Posted on September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by Staff Report

After the first race of the Round of 16 in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs at Darlington Raceway, here’s a brief look at the playoff picture. Just two races remains in the Round of 16 before the field is whittled to the Round of 12, with four drivers eliminated from the postseason after the race at Bristol Motor Speedway on Sept. 19.

Winner

Kevin Harvick notched his eighth victory of the 2020 season. The No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver took control of the race after Martin Truex Jr. and Chase Elliott smacked the wall while battling for the lead and were ultimately taken out of winning contention.

RELATED: Race results

Who’s hot

Martin Truex Jr. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota swept both stages to earn two playoff points. Despite his poor finish after the late-race incident, Truex Jr. showed plenty of speed and aggression.

Austin Dillon. The driver of the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet finished runner-up by .343 seconds, his first ever runner-up finish in the NASCAR Cup Series. With other drivers slipping in the final results, Dillon made quite a jump.

Who’s not

Ryan Blaney. The driver of the No. 12 Team Penske Ford wound up 24th coming to the checkered flag — the worst finish among playoff contenders. To make matters worse, his team previously been hit with a 10-point penalty following pre-race inspection for improperly secured ballast.

Matt DiBenedetto. The driver of the No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford came in 21st and made no positive movement in the playoff standings. In fact, he’s now 17 points back with just two races to catch up.

BUBBLE WATCH

Rank	Driver	Points to cutoff
9.	William Byron	9
10.	Kyle Busch	7
11.	Kurt Busch	4
12.	Aric Almirola	0
—————	CUT-OFF LINE	—————
13.	Clint Bowyer	0
14.	Cole Custer	-3
15.	Matt DiBenedetto	-17
16.	Ryan Blaney	-17

Next race

The NASCAR Cup Series travels to Richmond Raceway for the second race in the NASCAR Playoffs on Sept. 12 (7:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Who it favors

Kyle Busch. NASCAR has not had a race at Richmond this year due to restructuring brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the most recent events have been dominated by Joe Gibbs Racing. Busch has two wins in the last five races at the track, and his average finish during that stretch is 4.2 — the best in the series.

Who it hurts

Ryan Blaney. Matt DiBenedetto has a worse average finish than Blaney over the last five Richmond races, but DiBenedetto is getting his first swing in Wood Brothers Racing equipment. Blaney hasn’t logged a top-10 finish here — or led a lap — and has finished off the lead lap in three consecutive races.

Posted on September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by Holly Cain

Kevin Harvick was in the right place at the right time to take the lead, then put on an impressive show of tenacity to hold off a hard-charging Austin Dillon to earn his second career Cook Out Southern 500 win at Darlington Raceway in Sunday night’s NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener.

It may have been his series-best eighth victory of the season, but the veteran Harvick was emotional on the team radio, letting out a loud congratulatory yell as he crossed the finish line a mere .343 seconds in front of Dillon. Then, instead of taking the checkered flag after parking at the start-finish line, Harvick allowed an appreciative young fan – dressed in a brightly-colored Harvick T-shirt – to keep the flag himself.

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos

It was that kind of a feel-good night for Harvick, who marked his 57th career victory, ninth best all-time. He took the lead for good on lap 355 of 367 after Chase Elliott and Martin Truex Jr. made contact with the wall racing for the trophy in front of him.

“The first thing I want to say is ‘Welcome back, fans!’ ” Harvick said after climbing out of his No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford and motioning toward the limited number of fans allowed in the grandstands at the iconic track. “Just wound up fighting all night long, this Busch Beer Ford Mustang wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but the leaders got tangled up there and next thing you know we were racing for the win.

“Anytime you can win the Southern 500, it’s a good day. This is one of the most prestigious races in our sport and one of the most prestigious race tracks in our sport. Any time you can win at Darlington it’s a big deal.”

Joey Logano, Erik Jones and William Byron rounded out the top five. Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Aric Almirola and Clint Bowyer completed the top 10. Jones was the only non-playoff driver among the first 10 finishers.

