LaJoie, McLeod among five drivers to start at rear at Darlington Raceway

Posted on May 20, 2020May 21, 2020 by Staff Report

Five drivers will start at the rear of the field for Wednesday night’s Toyota 500 for the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway.

The No. 20 Toyota Camry of Erik Jones will drop to the rear of the field before the start due to unapproved adjustments. Jones was scheduled to start 13th.

The No. 32 Ford Mustang of Corey LaJoie and the No. 78 Chevrolet Camaro of B.J. McLeod will start at the rear for failing pre-race inspection multiple times. McLeod will also be forced to serve a drive-through penalty on pit road following the start of the race. LaJoie was slated to start 31st, while McLeod was supposed to start 38th.

The No. 27 Ford Mustang of Gray Gaulding and the No. 77 of J.J. Yeley will also start at the rear for driver changes from Sunday night’s The Real Heroes 400. Gaudling replaces Yeley in the No. 27, while Yeley replaces Reed Sorenson in the No. 77. Gaulding would have originally started 28th, while Yeley was set to take off in 29th position.

The start of the Toyota 500 was delayed by weather. Race officials had already moved the start time for the Toyota 500 ahead 90 minutes to a 6 p.m. ET green flag. But inclement weather at the 1.366-mile track led to the delay of the 228-lap event (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by Staff Report

Leftovers from rain that moved through the area earlier delayed the start of Wednesday night’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, but conditions had improved enough that track-drying was underway.

Race officials had already moved the start time for the Toyota 500 ahead 90 minutes to a 6 p.m. ET green flag. But inclement weather at the 1.366-mile track led to the delay of the 228-lap event (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

MORE: Xfinity Series’ return postponed

NASCAR officials have 10 Air Titans to lead track-drying efforts at Darlington.

When the 500-kilometer race lines up, Ryan Preece will start from the pole position in the JTG-Daugherty No. 37 Chevrolet. He landed the top starting spot after an inversion of the top 20 finishers from Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400, the Cup Series’ most recent race and its first event back after the outbreak of the COVID-19 outbreak.

Competition officials added a partial inversion to determine Wednesday’s starting order after deciding to race without practice or qualifying in as NASCAR returns to hosting live events. That means Kevin Harvick, Sunday’s race winner, will start 20th in Wednesday’s race. Starting positions from 21st on back will be set by teams’ Sunday order of finish.

Posted on May 20, 2020 by PJ Walsh

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The NASCAR Cup Series restarted its season at Darlington Raceway on Sunday and is wasting no time with a second race at the track “Too Tough to Tame” on Wednesday night.

After a dominant victory three days ago, Kevin Harvick is a clear favorite for the Toyota 500 (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), however, due to an inversion setting the starting lineup, Harvick will have to come from the 20th starting position to score back-to-back victories.

And Harvick isn’t alone with a less-than-stellar starting spot, as Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, Kurt Busch, Alex Bowman, Kyle Busch, William Byron and Jimmie Johnson are all starting outside of the top 15.

Let’s take a look at the best bets for Wednesday’s Toyota 500 at Darlington.

NASCAR at Darlington Best Bet Picks

Kevin Harvick to Win (+425)

Harvick didn’t just win The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington on Sunday, he stomped the field. The Stewart-Haas Racing (SHR) driver led the most laps, ran the most fast laps and had the best driver rating.

In fact, since joining SHR in 2014, Harvick has two wins and six top-five finishes (!) in seven Darlington races, with a worst finish of ninth. That’s pretty good.

As I mentioned above, Harvick will have to come from the 20th position on the starting grid, but considering his past Darlington success and the fact that he’s bringing back the same car that he dominated with on Sunday, I’m not all that concerned.

And one more bonus from Sunday’s win — Harvick was able to keep the first (and best) stall on pit road, which is a huge advantage at a race track like Darlington where drivers will likely pit every time the caution flag waves due to tire wear.

