NASCAR chatter: What will first laps back at Darlington Raceway be like?

The NASCAR Cup Series resumes its 2020 season Sunday at Darlington Raceway with The Real Heroes 400 (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). On Thursday, the sanctioning body held a number of virtual press conferences in anticipation of the comeback event. A common question asked: What will those first laps back on track be like after two months outside the race car -- without any practice or qualifying? Scroll to read the answers from a certain seven-time championship-winning crew chief and six Cup Series stars.

CHAD KNAUS
Crew chief, No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Darlington Cup wins: 3

“I think the potential for somebody to really hit on it and have an advantage is definitely there. Absolutely. Although, I think the best teams will still manage to work their way toward the front, either by the end of the race or by the end of this little jaunt that we’ve got going on. The best teams out there are going to learn from their experiences in the first couple of races and be able to build upon that, and the best teams have a very deep notebook.”

KEVIN HARVICK
Driver, No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
Darlington Cup wins: 1

“It will be a little bit tricky adjusting on your car at the beginning of the race just because of the lack of rubber on the race track. It’s a race track that really evolves as the rubber gets on the race track and last year it was tough to drive on top of the rubber, so you really had to find different spots on the race track to move around. As we always do, we want to have a versatile car that can run high or low and do things that you normally do, but I think the biggest goal in this instance is to just not be in right field, try to get yourself in the ballpark and be able to adjust on it so you don’t have to have a rebuild and a reboot.”

RYAN BLANEY
Driver, No. 12 Team Penske Ford
Darlington Cup wins: 0

“I feel like everyone will be pretty responsible getting going, being smart. Even though it’s not a super long race, you’ve still got time to work on your car, especially at the competition caution. They’re giving a lot of time to kind of make wholesale adjustments if you need them, so I feel like everyone will take it easy for the first little bit, but, honestly, the muscle memory of everybody is pretty good, so once you get one run in and things like that I think we’ll be back to normal.”

MATT KENSETH
Driver, No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Darlington Cup wins: 1

“Nobody has been in a car in a while. Certainly, it’s been longer for me. I think the biggest difference for me, also, is that I haven’t driven these race cars or for this team. So, there are a few more unknowns. I’m not sure how exactly everything is going to feel and all that kind of stuff. There is certainly a little bit of anxiety for those first few corners to kind of get rolling and get used to things. At the same time, everybody is going to be ready to pounce. Restarts are very important, track position is very important and you always want to get what you can get when you can get it. So, I don’t expect people to be taking it real easy."

KURT BUSCH
Driver, No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
Darlington Cup wins: 0

“It’s a group of cars, group of professionals, all barreling down into Turn 1 with months of built up anxiety and excitement. Everybody knows it. Everybody can feel it. And I hope everybody uses their best judgement because we all know there is going to be a competition caution for everybody to check their settings with the front splitter, cambers and the set-up balances. My approach is that we all need to drive down there at an 80-percent level and then ramp up our percentage of aggressiveness as the race moves forward.”

ERIK JONES
Driver, No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Darlington Cup wins: 1

“We haven’t raced in two months and we don’t have any practice or qualifying, but at the same time, all 40 of us are some of the best drivers in the world. We wouldn’t be in the Cup Series if we weren’t capable of being there. Obviously, you’re going to be a little bit rusty when you hop back in and I think in your mind you use caution. You can’t barrel off into Turn 1 wide open on the first lap after being on a dry run basically. The caution is going to be there, and guys are going to be trying to settle in and find their groove.”