while we stayed at home for two months, so I feel like physically I’m ready for it. Our FedEx team will be working hard to prepare, and we’ll be ready to put on a good show for the fans watching at home on this holiday weekend. And, we’re fresh off a Wednesday night victory, so we’ve got momentum on our side.”
FedEx Office – Closest to Charlotte Motor Speedway: 7741 Gateway Lane NW, Suite 110, Concord, NC, (704) 979-1971
| 2020 FedEx Racing Team Results | |||||||||
| DATE | EVENT | LOCATION | START | FINISH | LAPS | STATUS | LED | PTS | TREND |
| Feb. 16 | Daytona 500 | Daytona | 21 | 1 | 209/209 | Running | 79 | 1st | ▬ |
| Feb. 23 | Pennzoil 400 Presented by Jiffy Lube | Las Vegas | 4 | 17 | 267/267 | Running | 0 | 9th | ▼ |
| Mar. 1 | Auto Club 400 | Fontana | 28 | 6 | 200/200 | Running | 0 | 7th | ▲ |
| Mar. 8 | Fan Shield 500 | Phoenix | 3 | 20 | 316/316 | Running | 0 | 11th | ▼ |
| May 17 | The Real Heroes 400 | Darlington | 10 | 5 | 293/293 | Running | 0 | 6th | ▲ |
| May 20 | Toyota 500 | Darlington | 16 | 1 | 208/208 | Running | 12 | 4th | ▲ |
| Averages/Totals | 13.6 | 8.3 | 100% | 91 | |||||
DiBenedetto Finishes 9th at Darlington
Despite struggling to find the speed he hoped to have at Darlington Raceway, Matt DiBenedetto came away from two races in four days with two solid finishes, including his second top-10 finish of the season, a ninth-place effort in Wednesday night’s 500-kilometer race at the Lady in Black.
DiBenedetto and his No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Mustang fired off fast in Wednesday’s race, the start of which was delayed by rain throughout the day.
He started seventh after the qualifying order was set through an inversion of the finishing order of Sunday’s Darlington race in which he finished 14th.
He had driven up to fifth place, but made an early pit stop because he and the team were worried that there might be an issue with his car.
The decision to pit cost DiBenedetto and the team track position and caused them to use up one of the eight sets of tires each team was allotted for the race.
DiBenedetto restarted 27th and passed 15 cars in just 10 laps.
“It was fun to fly through the field like that,” he said. “I was surprised how many cars I could just fly by.”
But as the track took on more rubber, the results weren’t as good.
“We were a lot better on the green track,” he said. “When the track rubbered up, we just weren’t where we needed to be.”
Still he was able to finish 10th in the second 60-lap stage, earning one stage point.
As the laps wound down, DiBenedetto and his team, led by crew chief Greg Erwin and spotter Doug Campbell, used strategy to move into the top 10 when it counted.
Sensing rains would arrive before the race reached the advertised distance, the decision was made to leave DiBenedetto on the track when the caution flag flew with 32 laps remaining.
DiBenedetto moved up to second for the restart and was hanging on to ninth place when the race was called for rain 20 laps shy of the planned 228 laps.
“We gambled at the end and got lucky, but we’ll take it,” he said of his second top-10 finish of the season, the first a runner-up run at Las Vegas Motor Speedway in the second race of the season. “All of the tracks except for Darlington we have had really good speed, so I know we will take a little luck from this one and moving forward we should be fast at a lot of places and be better at Charlotte.”
DiBenedetto and the team remain in ninth place in the Cup standings heading into this weekend’s Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
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About Motorcraft:
Motorcraft offers a complete line of replacement parts that are recommended by Ford Motor Company. From routine maintenance to underhood repairs, Motorcraft parts offer value with high quality and the right fit at competitive prices. Motorcraft parts are available nationwide at Ford and Lincoln Dealers, independent distributors and automotive parts retailers, and are backed by the Service Parts Limited Warranty of Ford Motor Company. For more information, visit www.motorcraft.com.
About Omnicraft:
Omnicraft is part of the Ford lineup of parts brands: Ford Parts, Motorcraft and Omnicraft. Omnicraft is the exclusive non-Ford/Lincoln parts brand of premium aftermarket parts. With over a century of parts heritage to build upon, Omnicraft provides excellent quality and fit and is a preferred choice of professional automotive technicians. To find out more about Omnicraft, visitwww.omnicraftautoparts.
About Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center
Quick Lane Tire & Auto Center offers extraordinary service for routine vehicle maintenance including tire repair and replacement with a Low Tire Price Guarantee and a full menu of automotive services including oil and filter, brakes, alignments, batteries, and shocks and struts on all vehicle makes and models. Service is performed by certified technicians at more than 1,000 locations worldwide while you wait, and no appointment is necessary. For more information about Quick Lane, please visit www.quicklane.com.
About Ford Motor Company
Ford Motor Company is a global company based in Dearborn, Michigan. The company designs, manufactures, markets and services a full line of Ford cars, trucks, SUVs, electrified vehicles and Lincoln luxury vehicles, provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company and is pursuing leadership positions in electrification, autonomous vehicles and mobility solutions. Ford employs approximately 200,000 people worldwide. For more information regarding Ford, its products and Ford Motor Credit Company, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.
Wood Brothers Racing
Wood Brothers Racing was formed in 1950 in Stuart, Va., by Hall of Famer Glen Wood. Wood Brothers Racing is the oldest active team and one of the winningest teams in NASCAR history. Since its founding, the team won 99 races (including at least one race in every decade for the last seven decades) and 120 poles in NASCAR’s top-tier series. Fielding only Ford products for its entire history, the Wood Brothers own the longest association of any motorsports team with a single manufacturer. Glen’s brother, Leonard, is known for inventing the modern pit stop. The team currently runs the Ford Mustang driven by Matt DiBenedetto in the famous No. 21 racer.
RCR Post Race Report – Darlington 300
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“Wednesday night NASCAR Cup Series racing – how great is that for our industry to pull together and make that work. I hope all of the fans enjoyed tuning in. I know a lot went into it. We started off the race with a tight-handling Dow Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 and that proved to be our challenge all race long. Handling issues plagued us in Stages 1, 2 and 3. I thought for sure that we were going to be able to get our Chevy freed up, but we never could. It wasn’t for lack of effort. The team never gave up and made adjustments all race long. That’s just the way it goes sometimes.The weather was much different than it was last Sunday. Cooler weather, rain and temperatures dropping didn’t play into our hands. We wanted a little more heat in the track. Even though it turned into a long race and we didn’t get the finish we were hoping for, I know we have it in us. I think we can find some speed heading into Charlotte Motor Speedway and the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. It feels good to be back racing and I want to thank everyone at Dow, Keep America Beautiful and all of the fans who tuned in.” -Austin Dillon |
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| Tyler Reddick and the No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet Team Battle Through Tough-Handling Conditions for 13th-Place Finish at Darlington Raceway |
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“Man, we had to fight hard for that finish, and I’m proud of my No. 8 Caterpillar team for sticking together tonight. We weren’t exactly where we needed to be to fire off and missed the handling a little bit for the first half of the race. I kept bouncing from being too tight to too loose, but mostly too tight. It honestly felt different every lap we ran, which made it tough to decide which way to keep adjusting. I made a slight rookie mistake at one point and got some damage after a brush with the wall, but my team helped get back after it. I have to hand it all my guys. They kept after it and worked really hard to make the changes we needed to pick our way back through the field. We were in a good spot for that final restart in the 11th position, but restarting on the bottom is tough here and we slipped back a couple spots to 13th. That’s just a product of the restarts here. The top lane is so good that it’s almost impossible to stop that momentum. We’ll take it though and move on to the Coca-Cola 600. We’re going twice the distance there, more than I’ve ever gone in a race, so minimizing mistakes will be key. I’m looking forward to the challenge.” -Tyler Reddick |
HaasTooling.com Racing: Cole Custer Darlington 500k Race Report
Date: May 20, 2020
Event: Darlington 500k
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.366-mile oval)
Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/83 laps)
Start/Finish: 22nd/31st (Running, completed 206 of 208 laps)
Point Standing: 24th with 88 points, 170 out of first
Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Cole Custer started 22nd and finished 17th.
● Custer climbed to 18th in the opening laps reporting his HaasTooling.com Mustang was a little loose.
● During the lap-25 competition caution Custer pitted his Ford for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help his tight condition. He restarted 17th on lap 31.
● The HaasTooling.com Mustang ended the stage 17th.
● A penalty for an uncontrolled tire during the stage break pit stop sent Custer to the rear of the field for the start of Stage 2.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):
● Custer started 30th and finished 34th.
