Here are the hot topics, trending news and key story lines to get you ready for this weekend’s races at Darlington Raceway and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
WEATHER
Heavy rain pummeled Darlington on Friday, with Hurricane Hermine passing through. The rest of the weekend will be gorgeous — sunny, with highs in the mid-80s. In Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada site of the Camping World Truck Series event, expect plenty of sun with the high around 24 degrees Celsius — that’s about 75 degrees Fahrenheit (we used Google).
KEY TIMES
Sprint Cup Series: Practices for Friday were postponed due to the threat of severe weather, so this is a new lineup. Cars will be on track at 11 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET on Saturday for practice. The race is on NBC at 6 p.m. ET Sunday.
XFINITY Series: The XFINITY Series has an early Saturday, with practice at 9 a.m. ET and the race following at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC.
Camping World Truck Series: The Camping World Truck Series runs practice and qualifying on Saturday before following with a Sunday show. The 2:30 p.m. ET start time (TV: FS1) creates a beautiful doubleheader, with the Sprint Cup Series race at Darlington at 6 p.m.
CATCH DRIVERS LIVE
We’ll stream every driver press conference in the Darlington media center at NASCAR.com/presspass. Make note of Sunday when Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2:30 p.m. ET) and Mark Martin (3:15 p.m. ET) precede Barry Williams, who portrayed Greg Brady on the “Brady Bunch” (3:30 p.m. ET), for one of the more unusual back-back-to-back appearances we’ve had this year.
LAST TIME
Darlington? More like Carlington. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver flipped out after his second win of the year, which was aided by a blistering pit stop following the 18th and final caution of the race. In addition to the Southern 500 win, Edwards had previously won the Coca-Cola 600 — two marquee wins in his first season with JGR. The throwback weekend was a huge success as well, setting the stage for an even bigger 2016 version.
YOU SHOULD KNOW …
• Weather caused late changes to the at-track schedule, so there will be no qualifying. The field is lined up by owner points.
• This is throwback weekend. Paint schemes will be totally different to pay tribute to the sport’s rich and colorful history, crew members will likely dress up and we’ll see plenty of throwback clothes from the 1975-84 era (helllllllo, bell-bottoms). What else should you expect? Plenty of surprises.
• Don’t fall in love with all those pretty throwback schemes, though. Many will get torn up due to the nature of Darlington’s challenging 1.366-mile track. Darlington stripes, all around! That said, don’t expect as many cautions as last year. Those 18 came about, in part, because NASCAR was trying out a low-downforce package.
• The Chase bubble is tight. Twelve drivers have officially clinched their spots in the 16-driver Chase Grid, leaving four spots open. Keep an eye on Chris Buescher. He plays a massive role in determining the postseason because he has a win, but hasn’t locked up a top-30 points spot yet (a requirement). If he slips out of the top 30, he won’t make the postseason. His current position? In 30th, six points up on David Ragan.
THE FAVORITE
Kevin Harvick. It’s not like the No. 4 team has been slow or anything, but it does feel like they’ve been faster lately. Great cars at Bristol and Michigan the past two weeks, plus Harvick’s recent history here (three consecutive top-five finishes), make him the man to beat, in our view.
Others to consider: Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Jimmie Johnson.
THE SLEEPER
Kasey Kahne. Kahne likely needs a win to qualify for the Chase, which is something he’s never done at Darlington, although he does have four poles. His numbers at the South Carolina track lately aren’t all that special either, so just call this one a hunch.
Others to consider: Kyle Larson, Jamie McMurray, Regan Smith.
STAFF PICKS
Kyle Busch: 2
Denny Hamlin: 2
Kevin Harvick: 2
Chase Elliott: 1
Jimmie Johnson: 1
Martin Truex Jr.: 1