[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ and IN only.]

Jimmie Johnson to Win (+1800)

Johnson looked to have the only car capable of running with Harvick on Sunday before getting tangled up with Chris Buescher and wrecking right before the end of Stage 1.

Jimmie was penalized for his poor finish Sunday with the 37th starting position for Wednesday night, but with Harvick already anchoring our card, I’m willing to gamble that Johnson will be fast enough to work his way to the front again.

And just like Sunday, there will be a competition caution Wednesday due to the lack of practice, and that scheduled yellow will be a huge help for Johnson by letting him close the gap to the cars in front him early in the race.

[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ and IN only.]

Tyler Reddick to Win (+6000)

In the least shocking NASCAR betting news possible, I’m once again on Reddick. Despite a poor starting position and a pit road speeding penalty, the impressive rookie was able to drive through the field two separate times to score a seventh-place finish on Sunday.

That finish wasn’t a fluke either, evidenced by the eighth-best driver rating and Reddick’s 73 green-flag passes — the most in the field.

Reddick easily had a top-10 car on Sunday, but has just the 17th-best odds for the Toyota 500. Hello, value.

[Bet now at PointsBet. NJ and IN only.]

Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by Terrin Waack

For the first time in his NASCAR Cup Series career, Ryan Preece will start a race from the pole position.

The driver of the No. 37 JTG Daugherty Racing Chevrolet is set to lead the field to green in Wednesday’s Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Preece earned the front spot by finishing 20th in last Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400, which also took place on South Carolina’s 1.366-mile track.

“Who would have thought 20th place would get a pole?” Preece told NASCAR.com. “You love that.”

DARLINGTON: Sunday’s results | Wednesday’s lineup | Betting odds

It’s because Wednesday’s lineup was set by Sunday’s final results. There will be no qualifying, as the sanctioning body makes an effort to keep events to one day only amid the COVID-19 outbreak. The top 20 finishers were inverted, with the bottom 19 starting from where they finished. Any new entries will be placed at the back of the pack.

Preece was well aware of this caveat toward the end of the 293-lap race.

“I knew we were in 21st in the last 10 laps,” he said. “We had a really good car to begin with, so it created the opportunity to get back by Bubba (Wallace). But that’s why I was really pushing the issue to get by him because that was the difference of 20 spots, right? It’s going to make you push that much harder.”

Wallace ultimately came in 21st and will therefore fire off 21st.

Through five races this season, Preece is averaging a 23.2 starting spot. He qualified 20th in the last three races before the sport’s on-track pause due to the coronavirus. His best start in 46 NASCAR Cup Series races overall was 14th at Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Roval last year.

Preece’s only national series pole — in a 2017 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Iowa Speedway — did turn into a trip to Victory Lane.

“Track position — it’s funny — is so hard to get,” Preece said. “So if you have a good race car and you already have that track position, then it’s just about everybody executing the way they need to. Staying up front and keeping that clean air right in the front half, front third of the pack, it’s a big deal. That can pretty much set the tone for your race.”

Much like Kevin Harvick’s race-winning team, Preece and the No. 37 crew may bring the same car back to Darlington. Preece said he thought it ran really well and could be an even stronger contender with a few tweaks.

Preece started 25th. At the end of Stage 1, he was up to just 24th. But by Stage 2’s conclusion, he was seventh and gained four stage points. Things were fine until the No. 37 camp lost track position on the final round of pit stops.

“We know we have a fast race car,” Preece said. “It’s a bittersweet type of thing because I really felt like we had a much better car than 20th last week. Just circumstances out of your control really is what it is. But at the same time, it gives us an opportunity to rebound on that and have a solid day. Start us off on the right foot when it comes to it on Wednesday.”