And while Harvick was enjoying his feel-good moment of triumph, some of the race’s other contenders were shaking off a hard-knocks playoff opener.

Truex swept both stage wins, beating Jimmie Johnson in the first and Denny Hamlin in the second. The 2017 NASCAR Cup Series champ led a race-best 196 of the race’s 367 laps.

Yet not a single one of NASCAR’s three national series races at Darlington this weekend was won by the car that led the most laps. Truex and Elliott made contact with each other and the infamous Darlington walls while fighting for the lead with 15 laps remaining.

Truex had to pit for tires and despite his work on the evening, ended up 22nd in the results, his only finish outside the top five in the last nine races.

“Just not enough room there for the both of us,” Truex said of the contact with Elliott in Turns 1 and 2. “I thought I had enough of a run to clear him and I think it was close, obviously. I thought I had enough momentum and distance on him that he was going to let me in there. I didn’t expect him to be on my right rear. I was committed and once I realized he was there, nothing I could do.”

“Lot to be proud of. I hate it for the 9 team. It was nothing intentional, just two guys there going for the win. If it was my fault, I apologize, I really felt like I had the position to get in there.”

Elliott nursed his No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet home and finished a disappointing 20th.

“He had a run on me there off of [Turn] four and just kind of cleared himself into one, he was close but not all the way cleared, obviously,” said Elliott, who led 114 laps himself.

Denny Hamlin, a pre-race favorite and six-race winner this year, rallied to a 13th-place finish after going down a lap and dropping to 19th place with just under 60 laps remaining. The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota led 19 laps and ran among the top five for most of the race but had trouble getting to pit road during a green-flag run — getting caught up in traffic and hit from behind by Johnson’s No. 48.

After Sunday’s win, Harvick has an automatic bid into the postseason’s Round of 12. The top 12 after the Bristol race in two weeks will advance to the next round of the playoffs.

Even before the Playoffs’ first green flag dropped, Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney found himself in catch-up mode. His No. 12 Ford failed Sunday afternoon’s pre-race inspection for improperly mounted ballast, and his crew chief Todd Gordon was suspended for Sunday night’s race. Blaney was forced to start at the rear of the 39-car field. And most importantly, Blaney and his team owner both suffered a 10-point penalty. Travis Geisler, the organization’s competition director, filled in as interim crew chief.

MORE: No. 12 team penalized at Darlington

That points penalty immediately dropped Blaney from seventh place in the standings to 13th place – tied with Kyle Busch. Only Kurt Busch and Matt DiBenedetto were ranked lower to start the opening playoff race.

The race outcome dropped Blaney into a tie with DiBenedetto for last among the playoff drivers.

The NASCAR Cup Series’ next race is the Federated Auto Parts 400, scheduled Saturday (7:30 p.m. ET, NBC, MRN, SiriusXM) at Richmond Raceway. The event will be the second of three races in the Round of 16, the opening round to the series’ postseason slate.

NOTE: Kevin Harvick’s race winning No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford passed NASCAR’s post-race inspection. Four cars were found with at least one lug nut not safely secured — the No. 4 of Harvick (one), the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of William Byron (one), the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota of Kyle Busch (two) and the No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford of Clint Bowyer (two). Four cars will be brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center — the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of Austin Dillon, the No. 4 of Harvick, the No. 18 of Busch and the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet of Alex Bowman.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on September 6, 2020September 11, 2020 by Staff Report

Which channels have NASCAR programming this week? We answer that and give the weekly NASCAR television listings here in the NASCAR TV schedule.

Note: All times are ET.

