Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Brad Keselowski took the lead in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 at Darlington Raceway when the two cars in front of him tangled off Turn 2.

That was all the driver of the No. 2 Team Penske Ford needed to collect his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory at the Track Too Tough to Tame.

From a restart on Lap 91, Keselowski chased pole winner and race leader Ross Chastain, who won the first and second stages in his maiden run in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. On Lap 104, Keselowski pulled ahead in Turn 3 but brushed the outside wall as Chastain regained the top spot with a crossover move to the inside.

Keselowski’s bobble allowed Harvick to pass for second, but on Lap 111, Harvick and Chastain collided off Turn 2 and handed the top spot to Keselowski, who held it the rest of the way.

RELATED: Full race results from Darlington | Series standings

With his third victory in five starts this season and the 39th of his career, Keselowski knocked a significant item off his bucket list. Darlington and Sonoma had been the only two active NASCAR tracks where Keselowski had raced without a national touring series win.

“I really wanted to run this race for that reason,” said Keselowski, who beat runner-up Cole Custer to the finish line by .738 seconds. “I just haven’t been that great here at the (Monster Energy NASCAR) Cup level, and I’m trying to get better.

“This is such a huge confidence boost.”

Had Chastain and Harvick not wrecked together, the ending might have been quite different.

“I could keep up with Ross, but I couldn’t pass him — he was so fast,” Keselowski said. “Tried to make the move and brushed the wall, and he got back by me, and then they had the wreck off of (Turn) 2, and I was able to take advantage of the opportunity.”

The story for much of the race was Chastain, who started on the pole and led a race-high 90 laps behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Chastain led all 45 laps of Stage 1 and the final 20 laps of Stage 2 to score his first playoff points of the 2018 season as he looks to march into the 12-driver postseason field.

Up until Lap 111, Chastain had a dream race going. Harvick made a move to Chastain’s inside through Turns 1 and 2. Unwilling to give up the top spot, Chastain stayed in the gas within inches of the right side of Harvick’s No. 98 Ford. Harvick’s car drifted up into Chastain’s No. 42 Chevrolet, which bounced off the outside wall at the exit from Turn 2. Chastain then clipped the rear of Harvick’s Ford and sent it spinning. Harvick expressed his displeasure by parking in Chastain’s pit stall before exiting the race.

RELATED: Harvick says Chastain “inexperienced”

“I tried to stay as low as I could, and he just rode on my door,” Harvick explained later. “That’s just a really inexperienced racer and a really bad move there and got the air and got on beside me and just kept going up the race track. I couldn’t do anything with the wheel.”

Chastain hadn’t seen a replay of the incident when he gave his assessment after finishing the race in 25th, two laps down.

“I got to race with these guys, and I feel like I was holding my own with ‘em,” Chastain said. “I was really happy to be out there racing with ‘em. … I was just trying to race. I’ll have to see the film, and if I made a mistake, it’s on me. I was the leader there, and I was just trying to race.”

WATCH: Chastain and Harvick make contact

Chastain had earned the pole position earlier in the day — his first in the series coming in his first of three starts behind the wheel of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Prior to this start, Chastain had made all his starts in the No. 4 JD Motorsports Chevrolet.

Tyler Reddick, Denny Hamlin and Elliott Sadler completed the top five. Justin Allgaier kept the points lead with a seventh-place finish in the race. He holds the lead over Elliott Sadler (-16), Custer (-17) and Christopher Bell (-36). Contact between championship contenders Daniel Hemric and Bell led to some left-front damage for Bell early in Stage 2. Hemric took on some right side damage from the contact as well. Bell would go down a lap that he would never get back and his day would only get worse as he blew a left-front tire on his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota that brought out a caution on Lap 65. Bell finished 34th, while Hemric finished 11th.

RELATED: Bell exits race early

Brandon Jones was one of three drivers to lock into the playoff field; Matt Tifft and Ryan Truex were the other two. They join Allgaier, Sadler, Custer, Bell, Hemric and Reddick as drivers that have already clinched spots in the 12-driver playoff field.

The Xfinity Series will be back in action next Saturday, Sept. 8 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway with the Lilly Diabetes 250 (3 p.m. ET on NBCSN, IMS Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) — the penultimate race of the regular season.