Posted on May 20, 2020 by Official NASCAR Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (May 20, 2020) – NASCAR^® and IMG ARENA, a leading sports betting service and content hub, announced today that IMG ARENA has licensed official assets to create a virtual sports betting game that replicates some of NASCAR’s most iconic tracks, including Daytona International Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Watkins Glen International. The virtual product, created by Leap Gaming*, will be offered to sports betting operators around the world. This deal expands IMG ARENA’s growing portfolio of virtual sports betting products, which now includes tennis, football, cycling, horse racing, speedway racing and greyhound racing.

Additionally, NASCAR and IMG ARENA have formed a long-term partnership that will provide international sports betting operators the ability to live-stream NASCAR Cup Series races for the first time. Cars returned to the track on May 17th at Darlington Raceway, and the remaining 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season will be available to betting operators outside of the U.S. and Canada.

“IMG ARENA is the leading partner for global sports and entertainment media. We are excited to work together to provide a global audience the ability to engage with our sport virtually and in real-time,” said Scott Warfield, Managing Director of Gaming, NASCAR. “The international sports gaming landscape is mature and vibrant, and this partnership allows us to offer compelling products that further enhance our international footprint.”

“Adding NASCAR to our client roster is a proud achievement. The brand is renowned in sport and entertainment with the high-octane race series providing must-watch, appointment-viewing content for more than 70 years,” said Freddie Longe, Executive Vice President and Managing Director at IMG ARENA. “The partnership significantly bolsters our streaming and official virtual sports offering with a product that we expect to be popular in a number of different markets.”

This partnership comes on the heels of an announcement made earlier this year introducing Penn National Gaming as NASCAR’s first authorized gaming operator in the United States. The partnership centered around a free-to-play, mobile game named NASCAR Finish Line, which offers users the chance to win a $25,000 jackpot every race.

Headquartered in London, IMG ARENA works with more than 460 leading sportsbook operators worldwide, providing always-on services including 24/7 live streaming and on-demand virtual sports products designed to evolve and inspire engagement by placing fans at the heart of the action. Its ground-breaking data collection system ensures that the fastest and most accurate sources of data are delivered live from the action to the end user in less than a second.

In the past year, NASCAR announced a series of agreements to prepare the industry and its fans for the rapidly growing sports betting landscape in the U.S., including its first authorized gaming operator, an exclusive data partnership, an integrity partner to safeguard and protect the sport, and unique content deals. Furthermore, the sanctioning body granted all teams and tracks the ability to sell marketing sponsorships to sports betting companies and licensed sportsbooks.

Catch the NASCAR Cup Series tonight, Wednesday, May 20, in the Toyota 500 from Darlington Raceway at 6 p.m. ET live on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.

*IMG ARENA has been an investor in Leap Gaming since 2018. The two companies have a shared vision of developing official virtual content for federations such as NASCAR.

Posted on May 20, 2020May 20, 2020 by RJ Kraft

NASCAR Finish Line, a free-to-play gaming app from Penn National Gaming, is back with the resumption of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. Each week, there will be six groups of five drivers for the upcoming race. Users will predict which driver will finish first among each of the six groups and then the overall race winner and second-place finisher for a chance to win $25,000 if all eight scenarios are correctly selected.

RELATED: Download NASCAR Finish Line

The second of six groups for Sunday’s (May 17) 293-lap race at Darlington Raceway (3:30 p.m. ET on FOX/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) consists of Chase Elliott, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Erik Jones and Denny Hamlin. All but Elliott and Busch have a victory at the 1.366-mile South Carolina track.

The group remains the same for Wednesday’s (May 20) 228-lap race at Darlington (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1/FOX Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) except Brad Keselowski takes Elliott’s spot meaning that Busch is the lone driver in Group 2 for the weeknight race without a win at Darlington.

For a stats look, NASCAR.com has compiled the results of the last three races at Darlington, the career average finish for each driver at Darlington and the 2020 results on intermediate tracks (the drivers’ average finish at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Auto Club Speedway) to see who is the best play to make in Group 2. We have included all Group 2 drivers (for both races) to help you prepare for both events.

