DARLINGTON, S.C. — Discretion was the better part of valor for Erik Jones, who sat out last Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas Speedway despite having been cleared to compete.
Jones suffered a compression fracture of a lower vertebra in a violent collision with the outside wall during a multicar accident April 21 at Talladega and missed the last two races at Dover and Kansas.
He returns this weekend at Darlington Raceway, where he has claimed two of his three career victories, both in the Southern 500.
“There was probably a possibility coming back right away with the injury, but Dover was not a place where that was going to happen,” Jones said before qualifying on Saturday at Darlington. “Even Kansas was a place that was going to be challenging with high speed and a lot of risk of being an incident — not of your own doing necessarily.
“Coming to Darlington, I feel like you can control your own destiny a bit. There is less risk for an accident like that. Also, three weeks in, I feel like we are on the safe side of 100 percent, and I feel 100 percent.”
Alex Daus | NASCAR Digital Media
After a significant accident, there’s always evaluation, and Jones’ Legacy Motor Club team has made changes to increase Jones’ comfort in the No. 43 Toyota.
“We’ve changed the seat a lot,” Jones explained. “This will be the first race on that seat. I’m sitting in a pretty different position than I’m used to for almost all of my racing career. Guys that have (gone) through this similar injury have gone through the same transition to their seating position as well.
“Fortunately — it’s not a short race, it’s 400 miles — but it feels short here, I feel like. It will be a good test here, and next week at (North) Wilkesboro (in the NASCAR All-Star Race). How does the seat feel, what can I change before the (Coca-Cola) 600?
“I would say it is two good weeks of that, seeing how I feel, seeing what is bothering me, especially after Darlington tomorrow, and saying this what hurts, this is what we are going to change, and this is how we are going to move forward.”
DARLINGTON, S.C. — William Byron has been the leader with two laps to go in each of the last two spring races at Darlington Raceway.
His finishes in those races — 13th and 1st.
The prior result occurred in the first Next Gen race around the 1.366-mile facility, as Byron was in command and bearing down on a 26-lap homestretch. As the laps ticked off, Joey Logano eventually caught the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and punted Byron into Turn 3 for the lead as the two were coming to take the white flag. Byron slammed the outside wall, and subsequent right-side damage forced Byron to limp his hampered hot rod around Darlington before taking the checkered flag.
A year later, Byron became the beneficiary of late-race fireworks as Martin Truex Jr., Logano, Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain tangled in the closing stages.
Byron led just seven laps en route to his overtime triumph in the most recent spring race at Darlington.
But as the seven-year veteran aims to defend his Throwback Weekend trophy, he’s not one to toil over the idea of more late-race dramatics.
“I don’t really think about it too much. I mean, I don’t lose sleep over how the races end here,” Byron said during Saturday’s media availabilities at the track. “Really, if there’s any race track you’re not thinking about that, it’s here. You’re thinking about ‘how do I be good for 50 laps.’ That’s just what it takes all day long to be fast here and then you might get that caution in the end and have to re-rack them and have a good restart.”
Indeed, Byron had an exceptional restart to snag the checkered flag in last year’s Goodyear 400. With a formidable challenger in Kevin Harvick on the inside of him, Byron stayed in the gas in Turns 1 and 2 to clear the now-retired driver. Regardless of what could ensue in the heat of the moment as drivers vie desperately for track position, Byron’s focus remains on the aspects only he can control.
“For sure, I pay attention to launches on restarts,” Byron added. “I pay attention to lane selection, but I’m not losing sleep on what’s going to happen on a green-white-checkered here or late in the race. It’s just how I manage my tires and my equipment to make the best 40-lap, 50-lap run I can do.”
Already a three-time winner in the 2024 season, Byron has his ticket punched to the 16-driver postseason that kicks off in September.
Yet, Byron is far down the Cup standings compared to his Hendrick teammate and current points leader Larson. The two are separated by a 105-point chasm, as Byron ranks seventh in points.
The highs have been very high for the No. 24 team this season, but there have been low moments as it enters Sunday’s race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) with 33rd and 23rd-place results the last two weekends.
“Jeff Andrews [President, General Manager at Hendrick] and I were on the way up here and he was talking about the first 12, middle 12 and last 12,” Byron said. “I’m always kind of looking for new ways to think of it, and I think that’s a great way to view it. I feel like our first 12 [races] have been up and down, right? But our ups are very up, and we’ve had a lot of pace each weekend. Last weekend, we were fastest in practice, good averages and then the issue in qualifying. We just kind of missed the balance going into a night race that we didn’t expect to happen, and we couldn’t adjust enough.”
As the middle portion of the season gets into full swing, Byron is more focused on getting the No. 24 team back into executing in-race than the overall speed of the car.