MORE: How to find NBCSN | Get the NBC Sports App | How to find FS1 | Get FOX Sports App

Monday, September 7
5:30 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: South Carolina Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: South Carolina Education Lottery 200 (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App

Tuesday, September 8
Midnight, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Series Grand Prix at Road Atlanta (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7 p.m., NASCAR Live

Wednesday, September 9
6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App

Thursday, September 10
6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1/FOX Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Race Classics: 1997 Daytona 500, FS1/FOX Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR RaceDay: Richmond Raceway, FS1/FOX Sports App
8 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway, FS1/FOX Sports App
10:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Classic: The 1987 Winston 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App

On MRN:
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway

Friday, September 11
3 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
5 a.m., Refuse to Lose: Jeff Gordon and the 1997 Daytona 500 (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
11 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway (re-air), FS2/FOX Sports App
5:30 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour (tape delayed), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
6:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
9 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Post-Race Show: Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
9:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway

Saturday, September 12
5 a.m., NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series: ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond Raceway (re-air), FS1/FOX Sports App
12:30 p.m., Dale Jr. Download (re-air), NBCSN/NBC Sports App
1:30 p.m., Countdown to Green: Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN3)
7 p.m., Countdown to Green: Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN1/3)
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-Race Show: Richmond Raceway, NBCSN/NBC Sports App

On MRN:
1:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series: Virginia is for Racing Lovers 250 at Richmond Raceway
6:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series: Federated Auto Parts 400 at Richmond Raceway

Posted on September 6, 2020September 6, 2020 by Holly Cain

With the three drivers in front of him opting to pit just before an overtime restart, Ben Rhodes chose to stay on track in the fourth position and held off rookie Derek Kraus, winning Sunday’s South Carolina Education Lottery 200 at Darlington Raceway.

It was the third NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series win of the 23-year-old Kentucky native’s career; the first since 2018. He is the seventh different winner of 2020.

RELATED: Race results

“Gosh, that was such a tough win,” Rhodes said. “We weren’t the best truck all day. I was actually really disappointed when the (final) caution flag came out because I thought fourth place is a good finish for us, we’ll get in the playoffs.

“But I’m not letting this checkered flag go,” he said grinning at the turn of events. “It’s been a long time coming.”

Kraus, who celebrated his 19th birthday on Tuesday, finished .785-seconds behind Rhodes to record his career-best finish and bring the rookie to within 10 points of the playoff cutoff line with one race remaining to set the 10-driver playoff field.

The season championship points leader Austin Hill finished third, followed by Grant Enfinger and rookie Christian Eckes. Another rookie, Raphael Lessard, finished sixth. Todd Gilliland, Stewart Friesen, Timmy Hill and Brett Moffitt rounded out the top 10.

Sunday’s victory for Rhodes, driver of the No.99 ThorSport Racing Ford, stopped a four-race winning streak by the GMS Racing team. But it took a pit-stop gamble and a determined pass in the last laps to do so.

For much of the race, it looked like the trophy would be decided by GMS teammates Moffitt and Sheldon Creed, who combined to lead 146 of the 152 total laps. Moffitt, a former series champion, won Stage 1 and Creed earned the Stage 2 victory, his series-best fifth stage win of 2020.

Creed, who led a race-best 82 laps, was leading when a caution came out with two laps remaining in regulation. Creed, Hill and Moffitt — who were running 1-2-3 at the time of the yellow flag, all pitted for tires. Rhodes, who was fourth at the time, and Kraus, were among 11 drivers who stayed out.

Any chance of a challenge for the win ended for Creed, however, when he was issued a pit road speeding penalty — too fast entering pit road — on the stop. He finished 18th, but the three-race winner remained upbeat after the race.

“If more would have come (to pit road) it would have helped out situation,” Creed said. “Man, that one hurts. Capitalized on that (next to) last restart and got to the lead and I knew if I was to the lead I was really good for 15-20 laps. And I feel like track position was really important.

“Just so much fun today. This place is so cool. The Jimmie Johnson throwback (paint scheme), it was really fun racing my teammate for the lead and quite a few times on restarts. Such a good job by my guys.”

Kraus’s runner-up showing was important as he’s involved in a three-way challenge for the final two playoff positions. Tyler Ankrum, who finished 11th, is ninth in the standings, now 14 points ahead of Kraus.

“(Crew chief) Kevin (Bellicourt) up on top of the box made a really good call at the end and I got a good restart and did everything I needed to do, and off of (Turn) 2 got really loose,” Kraus said of being passed by Rhodes.