A point system has been assigned to each year, starting with one point for the best finisher and counting up to six points for the worst finisher. Those numbers were then added up. The lowest total signifies the strongest driver (green), and the highest total represents the weakest driver (red) — in recent years.

Driver	Last 2 Darlington races‘1	Career Darlington avg. finish	2020 Las Vegas	2020 Auto Club	Total
Kurt Busch	Avg. finish: 6.5 (3)	Avg. finish: 16.5 (5)	Finished 25th (5)	Finished 3rd (1)	14
Chase Elliott*	Avg. finish: 12.0 (4)	Avg. finish: 17.2 (6)	Finished 26th (6)	Finished 4th (2)	18
Denny Hamlin	Avg. finish: 19.5 (6)	Avg. finish: 7.8 (2)	Finished 17th (2)	Finished 6th (4)	14
Erik Jones	Avg. finish: 4.5 (2)	Avg. finish: 4.7 (1)	Finished 23rd (4)	Finished 10th (5)	12
Martin Truex Jr.	Avg. finish: 13.0 (5)	Avg. finish: 11.6 (4)	Finished 20th (3)	Finished 14th (6)	18
Brad Keselowski*	Avg. finish: 3.0 (1)	Avg. finish: 10.7 (3)	Finished 7th (1)	Finished 5th (3)	8

*Means Elliott is in Group 2 for Sunday’s race only; Keselowski is in Group 2 for Wednesday’s race only.

Elliott has the best spot in the standings among the group, but interestingly enough, he ranks toward the bottom when factoring in all the above categories. Jones has the advantage for Group 2 in Sunday’s race based on the strength of his Darlington stats. His 2020 results have been up and down, but with Elliott and Truex in this group, Jones may be an overlooked choice that others won’t make. If you value Darlington stats more, Jones is the pick to make. If you value the 2020 season stats so far a bit more, Elliott would make for the better option.

For Wednesday’s race, Keselowski is the overwhelming pick for Group 2 with the best mix of Darlington stats and intermediate results so far in the 2020 season.

Posted on May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by Staff Report

Rainy weather led to the postponement of Tuesday night’s race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway.

The Toyota 200 was scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start, a time moved up Monday by two hours because of the threat of inclement weather. Persistent rain forced the 147-lap event to move to Thursday at noon ET (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM).

The race is the Xfinity Series’ first event since March 7. All of the circuit’s races since mid-March were placed on hold by the outbreak of COVID-19. The Darlington event and subsequent races in May and June are scheduled to be held without fans in attendance and without practice or qualifying.

NASCAR officials had 10 Air Titans to lead the track-drying delegation at the 1.366-mile oval, but persistent storms made it impossible to race.

When the race does get going, Noah Gragson — winner of the Xfinity season opener at Daytona in February — will start from the No. 1 spot after a structured draw for starting positions. He’ll line up alongside JR Motorsports teammate Michael Annett on the front row. Points leader Harrison Burton starts 12th.

Posted on May 19, 2020 by Staff Report

Rain has delayed the start of Tuesday night’s race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Darlington Raceway.

The Toyota 200 was scheduled for a 6 p.m. ET start, a time moved up Monday by two hours because of the threat of inclement weather. The green flag for the 147-lap event was scheduled for 6:16 p.m. ET.

The race is the Xfinity Series’ first event since March 7. All of the circuit’s races since mid-March had been placed on hold by the outbreak of COVID-19. The Darlington event and subsequent races into June are scheduled to be held without fans in attendance and without practice or qualifying.

NASCAR officials have 10 Air Titans to lead the track-drying delegation at the 1.366-mile oval.

Posted on May 19, 2020May 20, 2020 by Staff Report

NASCAR officials have moved up the start time for Wednesday’s NASCAR Cup Series Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway to 6 p.m. ET. The change was made due to forecasted inclement weather.