● The 22-year-old pitted from 28th for fuel, four tires and adjustments to help with his tight-handling Mustang at lap 72.
● Custer moved from 23rd to fifth when he stayed on the track during the lap 83 caution.
● The California native made contact with the outside wall on lap 107, bringing out a caution.
● He pitted twice to repair damage on the right side and change four tires.
● Custer restarted 32nd on lap 112, one lap down and completed the stage 34th, one lap down.
● The HaasTooling.com driver pitted during the Stage 2 break for more repairs to his Mustang.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-208):
● Custer started 34th and finished 31st.
● Custer lost a second lap during the long green flag run to open the stage.
● With the caution out on lap 179 he pitted from 33rd for four tires, fuel and adjustments.
● The rookie driver restarted 32nd on lap 186 and was 33rd at the lap 195 caution.
● The final caution was displayed for an accident on lap 201 with Custer in the 33rd spot.
● Rain ended the race on lap 208 – 20 laps short of the schedule distance.
Notes:
● Custer made his ninth career NASCAR Cup Series start and just his second at Darlington.
● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th career victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.
● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a two-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We definitely had a lot better to start tonight at Darlington in the HaasTooling.com Mustang. We just had some bad luck and damage which made for a long night. We’ll move on to the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday. ”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Mobil 1 Racing: Kevin Harvick Darlington 500k Race Report
Date: May 20, 2020
Event: Darlington 500k
Series: NASCAR Cup Series
Location: Darlington (S.C.) Raceway (1.336-mile oval)
Format: 228 laps, broken into three stages (60 laps/65 laps/103 laps)
Start/Finish: 20th/3rd (Running, completed 208 of 208 laps)
Point Standing: (1st with 258 points, 34 points ahead of Joey Logano)
Note: Race called official 20 laps short of its scheduled 228-lap distance due to rain.
Race Winner: Denny Hamlin of Joe Gibbs Racing (Toyota)
Stage 1 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 2 Winner: Clint Bowyer of Stewart-Haas Racing (Ford)
Stage 1 Recap (Laps 1-60):
● Kevin Harvick started 20th and finished 15th.
● During the competition caution, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment and raised the track bar one round.
● The changes did not work for Harvick as the car had no rear grip.
Stage 2 Recap (Laps 61-125):
● Harvick started 14th and finished fifth, earning six bonus points.
● On lap 64, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tire, fuel a tire pressure and track bar adjustment. The crew went back on their adjustments.
● On lap 73, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment.
● Harvick got by leader Martin Truex Jr., for the lead on lap 98.
● On lap 109, Harvick pitted for four tires, fuel and a tire pressure adjustment. Said rear grip was good, but the front end needed some work.
Final Stage Recap (Laps 126-228):
● Harvick started fifth and finished third.
● On lap 128, Harvick, pitted for four tires and fuel. Was the first car off pit road.
● While running third on lap 159, Harvick radioed that his car was “plowing tight.”
● With 56 laps to go, Harvick had fallen from third to eighth.
● On lap 175, Harvick brought the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang to pit road for four tires, fuel and two rounds up on the track bar. He was ninth when he pitted.
● Harvick pitted on lap 195 for four tires, fuel and one round up on the track bar. Was the first car off pit road.
● He restarted third, but fell to fourth and was running there when third-place Kyle Busch’s car made contact with second-place Chase Elliott. The No. 9 of Elliott made contact with the SAFER Barrier on the inside wall and then rain starting falling which ended the race with Harvick back in third place.
Notes:
● This was the first NASCAR Cup Series race to be held on a Wednesday in 36 years. The last time: July 4, 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th career victory at Daytona (Fla.) International Speedway.
● Denny Hamlin won the Darlington 500k to score his 39th career NASCAR Cup Series victory, his second of the season and his third at Darlington.
● There were 11 caution periods for a total of 54 laps.
● Only 23 of the 39 drivers in the Darlington 500k finished on the lead lap.
● Harvick remains the championship leader after Darlington with a 34-point advantage over second-place Joey Logano.
● Harvick earned his fourth top-five and sixth top-10 of the season, and his 10th top-five and 14th top-10 in 25 career NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington.
● Harvick is the only NASCAR Cup Series driver to have finished in the top-10 in all six races this season.
● This is Harvick’s third straight top-three. He finished second March 8 at Phoenix Raceway and won last Sunday at Darlington in The Real Heroes 400.