“You’ve got to be aggressive to make the top 10 and the playoffs,” Kraus added of his door-to-door racing with Gilliland throughout the day.

Gilliland’s seventh-place run keeps him 10 points ahead of Kraus as the series moves to Richmond Raceway for Thursday’s regular-season finale, the ToyotaCare 250 (8 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Notes: There were no major issues in post-race inspection in the NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series garage. The No. 19 truck of second-place finisher Kraus had one lug nut not safe and secure, which usually results in a fine for the crew chief.

Posted on September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR issued a pre-race penalty to the No. 12 Team Penske Ford team Sunday at Darlington Raceway after pre-race inspection uncovered improperly mounted ballast.

Ryan Blaney, who entered the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs ranked seventh in the standings, will start Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 from the rear. He was slated to start the race seventh.

In addition, the team has been docked 10 driver and owner points, and crew chief Todd Gordon has been ejected. The point penalty moves Blaney one spot below the cutoff line as the three-race Round of 16 begins.

RELATED: Full Southern 500 lineup

A Team Penske statement reads: “Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford Mustang was penalized for improperly mounted ballast during inspection this afternoon prior to the NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. A 5 pound bag of lead that is typically used during setup at the shop to simulate fluid weights prior to the race engine being installed was accidentally left in the car. The team accepts the penalty and Travis Geisler will serve as the crew chief for the No. 12 team this evening.”

A full penalty report will be issued early next week.

Posted on September 6, 2020January 21, 2022 by Press Release

DARLINGTON, S.C. (Sept. 6, 2020) – Voting for the 2020 National Motorsports Press Association (NMPA) Most Popular Driver Award presented by Hooters officially opens today, Sept. 6, at 12 noon ET.

Fans can cast a vote for a single driver once daily at www.nascar.com/mostpopulardriver or on the NASCAR Mobile app. Votes shared by fans on Facebook and/or Twitter count double.

To be eligible, drivers must have declared for NASCAR Cup Series points and must have attempted to start all Championship Events of the current season unless otherwise authorized by NASCAR to be eligible.

VOTE: Cup Series

Voting closes for the NMPA Most Popular Driver at 5 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 9, the day after the NASCAR Cup Series Championship 4 event at Phoenix Raceway, with the announcement of the winner to be announced in the weeks following the vote closure.

The award was first presented to Curtis Turner in 1949 at the completion of the inaugural season in what is now the NASCAR Cup Series. It has been administered by the NMPA and presented annually by the organization since 1983 and remains the only major NASCAR award determined solely by fan vote.

VOTE: Xfinity Series

All told, 20 different drivers have received the award since the program’s inception. NMPA Hall of Fame and NASCAR Hall of Fame member Bill Elliott won the award a record 16 times (1984-1988, 1991-2000 and 2002). Dale Earnhardt Jr., elected to the NASCAR Hall of Fame this year as part of the Class of 2021, was named NMPA Most Popular 15 times from 2003 through 2017.

Chase Elliott of Hendrick Motorsports, Bill Elliott’s son, has continued the family tradition, winning the Award in 2018 and 2019.

VOTE: Gander Truck Series

“Just an honor, really, and just a big thank you to everybody who voted,” Elliott said after accepting the honor at last December’s NASCAR Cup Series Awards in Nashville. “Obviously, it took a lot of votes to make it happen and everybody that took time to do that, I do really appreciate it.

“It’s more than a trophy or a sticker or an award, really and truly. So I just really enjoyed this past season and just seeing all the people that were at the race track that wanted to see us do good. And you can genuinely feel that, and that goes a long way. So I appreciate it, and hopefully try to make everybody proud next year, too.”

Posted on September 6, 2020 by Staff Report

The Southern 500. The NASCAR Playoffs.

Two pillars of the NASCAR schedule, coming together for the first time to kick off a 10-race stretch destined for drama, intensity and, eventually, the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series champion.