Originally slated for 7:30 p.m. ET, the Toyota 500 (FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) is the second race back for the Cup Series after Sunday’s return to action following a two-month pause in action due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Kevin Harvick won on Sunday for his 50th victory in the Cup Series.

Tuesday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway was also moved up because of the potential for inclement weather before the race was eventually postponed until Thursday at Noon ET.

The lineup for Wednesday’s race will see Ryan Preece and Ty Dillon on the front row after the top-20 finishers from Sunday’s race were inverted to set the starting lineup. Drivers lining up in positions 21 through 39 are there as that is where they finished in Sunday’s race.

Wednesday’s race will mirror Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series event, in that it will be held without practice with event procedures significantly modified in accordance with CDC, OSHA and state and local government recommendations. Other adjustments include mandating the use of protective equipment, health screenings for all individuals before entering the facility and maintaining social distancing protocols throughout the event.

Singer-songwriter Jewel is set to perform the national anthem, while celebrity chef Guy Fieri will be the grand marshal.

The second of two Darlington races in a four-day span marks the sixth race of the 2020 NASCAR Cup Series season. It is also the first race held on a Wednesday since 1984 when Richard Petty scored his 200th and final Cup win on July 4 at Daytona, per Racing Insights.

Posted on May 19, 2020May 19, 2020 by Terrin Waack

NASCAR made its official return Sunday at Darlington Raceway after more than two months off due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Now, the Cup Series will have its second event in less than a week’s span Wednesday at that same 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval in South Carolina considered “Too Tough to Tame.”

That’s a quick turnaround even for the sport’s best drivers, considering they normally race once during the weekend with time to practice and qualify beforehand. Not with the recently revised 2020 schedule. Most of it consists of one-day shows twice a week.

“We always make fun of ourselves in a Monday meeting afterwards, where, ‘Oh, man, if you’re going back there tomorrow, what would you do?'” Kurt Busch said after Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 in which he finished third. “This is that moment. So I’m happy we’re going to jump in on some digital meetings and jump back here on Wednesday.”

DARLINGTON: Sunday’s results | Wednesday’s lineup | Betting odds

While Sunday’s race began in the daytime, Wednesday’s Toyota 500 is set for green at 6 p.m. ET (FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Wednesday’s lineup has already been set, and it is based off Sunday’s final results. The top 20 were inverted, with the bottom 19 starting from where they finished. That means Kevin Harvick, who won the first go-around, will start 20th rather than dead last and Ryan Preece will fire off from the pole position since he came in 20th.

“I mean, I’ll be honest, I think Wednesday night is going to be a little tough on us starting back there,” said Rodney Childers, crew chief of the race-winning No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford. “Our best-case scenario is to have a lot of cautions and the pit crew knock it out of the part like they did (Sunday). If you can knock out 12.5 stops every time you come down, you’re going to end up at the front towards the end of the race.”

Going to need to do so quickly, too. Wednesday will be 65 laps shorter than Sunday – 228 as opposed to 293, which in mileage means 310.6 instead of 400.2.

Harvick’s team has decided to save the same car. Other organizations haven’t released that tidbit of information, but they also don’t have the race-winning entry in their garage.

“I don’t know if you could bring the same car or not,” said Alex Bowman, whose No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet placed second. “I did get the wall a little bit, so they’d have to probably put at least a new right-rear quarter panel on it. That gets pretty tricky on trying to turn stuff around. I don’t think we’ll bring the same car. Fairly certain we’ll bring a different car.”

Decisions, decisions. But that’s a normal competition aspect.

When it comes to the new COVID-19 precautions, drivers wouldn’t change a thing. They thought the at-track procedures implemented went smoothly — most importantly, safely. So did the sanctioning body.

“Again, it’s a privilege to be out there racing in a situation like this,” Busch said. “So, thank you, NASCAR, for getting everything together. We’ll be back on Wednesday.”