Darlington Raceway Tag

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – It was a worst to first story for Denny Hamlin, until he was disqualified from his victory in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Following the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway, the No. 18 Sports Clips Toyota Supra was found to be too low in the left front and too high in the right rear. As a result, Cole Custer assumes the victory, becoming the first driver in Xfinity Series history to win a race without leading aRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – It looked like more of the same at Darlington Raceway for driver Denny Hamlin—until post-race inspection happened. A five-time NASCAR Xfinity Series winner at the 1.366-mile track, Hamlin was first across the finish line in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, but the disqualification of Hamlin’s No. 18 Toyota for a ride-height violation made a winner of Cole Custer, who trailed Hamlin by .602 seconds at the finish line. “It’s a really strange feeling, honestly—obviously,” Custer said after being notified heRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – In his sophomore season in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series—and his first with veteran crew chief Chad Knaus—William Byron continues to make history. On Saturday at Darlington Raceway, Byron covered the 1.366-mile distance at the egg-shaped track in 28.510 seconds (172.487 mph), winning the pole position for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Not only did Byron claim his first Busch Pole Award at Darlington and his fourth of the season, butRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – With two marquee wins, Denny Hamlin’s legacy has been firmly cemented in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. With two wins in the Daytona 500 and the Bojangles Southern 500, the Joe Gibbs Racing driver has equaled a select few, Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Cale Yarborough in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. Hamlin has the opportunity this weekend to inch closer to Gordon’s three Daytona 500 and six Southern 500-win mark. Last year, he finished thirdRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – In recent days, Hendrick Motorsports driver Alex Bowman has embraced Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway. Bowman, whose No. 88 Axalta Chevrolet Camaro SS will honor Hendrick alum Tim Richmond, recreated a famous photo of his favorite driver. With Richmond’s car in the background and a hat in place of the late driver’s helmet, Bowman wore a retro Axalta shirt and fact mustache to emulate the 13-time winner. Bowman joked that portraying Richmond has broken him out of his shell. “I begged forRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – Months out of the racecar have left Dale Earnhardt, Jr. with mixed feelings before his only NASCAR Xfinity Series start of 2019. Aside from his start at Richmond Raceway last season, Earnhardt’s last start was at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017. At Richmond last year, he led 96 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish. Earnhardt did run about 15 laps in a test session at Darlington Raceway earlier this year. In the first practice for the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200,Read More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor After a weekend off to recharge the batteries before making the final 12 race push to finish off the season, the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series heads to one of the crown jewels on the circuit, Darlington Raceway, for this weekend’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500. Darlington Raceway has been a staple of the Cup Series since opening in 1950 for its annual Labor Day weekend event with the Southern 500 being held on that date until a controversial decision was made to moveRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent DARLINGTON, S.C. – NASCAR Xfinity Series ‘Big Three’ member Tyler Reddick has learned from last year’s Sports Clips Haircuts VFW 200 in time for a milestone start. Reddick will honor Kyle Petty during NASCAR’s Throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway and his 75th Xfinity Series start. The Richard Childress Racing driver’s No. 2 myblu Chevrolet Camaro SS throws back to Petty’s No. 7 7-Eleven from the mid-1980s. The unforgiving nature of ‘The Track Too Tough to Tame’ revealed itself to Reddick last season. The then JR MotorsportsRead More

By David Morgan, Associate Editor When looking back at all the memorable moments Darlington Raceway has produced, all of them aren’t confined to just the Southern 500. Back when the track held two events each year, the spring race produced just as many memorable moments of its own. The CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 in April 1979 was one of those events. Richard Petty, driving his famous No. 43 STP car, and Darrell Waltrip, who then drove the No. 88 Gatorade machine for DiGard Racing, staged a battle for the agesRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Correspondent After a few weeks off, Jeffrey Earnhardt and iK9 have announced their remaining schedule for the 2019 season. Earnhardt has six NASCAR Xfinity Series races beginning with the B&L Transport 170 at the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in the No. 18 Toyota Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing. He will also compete at Road America, ISM Raceway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway for JGR. Kyle Busch will have iK9 as the primary sponsor at Watkins Glen International in August. This will be iK9’s return to JGR after brieflyRead More