NASCAR.com has you covered for this premier event from every conceivable angle. Read our full coverage below to get ready for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and Sirius XM NASCAR) and stay tuned to this page throughout the playoffs to catch up and see what’s to come.

Southern 500 Outlook, Race Analysis

And starting up front…: Chase Elliott nabs Busch Pole Award for Darlington | 📖: Read more

Best or worst: Darlington preview: Who has the best or worst outlook? | 📊: See the ranks

Time machine: Darlington Throwback: See NASCAR drivers (and more) as kids | 👶 : See the photos

Old schemes, new goals: Preview Show: Old-school schemes meet new goals at Darlington | 🎥: Watch the video

Crown-jewel kings: Active drivers with crown-jewel victories | 💎: See the list

Backseat Drivers: Jimmie Johnson misses the playoffs and Darlington looms | 🗣: What they’re saying

Denny Yarborough?: @nascarcasm: Darlington throwback driver mash-ups | ❌: See the monstrosities

Race-Week Staples

Paint Scheme Preview: See the throwback looks for this weekend’s races | 🎨: See the schemes

Power Rankings: Does Chase Elliott line up as a Championship 4 favorite? | 📈: See the ranks

Fantasy Fastlane: Breaking down the plays to make in Fantasy Live for Sunday | 📖: Read more

Well that’s odd: NASCAR betting: Odds, lines for Darlington Southern 500 | 💰: See the list

Get caught up: Darlington TV times, key statistics, revised procedures and more | 🔢: Get the 101

Just the pits: Darlington NASCAR Cup Series pit-stall assignments for Sunday’s race | 🚗: See pit road

Finish Line: Move Clint Bowyer to a favorite? | 🤔: Hear from the experts

Playoff Picture

Get your team ready: How the 2020 Fantasy Live game works for the playoffs | ⭐️: Fantasy info

Who said what now?: What drivers are saying about the playoffs | 📖 : Read more

Respect over rivalry: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick aim to carry heavyweight bout into playoffs | 🤝: Read more

Strengths and weaknesses: Meet the 2020 NASCAR Playoffs field | 🏃‍♂️: Get the rundown

Who’s in, who’s out: 2020 NASCAR Playoffs field set | ✂️: See who made the cut

Track-by-track: 2020 NASCAR Playoffs track-by-track breakdown | 📝: See the list

Finding Smoke’s fire?: Kyle Busch primed for a Tony Stewart-style resurgence in 2020 playoffs | 🔥: Read more

Who’s going to win it all?: 2020 NASCAR Cup Series championship odds | 📝: See the list

Turn up the heat: NASCAR Cup Series drivers who turned it up in the playoffs | 🧯: See the list

The champ is here: Kevin Harvick presented Regular Season Championship trophy at Daytona | 📖: Read more

Picking the winners: Predicting every 2020 NASCAR Cup Series playoff race winner | 🏁: See our picks

Catch ’em napping?: Aric Almirola OK with sleeper label, aims to maximize playoff potential | 💤: Read more

Been here before: NASCAR Cup Series drivers with playoff appearances in elimination era | 😒: See the list

Classic Kes: Brad Keselowski on playoff motivation: ‘I don’t like to suck’ | 🤬: Watch the video

Remember when: Most memorable NASCAR Playoffs moments | 🏆: See the moments

Let the dogs out?: Cole Custer, Austin Dillon ready to keep playoffs interesting as underdogs | 🐶: Read more

Posted on September 6, 2020September 7, 2020 by PJ Walsh

The Action Network specializes in providing sports betting insights/analytics and is a content partner with NASCAR. Check out more NASCAR betting analysis here.

With the 16-driver field officially set, the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs get underway in Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET, NBC/NBC Sports App) at Darlington Raceway.

The Southern 500 is typically the only Cup Series visit to this historic track during a traditional season schedule; however, 2020 has been anything but traditional.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASCAR postponed its season earlier in the spring and restarted in May with back-to-back races at Darlington.

As a result, we’re in a unique position with data from two races to help pinpoint which drivers should perform well Sunday night.

With this in mind, here is one driver I’m targeting for a top-10 finish in the Southern 500.