Contributing: Staff reports

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. – Denny Hamlin started his Bojangles’ Southern 500 title defense in the best possible way, grabbing the pole position in the final round of Saturday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series knockout qualifying at Darlington Raceway.

Hustling his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota around the 1.366-mile track in 28.332 seconds (173.571 mph) in the money round, Hamlin edged Kyle Larson (173.411 mph) by .026 seconds to claim the top starting spot for Sunday’s race (6 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

MORE: See every car in Sunday’s field | Full Darlington lineup

“The No. 1 pit stall (a perk for the pole winner) obviously is very important here, and I’m excited about that,” Hamlin said. “Really, the team has done a very good job with the car all weekend. So I’m optimistic, and I’m hopeful we have a good smooth race on Sunday and continue to build some momentum here over the next few weeks.”

The Busch Pole Award was Hamlin’s third in the last four races and the 29th of his career.

Larson ran the fastest laps of the afternoon in the first round, covering the distance in 27.908 seconds (176.208 mph). The driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet was second fastest behind eventual fourth-place qualifier Alex Bowman in the second round before falling just short on his final lap.

RELATED: Throwbacks from every angle

“I just got a little too loose there in the center of (Turns) 1 and 2 and at the exit of 3 and 4, which I felt cost me a little bit of time,” Larson said. “I didn’t need much to get the pole. I felt like we had a better car than Denny throughout qualifying there.

“I just got a little too loose and messed up a little bit in 1 and 2.”

Martin Truex Jr., a four-time winner this year in the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota, qualified third at 173.204 mph, just ahead of Bowman, whose final-round speed was 173.155 mph. Series leader Kyle Busch claimed the fifth starting spot, followed by Ryan Newman, Erik Jones, Joey Logano, Kurt Busch, William Byron, Chase Elliott and Aric Almirola.

Showing encouraging speed during the first round Chevrolets took the top five positions in the first round with the Hendrick Motosrports quartet of Byron, Bowman, Elliott and seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson occupying positions two through five. Johnson, who will start 20th on Sunday, was the only Hendrick driver who did not advance past the second round.

“I was a little surprised,” Bowman said of his fourth-place run. “We mocked up (made a mock qualifying run) in first practice there (on Friday), and we weren’t very good. So (crew chief) Greg (Ives) and the guys did a good job getting it a lot better today.

“I thought I left a little bit on the table there in the third round, a little disappointed in myself, but better than overdriving it and smacking the fence or whatever. Not a terrible qualifying effort, obviously, being fourth. It’s way better than I’ve ever started here before.”

Newman, who hasn’t added to his 51 career poles since 2013, will start sixth for the third time this season and the second time in three races.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

DARLINGTON, S.C. — During a Friday question-and-answer session with reporters at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin highlighted the grueling nature of the Bojangles’ Southern 500.

RELATED: Darlington schedule | 10-lap averages

“I’ve fainted in the shower I think twice after this race, just because you just get so dehydrated,” Hamlin said. “I’ve run the Xfinity race on Saturday for the last handful of years, so it really drains you after the Southern 500.

“You’ve got to prepare for that. I’ll tell you, it’s definitely one of the most physical race tracks that I can think of. Way more than the Coke 600 or any other race track. I consider this the endurance test of all, and so you got to have it all put together.”

Two days before the Bojangles’ Southern 500, Hamlin already looked the worse for wear –as if he’d just gone 10 rounds with Manny Pacquiao. Hamlin’s left check was swollen, and there was a mouse under his left eye.

The injury, however, wasn’t the result of fisticuffs. Hamlin’s penchant for pick-up basketball was the culprit.

“My depth perception to someone’s elbow wasn’t very good in basketball,” said Hamlin, the defending winner of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. “I caught an elbow.”

Posted on by Staff Report

The No. 19 car in the NASCAR Xfinity Series was penalized Saturday for failing pre-qualifying inspection four times. As a result, the team will receive the following penalties:

  • Car chief has been ejected.
  • Car cannot qualify for the Xfinity race this afternoon.
  • Loss of 10 owner and driver points.
  • Driver to serve a pass-through penalty after the green flag in Saturday’s Xfinity race.
  • Loss of pit selection next week at Indianapolis.
  • A 30-minute practice hold will be served in Indianapolis.