● This is Harvick’s fourth straight top-five and ninth straight top-10 at Darlington.
● Harvick has never finished outside the top-10 at Darlington since joining SHR in 2014, a streak that began with a win in the 2014 Southern 500.
● Harvick finished fifth in Stage 2 to earn six bonus points.
● Harvick led once for 10 laps to increase his laps-led total at Darlington to 750.
Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:
“We had to start 20th and battled kind of an ill-balanced car tonight. The track conditions were just a lot different. We made some adjustments going into the race. Just couldn’t get the front of the car to turn. Every time we tried to adjust the back, it would just take the back out. We never could get the front of the car to turn. Had to use a lot more throttle tonight. The things I could do with the car Sunday, I couldn’t do tonight. They kept clawing and fighting. In the end we had a great pit stop on the last pit stop, were in position to have a chance to win the race there, and it rained. The whole night we wound up restarting on the bottom of the racetrack. We’d lose three or four spots every time we’d restart. Definitely didn’t get the good end of the draw on the restarts. In the end our Mobil 1 guys did a great job of just battling. Sometimes you have great nights, sometimes you have nights you have to battle. It was a good two days in Darlington for us.”
Next Up:
The next event on the NASCAR Cup Series schedule is the Coca-Cola 600 on Sunday, May 24 at Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway. The race starts at 6 p.m. EDT with live coverage provided by FOX and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Buescher Settles for 23rd-place Result at Darlington
DARLINGTON, S.C. (May 20, 2020) – A bold pit strategy nearly resulted in a 1-2 finish for the Roush Fenway team, as the No. 6 and 17 Mustangs stayed out during the second stage break with inclement weather threatening Darlington Raceway. Rain drops fell on the track with Chris Buescher in the second position and the caution flag displayed, but ultimately cleared and he took the checkered flag 23rd on Wednesday night at the South Carolina track.
Buescher rolled off the grid 32nd in his Fastenal Ford and drove his way up to as high as 25th in the first stage. The driver pitted twice during the second caution of the day to continue to fix a vibration and to loosen up the car, but Buescher ultimately took the green-white-checkered flag for the first stage 28th.
The No. 17 team restarted stage two 21st, but only three laps after the restart a competitor car got into the back of Buescher, sending him for a spin. Luckily, his Mustang had minimal damage and the driver was able to pit for a quick fix and get back on track. The team stayed steady in the mid to high twenties to finish the second stage 24th.
Pit strategy came into play at the beginning of stage three as crew chief Luke Lambert made the call not to pit. The threat of inclement weather in the area came into play as Buescher restarted for the final stage in second, with teammate Ryan Newman leading the field. Rain drops fell on the track, but ultimately cleared and the race resumed.
After the green flag waved, the No. 17 team did their best to maintain momentum, but old tires set them back. Buescher hit pit road at lap 169 for a second attempt at a stop after missing pit road the prior lap. The team elected to take tires and fuel, then went back to work, two laps down. A series of cautions in the final sixty laps of the race helped the team fight their way back up to 23rd with 20 laps to go. Inclement weather arrived at Lap 208, ending the race early. Buescher was scored 23rd.
The No. 17 team looks on to Charlotte Motor Speedway on Sunday, May 24 for 600 miles of racing under the lights. Tune into Sunday evening’s race at 6 p.m. EST on FOX and PRN.
McDowell Back in Action with CarParts.com at Darlington
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Roush Fenway Weekly Advance | Darlington II
Darlington Raceway
Toyota 500
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 | 7:30 p.m. ET
FS1, MRN, SiriusXM Channel 90
- Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Ford Mustang
- Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Ford Mustang
NASCAR Returns to Action
- Following its return to racing Sunday at Darlington Raceway, NASCAR continues its modified schedule with a second event at ‘The Lady in Black’ Wednesday night in primetime. It will mark the third of seven NASCAR national series races in an 11-day span.
- Once competition wraps at Darlington on Wednesday, the NCS will transition to Charlotte Motor Speedway for two-consecutive events, the first on May 24 with the crown jewel Coca-Cola 600. It will be followed by a shorter event on May 27.
- Four weeks of NASCAR action were completed prior to the outbreak before races at Atlanta, Homestead, Texas, Bristol, Richmond, Talladega, Dover and Martinsville were later postponed.
Sunday Recap, Wednesday Preview
- Buescher had an unlucky return to the track Sunday at Darlington after being caught up in two other cars’ incidents twice. He received heavy damage early on that set he and the No. 17 team back for the remainder, eventually crossing the line 32nd.