NASCAR Southern 500 at Darlington Odds, Picks

Clint Bowyer (+175) for a Top-10 finish

Bowyer was plenty fast throughout both Darlington races in May, evidenced by his fourth-best driver rating. However, it’s his blazing speed in the second event, the Toyota 500, which really caught my eye.

While both Darlington races are important, I’m especially interested in the Toyota 500 as that was run at night, just like Sunday’s Southern 500, which will finish under the lights.

His 22nd-place finish in that race is deceiving, as an ill-timed caution, contact with the wall and a cut tire all contributed to that misleading result.

Despite finishing outside of the top 20, Bowyer arguably had the fastest car, which included the best driver rating, the most fast laps and the most laps led in that event.

The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Ford will start ninth on the grid as well, which only helps Bowyer’s cause for a top-10 finish.

[Bet now at BetMGM and get an INSTANT $500 deposit match.]

Posted on September 5, 2020 by Zack Albert

Ross Chastain has finished runner-up four times this season, including twice in the last three NASCAR Xfinity Series races — all without a win. Saturday’s latest result at rugged Darlington Raceway added to that total with a dramatic twist.

The Kaulig Racing driver went toe-to-toe with Cup Series visitor Denny Hamlin in a late-race slugfest for the victory, but he couldn’t avoid Hamlin’s car in a contest of crossover moves on the next-to-last lap. Brandon Jones was the beneficiary, slipping by both contenders at the end of Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 for his third win of the season.

Chastain had reason to feel either justified anger or a resigned exasperation post-race as his winless streak inched deeper into the regular season, on the heels of a disheartening race the previous week at Daytona. Instead, he left with optimism after pressing a Cup Series title contender to the limit and sealing a playoff spot by virtue of his third-place rank in the points standings.

“It’s great. I got out of the car smiling,” said Chastain, who led 43 of the 147 laps. “I really am proud of the effort of the increase in speed of the car, and (spotter) Tyler Green is feeding me the right information of where Denny was, and then just driving the car, I probably hit the wall 20 times in that last run and never compromised leading.”

Chastain and Hamlin separated themselves from the pack in the final green-flag run to the checkered flag. Chastain acknowledged that Hamlin had the faster car down the stretch, and he held off his advances by occupying Hamlin’s groove of choice.

The strategy worked until the next-to-last lap, when Hamlin made his boldest try to take command. Chastain was unable to cross up his rival through Turns 3 and 4 and the two collided as they impacted the outside wall, allowing Jones to scoot by. “I should’ve gotten that crossover … I don’t know, a couple of car-lengths sooner, and I didn’t,” Chastain said. “That’s the biggest thing I’ll take away.”

Saturday’s race still qualified as a rebound for Chastain, especially after a tension-fraught final lap last weekend at Daytona International Speedway where Chastain and teammate AJ Allmendinger crashed while vying for the lead. Justin Haley, another Kaulig teammate, skated past them to win, but the outcome posed a potential threat to the upstart organization’s team harmony.

Instead, Chastain said a team “fellowship” with owner Matt Kaulig, team president Chris Rice and the three drivers this week helped to soothe any internal fractions.

“We just didn’t want to let it get worse and mess up what we have on superspeedways, but just as people and as friends,” Chastain said. “We spent a little time together and had a good time, and so it was tough, though, because I was the one that made the mistake.”

For that part of the team-chemistry dynamic, enter Rice, who has helped to buoy Chastain’s spirits throughout.

“He was just pumped,” Chastain said of the Kaulig exec’s post-race reaction Saturday. “He was with me a lot this week and he kept telling me, ‘I’m not gonna let you get down, I’m not gonna let you get down,’ but I was down. I mean, I messed up last week — bad. Really bad. He was just there to hand me a room-temperature bottle of water and tell me it was cold and tell me it was going to be alright. Just like the bottle of water wasn’t cold, I know all’s not going to be alright.

“We want to win, but he was just there to keep picking me up. He did a really good job this week, because if I’d have handled it the way I would’ve, I’d have went and hid somewhere until I had to come here and not talked to anybody, and that’s not the way to handle it.”