The No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota is driven by Brandon Jones, who will remain in sixth place in the driver points standings after the penalty. The Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. ET start (NBC, MRN, SiriusXM).

Additionally, the No. 23 car failed pre-qualifying inspection three times and the car chief was ejected. Chase Elliott is driving the No. 23 GMS Racing Chevrolet in Saturday’s race.

Posted on by Reid Spencer

Despite persistent questioning, Matt Kenseth refused to budge.

The driver who returned to Roush Fenway Racing in a part-time role this season isn’t ready to talk about next year. In fact, Kenseth says his sole focus is on finishing out the current season in the No. 6 Ford he shares with Trevor Bayne.

“I’m just kind of honestly trying to concentrate on the rest of this season and trying to get this done,” Kenseth said on Friday at Darlington Raceway. “Those are probably things to talk about at a later date, but the season has been up-and-down.

“I wish our results were better than what they were, but yet, on the other hand, I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress. It doesn’t really show necessarily on the stat sheets or the box score all the time, but I feel like we’ve made a lot of progress, and (we’re) really just trying to keep that going and keep moving forward and keep trying to get more competitive by the end of the season.”

In eight starts after returning to the team in May, Kenseth has an average starting position of 22.8 and an average finish of 22.5, with a season-best of 13th coming at Pocono in June. In opening practice at Darlington, Kenseth was 22nd fastest.

Asked specifically whether he would consider driving the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, should Kurt Busch not return to the ride next year (as has been rumored), Kenseth side-stepped the question adroitly.

“I’m certainly not talking about next year, and I haven’t really put as much thought into it as you all have, honestly,” he said. “I think I still have seven races left this season. Trevor has a few races. I have not made the impact at Roush Fenway Racing, at least in the finishes and the performance, necessarily as I had hoped, or as big of a one as I hoped.

“But that’s really all I’m thinking about right now is getting the performance better and trying to do a better job for those guys and get cars faster and get better finishes and get the team operating better and get me operating better – all that kind of stuff. I’m not really looking forward right now.”

Posted on by Staff Report

NASCAR announced before the season that it will standardize at-track team rosters across all three national series in 2018, providing a structure for the number of personnel working on each vehicle during the course of a race weekend.

Official team rosters for Sunday’s Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) have been released. Click the print icon above, or the link below.

ROSTERS: Darlington

RELATED: Overview of 2018 rules updates

Posted on by Staff Report

Ryan Newman topped the leaderboard in Saturday’s second Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice at Darlington Raceway at 171.698 mph in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet.

Right behind him was Chase Elliott in the No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet at 171.512 mph.

RELATED: Practice 2 results | 10-lap averages

Rounding out the top five were Jimmie Johnson in the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Kyle Busch in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota and Kurt Busch in the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford Fusion.

Defending winner Denny Hamlin, who topped the leaderboard in first practice, was 15th in second practice at 168.573 mph.

Aric Almirola tagged the wall in this session, taking significant damage to his No. 10 Ford Fusion. He placed 11th on the leaderboard at 169.187 mph.

The next on-track activity is Busch Pole Qualifying on Saturday at 2 p.m. ET on NBCSN/NBC Sports App.

HAMLIN TOPS OPENING PRACTICE

Defending Darlington winner Denny Hamlin topped the leaderboard in Friday’s first practice for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 after he recorded a lap at 172.287 mph.

Hamlin was fastest in his No. 11 Joe Gibbs Toyota in the opening practice session that served as the initial preparation for Sunday’s iconic throwback race (6 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: First practice results

Kyle Larson was second-fastest in his No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, logging a lap at 172.034 mph.

Brad Keselowski in the No. 2 Team Penske Ford (171.998 mph), Alex Bowman in the No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet (171.980 mph) and Ryan Newman in the No. 31 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet (171.926 mph) rounded out the top five. Bowman currently holds the final provisional playoff spot with two regular-season races left and Newman is among the drivers on the outside looking in.

The No. 1 Chevrolet of Jamie McMurray began smoking about eight minutes into the session with an apparent engine failure. McMurray will start at the rear of the field if he must change the engine on his car.

“Honestly, I didn’t even realize the engine was blowing up,” McMurray told NBCSN. “But then obviously as the oil started pouring out, I caught on.”

WATCH: McMurray’s engine blows

The practice session was extended five minutes to account for the lengthy track cleanup because of the oil.