- The starting lineup for Wednesday’s 311.4-mile race will be determined by an invert for the top-20 cars, with cars 21-40 starting where they finished on Sunday, meaning Buescher will fire off 32nd.
- In his first race back since the Daytona 500, Newman fought his way inside the top-10 early on in Sunday’s 293-lap race at Darlington, before finishing 15th. He crossed the line ninth in stage one to earn stage points, and came back from a speeding penalty and cut tire in the closing laps to earn a top-15.
- With the top-20 invert, Newman will be sixth on the grid Wednesday night.
Darlington Two-Step
Roush Fenway has twice won consecutive NCS races at Darlington, including a season sweep in 1999 with former driver and current NBC commentator Jeff Burton. Roush Fenway also earned victories in consecutive seasons at the egg-shaped oval in 2005 and 2006 with Biffle.
Tale of the Tape
In 246 all-time NASCAR starts at ‘The Lady in Black,’ Jack Roush’s Fords have 20 wins, 69 top-five and 116 top-10 finishes, along with 20 poles. Over the years RFR has led 4500+ laps across the Cup, Xfinity and Truck series, with more than 85,000 miles logged at the 1.366-mile track. In NCS action alone, RFR has finished top-10 in 43 percent (69-of-160) of the races with 35 top-five results and five wins.
Kickin’ It Old School
Legendary Roush Fenway drivers Mark Martin, Jeff Burton and Greg Biffle are responsible for the five Cup wins for Jack Roush at Darlington. Martin earned Roush’s first Cup win back in 1993 after leading 178 laps. Burton swept the 1999 events as the dominant car, and Biffle earned the two most recent victories in 2005 and 2006.
Most All-Time
It’s no secret that when Roush has dominated in the Xfinity Series at Darlington. In 79 starts, the organization has 15 wins, 33 top-five and 44 top-10s. Mark Martin is responsible for eight of the victories, second-most for him among any track, after winning five of the first seven races at the track for Roush from 1993-96. He also went on to win in 1999, and swept again in 2000. Jeff Burton got in on the fun with wins in 1997, 2001 and 2002, while Biffle earned a win in 2004. Most recently, Kenseth drove to victory lane in 2005 and 2009.
The Real Heroes Project Debuts at Darlington
NASCAR is collaborating with other professional sports properties across the country to embark on The Real Heroes Project. The goal is to motivate and inspire healthcare workers as sports only can, by turning its greatest heroes (the athletes) into their greatest fans. To that end, the name of a COVID-19 frontline worker will be displayed above the driver’s side door on each entry Wednesday night.
NASCAR allowed teams to select the names of the frontline workers to appear on their cars, and Roush Fenway elected to have Newman select two names that were influential in his recovery since the Daytona 500. Newman chose a name special to him, Fe Roster, VP & Chief Care Continuum Officer at Halifax Health. Fe played a vital role in Newman’s life in the days following his horrific, last-lap crash in the Daytona 500, where he walked out of Halifax Medical Center three days later under the care of Roster and others. Dr. Jerry Petty, a partner with NASCAR for 40+ years, also played a vital role in Newman’s recovery all the way up until clearing him for NASCAR action, and – at Newman’s request – Petty will be on the name rail of the No. 17 machine Wednesday night.
Roush Fenway Darlington Wins
1993-2 Martin Cup
1999-1 Burton Cup
1999-2 Burton Cup
2005 Biffle Cup
2006 Biffle Cup
1993-2 Martin NXS
1994-1 Martin NXS
1994-2 Martin NXS
1995-2 Martin NXS
1996-1 Martin NXS
1997-2 Burton NXS
1999-2 Martin NXS
2000-1 Martin NXS
2000-2 Martin NXS
2001-2 Burton NXS
2002-1 Burton NXS
2002-2 Burton NXS
2004-1 Biffle NXS
2005 Kenseth NXS
2009 Kenseth NXS
By the Numbers at Darlington Raceway
Race Win T5 T10 Pole Laps Led AvSt AvFn Miles
160 5 35 69 7 51132 2718 16.7 16.1 69846.3
79 15 33 44 12 10616 1856 9.9 12.9 14501.4
7 0 1 3 1 944 9 16.0 15.9 1289.50
246 20 69 116 20 62692 4583 14.5 15.1 85637.2