Posted on September 5, 2020September 5, 2020 by Holly Cain

It was a fitting race finish for a track known as being “Too Tough To Tame.” The two front-running cars tangled with two laps remaining and Brandon Jones dove low to take the lead and the victory in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway.

An intense, exciting and suspenseful battle for the lead in the final 10 laps between Xfinity Series regular Ross Chastain and this year’s Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin gave NASCAR fans all they could ask for, but ultimately, contact between the two in Turn 3 with two laps remaining allowed then-third place Jones, 23, of Atlanta, to get around the pair and capture his third checkered flag of the season.

Chastain recovered from the contact with Hamlin to earn his fourth runner-up finish of the season — crossing the line 3.363-seconds behind Jones. Ryan Sieg, rookie Riley Herbst and Hamlin rounded out the top five. Rookie Harrison Burton, Noah Gragson, Michael Annett, Austin Hill and rookie Myatt Snider completed the top 10.

“This is a tough place to get around and man, just smart in the head I think today, I think that’s what got ’em,” said Jones, driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota. “I saw they were really racing hard and I knew I was catching them and we knew he (Hamlin) was gonna pull that big slider.

“That’s what you gotta do sometimes to get yourself in position.”

Chastain, whose finish formally secured a berth in the 12-driver Xfinity Series Playoffs, seemed both frustrated and encouraged by the late-race duel with Hamlin, who has five Xfinity Series wins at Darlington. Chastain is the highest ranked driver still without a win on the year.

“Denny was faster, I knew that, everybody watching NBC knew that. I just kept gripping the top best I could, probably hit (the wall) 25 times,” Chastain said.

“To be able to be up against a guy like Denny Hamlin, a future Cup champion and go to the end like that with him, I’m proud of this group, proud of the effort,” Chastain said. “It’s another heartbreak, but we man, we finished and we still finished second with a beat-up race car.”

Hamlin, who started last in the 37-car field, won both stages and essentially put on a Darlington driving clinic all afternoon, rebounding from a weak starting position, a slow pit stop, whatever was thrown at him.

“He was running his line, I was running my line and I thought we had a great race going there,” Hamlin said. “I saw an opportunity to clear and once I did I just carried a little too much speed up into (Turn) 3 and obviously he got in back of us and allowed the 19 (Jones) to catch up to both of us.

“It was fun, just didn’t work out.”

It was actually Chase Briscoe who looked ready to give Hamlin the best challenge for the trophy. Briscoe led a race-best 55 laps on the afternoon, but he spun out and hit the wall while leading with 30 laps remaining — running over fluid on track left by Brett Moffitt’s damaged Chevrolet.

The Stewart-Haas Racing driver still rallied to an 11th-place finish, one position ahead of the Xfinity Series championship leader Austin Cindric in 12th.

There was also plenty of significant action among those vying for the 12th and final playoff position based on point standings. At the green flag, Brandon Brown held a 32-point advantage over Jeremy Clements and even after both suffered bad luck on Saturday, Brown was able to pull out to a 45-point hold on the final playoff transfer position.

Brown’s No. 68 Chevrolet suffered collateral damage in a Lap 2 collision between Sieg and Daniel Hemric, and he had to make multiple pit stops for the team to keep the car running, if no longer competitive for a win.

The work paid off because Clements ultimately had problems as well, his car stopping on track with 37 laps remaining.

Brown rallied to a 17th-place finish while Clements was scored 32nd. The difference between them now is 45 points and rookie Snider, who earned his sixth top 10 of the season is now only six points behind Clements; 51 behind Brown.

Three races remain to set the 2020 playoff field as the series moves to Richmond Raceway for a Friday-Saturday doubleheader next weekend starting with the Go Bowling 250 Friday (7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Notes: Post-race inspection in the NASCAR Xfinity Series garage revealed no issues. NASCAR will bring the Nos. 9, 18, 19 and 98 cars back to the R&D Center this week.