Later, with about 11 minutes left in the practice session, Erik Jones spun his No. 20 JGR Toyota as he attempted to get on pit road. The car was not make contact with anything and was not damaged.

Among those serving practice holds of 15 minutes at the end of the first practice were: No. 38 of David Ragan, No. 66 of Timmy Hill and No. 99 of Derrike Cope for being late to pre-race inspection; and No. 18 of Kyle Busch for failing pre-race inspection at Bristol twice. The No. 3 of Austin Dillon served a 30-minute practice hold for failing pre-race inspection at Bristol three times.

Posted on by Steve Luvender

It’s throwback season! That means it’s a NASCAR weekend full of retro paint schemes to remind us of the sport’s roots. Throwback weekend — a race where NASCAR teams show up at the storied Darlington Raceway bearing paint schemes reminiscent of the past — is a relatively-new tradition, but it’s quickly become a favorite.

Also, drivers grow mustaches and mullets for some reason.

While there’s an official bracket on NASCAR.com to vote for the best-in-show throwback paint scheme, why not talk about what makes some of the very best designs the best — in one man’s humble opinion, at least?

Oh, and I asked for a little help from Twitter, too. (It’s how I form all my opinions these days.)

Here they are — the 10 best Darlington throwback paint schemes of 2018.

#10: Paul Menard’s No. 21 Motorcraft Ford

The Wood Brothers sort of have an unfair advantage for throwback paint schemes. They started racing in 1950, after all. This year, Paul Menard is racing a paint scheme paying homage to a race Cale Yarborough won in 1968. Yeah, 50 years ago.

There’s only one way to get more into the spirit than a 50-year-old tribute of a legend from the same race team.

I mean, I’m game.

#9: Kevin Harvick’s No. 4 Busch Ford

Kevin Harvick’s throwback paint scheme is a little different from most others. Rather than paying tribute to a memorable driver or reviving an iconic paint scheme of years past, Harvick’s Busch Ford brings us back to a simpler time: 1995.

That’s right — in 1995, the No. 1 song was Coolio’s “Gangster’s Paradise.” The Busch can design from 1995 inspired Kevin Harvick’s Stewart Haas Racing throwback paint scheme this year.

Sure, the term “fauxback” gets thrown around because Harvick’s car isn’t necessarily a replica of the past, but this is a good paint scheme because it’s different. And that’s OK.

#8: Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 Menards Ford

Ryan Blaney’s throwback is keeping it in the family with a Ford reminiscent of the one his father Dave drove in 2003 — and nearly to a win — in the memorable Ricky Craven-Kurt Busch photo finish at Darlington that year.

It’s a winner because the Jasper yellow of the elder Blaney’s car 15 years ago fits in with the Menards yellow color traditionally on the modern-day No. 12 car.

Yes. That’s right, Ryan.

#7: Chase Elliott’s No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet

Speaking of a family affair, Chase Elliott’s Darlington paint scheme honors his late cousin, Casey Elliott, who raced a similar car in 1993. It’s a touching tribute — and the car looks awfully sharp, too.

#6: Denny Hamlin’s No. 11 FedEx Toyota

FedEx, Denny Hamlin’s longtime sponsor, surprised their driver with a throwback paint scheme honoring Hamlin’s racing roots — his first-ever mini stock race car from 1997, coincidentally also numbered 11. The story alone makes this throwback one of the most special.

#5: Brad Keselowski’s No. 2 Miller Genuine Draft Ford

Miller’s paint schemes — always simple and impressionable — have become a mainstay of NASCAR. Brad Keselowski will race a 1990 Rusty Wallace replica that looks just as good on Keselowski’s Team Penske Ford as it did on Wallace’s Blue Max Racing Pontiac.

And the No. 2 team wins bonus points for getting Rusty Wallace involved with the reveal. Nice touch.

 

Speaking of …

#4: Joey Logano’s No. 22 Pennzoil Ford

Steve Park’s Sam Bass-designed Pennzoil paint scheme is perhaps the best paint scheme of all time. There, I said it. Team Penske revived the famous Pennzoil-yellow car with black stripes and a black hood for this year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, and the result is beautiful. Plus, it’s awfully cool that Connecticut’s Joey Logano can pay tribute to nearby New York’s Steve Park.

