Darlington Raceway Tag

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Two conclusions were inescapable after Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s news conference on Sunday at Darlington Raceway. First, the decision not to clear Earnhardt medically for the remainder of the 2016 season was both prudent and necessary; and second, Earnhardt is committed to racing again at NASCAR’s highest levels with the support of medical professionals who believe he will be able to do so. “I definitely don’t belong in a race car today by any stretch of the imagination,” Earnhardt said in theRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service DARLINGTON, S.C. – Elliott Sadler had a passenger for Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway—in spirit at least. After a breathtaking battle against Denny Hamlin over the closing laps, Sadler crossed the finish-line .454 seconds ahead of Hamlin to win for the first time at the Lady in Black—and immediately dedicated the victory to JR Motorsports team owner Dale Earnhardt Jr., who announced on Friday he would sit out the remainder of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup season becauseRead More

By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service The odds against Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 producing another first-time winner are relatively heavy. When all track activity was washed out on Friday, the starting field for the race was set according to owner points, and the top 10 starters in the field, from pole sitter Kevin Harvick through 10th-place Matt Kenseth, all have at least one NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory this season. Why is that significant? Because in the last 14 races at Darlington, 10 of the winners have come from theRead More

By Seth Eggert, NASCAR Writer The last time the NASCAR Xfinity Series visited Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin took home the victory in beating Kyle Busch by over two seconds. The highest finishing NASCAR Xfinity Series regular was Daniel Suarez who finished third. The last time a NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship contender won at Darlington was Chase Elliott in 2014. The only past winner in the field is Denny Hamlin. Xfinity Series Chase 23 races into the 2016 Xfinity Series Season, there have been 14 different winners, and only three ofRead More

SHOW #426 – We review Kyle Larson’s first win extensively, Dale Jr. freaked out social media, Kyle Busch wants the Chase to start, wanna be a pit crew member?, throwback paint scheme’s galore at Darlington, should Charlotte bring back ‘Beast of the southeast’ and put a giant asphalt beast out front? and more. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie DOWNLOAD HERE CREDITS: Hosts: Kerry Murphey & Toby Christie Executive Producer: Kerry Murphey Music: Russell Nash Audio Director Voice Over: Thomas Moog SUBSCRIBE FREE HERE RSS FEED RADIO STATIONS CLICKRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor With Darlington next up on the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series schedule, it’s time again for another edition of “Throwback Thursday Theater”. Our “Lady in Black” edition will recap the 2003 Carolina Dodge Dealers 400 at Darlington that many will recall as the photo finish between Ricky Craven and Kurt Busch. Darlington has always been known for its rough and tumble style of racing, with the drivers battling not only each other, but the treacherous track as well. When the series headed to Darlington in MarchRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Contributor After a weekend in Michigan, the NASCAR Sprint 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 move the race away from Labor Day weekend in 2003. After 12 years away from its LaborRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Three races remain until the 2016 NASCAR Chase for the Sprint Cup begins, and already 12 drivers have locked up a spot in the Chase Grid by way of winning a race. With Denny Hamlin, Jimmie Johnson, Brad Keselowski, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Joey Logano, Tony Stewart and Chris Buescher finding victory lane already, that leaves four spots left up for grabs over the next three weeks. Here are the drivers that are left battling forRead More

By Toby Christie, NASCAR Editor Not many people in the NASCAR universe are as charismatic or genuinely liked as Kerry Tharp. Tharp, who has served admirably as NASCAR’s Senior Director of Communications for several seasons, will move to a new job as Darlington Raceway’s track president starting Juky 1st, the track announced with a press release on Wednesday. The always engaging Tharp vows to carry on the historic tradition of one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks. “I am deeply humbled and honored to have this opportunity,” Tharp said. “I love theRead More

By David Morgan, NASCAR Writer With Darlington Raceway hosting another throwback themed Bojangles’ Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend this season, teams and drivers have been working feverishly on their throwback schemes for this year’s race. After coming to Darlington with a Neil Bonnett throwback last season, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and his Nationwide team had bigger plans for their 2016 unveil and they did not disappoint. For the 2016 Southern 500, Earnhardt will be piloting a No. 88 Chevrolet with Buddy Baker’s “Gray Ghost” livery that Baker took to victoryRead More