Plus, it’s always fun when the original driver gets involved with the unveiling.

#3: Derrike Cope’s No. 99 Bojangles’ Chevrolet

While a driver throwing back to themselves might be considered lame according to some critics, living legend Derrike Cope gets a pass for this Bojangles’-sponsored machine that’s modeled after his car from 25 years ago.

It’s aged quite well.

Agreed. I say if you can pull it off — especially if you can follow through by nabbing your old sponsor, as Cope has done — then it’s all good.

68 percent of people in this scientific Twitter poll agree, at least.

#2: Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s No. 17 John Deere Ford

The folks at Roush Fenway Racing are the masters of the throwback. In 2016, the team unveiled an Alan Kulwicki throwback paint scheme that brought Kulwicki’s old sponsor, Hooters, back to the track. Two years later, they’ve revived another staple sponsor of the 1990s — John Deere, which will grace the hood and quarter panels of Ricky Stenhouse Jr.’s Ford at Darlington, using the same paint scheme made famous at the time.

Stenhouse’s car would make fellow-former-mullet-wearer Chad Little proud.

Little Stenhouse Mullets

#1: Kyle Busch’s No. 18 Skittles Toyota

Kyle Busch’s Ernie Irvan Skittles car is peak throwback.

The paint scheme does everything perfectly: it looks exactly like the old car, it looks just as good on the 2018 car as it did in the ‘90s, and the reveal video that involved Ernie Irvan was a lot of fun.

Plus, Busch is a polarizing racing figure in the way Irvan was in the 1990s. The paint scheme is perfect by all accounts.

It’s true — the No. 18 team hasn’t been the most consistent when it comes to throwback paint schemes. Heading to Darlington without a throwback paint scheme is like showing up to a costume party without a costume, and Kyle Busch showed up without a costume in 2015 and 2017.

Plus, if you don’t participate, bad things can happen. Just look at Brian Scott.

This is actually true. Proven fact. Brian Scott only ended up wrecked at Darlington in 2016 because his team wasn’t participating in the throwback fun.

Anyway, the No. 18 team is forgiven for their past transgressions: the Ernie Irvan Skittles throwback is the best of 2018.

And, even if you don’t agree, we can all agree on one thing on throwback weekend, at least.

 

Posted on by NASCAR Official Release

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla.  – NASCAR and Pit Boss Grills announced a multi-year agreement that introduces one of the fastest growing grill brands as the “Official Grill of NASCAR®.” This new deal marks Pit Boss Grills’ first partnership with a professional sports property and will strengthen the company’s campaign to grow brand awareness on a national scale.

Dansons, Inc., which manufactures Pit Boss and Louisiana Grills, was founded in 1999 and provides its customers with world class, competitive and innovative products across its lineup; including wood pellet grills, charcoal grills, spices and accessories, as well as gas grills and vertical smokers. The partnership will provide both brands under Dansons, Inc. (Pit Boss & Louisiana Grills) with exclusive status and promotional rights in the grill category. The partnership will be activated at retail and key races throughout each season for strategic hospitality events.

“Each weekend NASCAR races serve as the backdrop for family and friends to gather to watch great racing, root for their favorite drivers, and likely eat some great food,” said Daryl Wolfe, NASCAR Chief Sales and Partnership Officer. “Often times a grill is a huge part of this social experience, whether at the track or at home, making this partnership with Pit Boss a natural fit for both brands.”

To celebrate their entrance into NASCAR, Pit Boss Grills will be grilling Darlington Raceway’s signature “Darlington Dog” for fans at tonight’s Pit Boss Pit Party, showing off its line of Pit Boss Pellet Grills.

“We are blessed to become part of the NASCAR family. We are particularly excited about connecting with the most passionate fans in sports,” said Jeff Thiessen, President of Pit Boss Grills. “NASCAR and Dansons, Inc. are both family run businesses, and we bring that atmosphere of family and friendship with us wherever we go. Our grills do that as well, bringing people together around good food and good times.”

Pit Boss and Louisiana Grills join the NASCAR Fuel for Business Council®, which brings together an exclusive group of more than 50 Official NASCAR Partners to buy and sell products and services from one another.

For more information about Pit Boss Grills, please visit the website at: https://pitboss-grills.com/, and follow Pit Boss Grills on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.