“We just have to be a little more consistent, but we have the pace,” Byron said. “I feel like that’s what you’re really striving for – to have pace to win races. We have that, it’s just that we’re not consistently putting the weekends together, in terms of balance and execution.
“Our execution also; whether that’s me hitting the wall in qualifying and putting us in a bad pit stall, we get boxed in a few times and we’ll lose multiple stops. Or the week before, we had some issues on pit road, had a jack issue and lost several stops. So, it’s just kind of all-around execution, but luckily it’s early in the season. I feel like I’m fresh. I feel super fresh this year and ready to attack the summer stretch and just start putting some of that consistency together.”
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Driving a No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota with a paint scheme reminiscent of the late Tim Richmond’s 1982 Buick, Tyler Reddick emulated the driver he was honoring, winning the pole position for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 NASCAR Cup Series race (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Turning a lap at Darlington Raceway in 28.906 seconds (170.124 mph) in the final round of qualifying, Reddick edged Brad Keselowski (170.018 mph) for the top starting spot by 0.018 seconds.
The Busch Light Pole Award was Reddick’s first of the season, his first at the track “Too Tough to Tame” and the seventh of his career. Richmond won Darlington poles in 1983 and 1986.
“Just really excited that this Tim Richmond throwback Camry is going to be starting on the pole,” said Reddick, who added to the tribute with his own Richmond-style mustache.
“It’s really nice to put the work in this week to have that kind of qualifying effort. Last week was tough (in a 20th-place finish at Kansas). We didn’t lack any effort in trying to find ways to have a good week this week.”
Chris Buescher qualified third at 169.543 mph, giving RFK Racing two of the top three grid positions for Sunday’s race, the 13th of the season. Buescher finished second to Kyle Larson by 0.001 seconds last Sunday at Kansas Speedway in the closest finish in Cup Series history.
Ty Gibbs (169.491 mph) will start fourth, followed by William Byron, Larson, Denny Hamlin, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain and Martin Truex Jr. Chastain edged Kyle Busch for the final Group B spot in the second round after both drivers ran identical times to the thousandth of a second in the opening round. Chastain got the nod on an owner points tiebreaker.
Returning to competition after a two-race injury absence, Erik Jones will start 30th in the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota. Jones suffered a compression fracture of a lower vertebra during a multicar wreck at Talladega in April.
Reddick’s paint scheme is the second he has run honoring Richmond.
“He was the type of driver, in my opinion — when he was at the track or away from the track — he was always living life to the fullest and really happy living the life he (led),” Reddick said.
“Obviously, what he could do inside of a race car, too, is something that I always extremely appreciated about him.”
There’s one more way Reddick can emulate Richmond — do what Richmond did in 1986 and win at Darlington from the pole.
McDowell fastest in practice
Michael McDowell topped the leaderboard in practice at 169.444 mph.
Ty Gibbs (168.567 mph), Chris Buescher (168.457 mph), Christopher Bell (168.376 mph) and William Byron (168.186 mph) rounded out the top five.
Joey Logano (167.985 mph), Erik Jones (167.871 mph), Corey LaJoie (167.853 mph), Denny Hamlin (167.762 mph) and Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (167.579 mph) completed the top 10.
Austin Cindric was fastest on the 10-lap average over Buescher, Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland, McDowell, Chase Elliott, Noah Gragson, Byron, Stenhouse and Kyle Busch.
The NASCAR All-Star Race week at North Wilkesboro Speedway is one Layne Riggs has been looking forward to.
Not only will the 2022 NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series champion get to run his first NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at the prestigious facility, but Riggs is also returning to his Late Model Stock roots that Wednesday evening behind the wheel of the No. 00 Infinity Communications Group Ford for Tom Usry Racing.
Just like last year, North Wilkesboro’s freshly repaved surface presents several unknowns for Riggs and the rest of the field. Despite this, Riggs believes the equipment provided by Usry’s operation and Front Row Motorsports presents him with two perfect opportunities to join a long list of North Wilkesboro winners.
“I’m super excited about our late model deal,” Riggs said. “It was kind of a last-minute deal, but [Tom Usry Racing] said they had an extra car and they wanted to see me in some good equipment. They wanted twice as good of a chance to win the race and they thought I’d be the perfect guy to help them there.”
Driving for a program that honors Usry’s impact in motorsports serves as a full-circle moment for Riggs and his family.
In the 1970s, Riggs’ grandfather Russell accompanied Usry in his attempts to make the Daytona 500. Those trips down to Florida ignited Russell’s passion for racing, which he would pass down to Riggs’ father, Scott, who won nine races between the Truck Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series before embarking on a career in the NASCAR Cup Series.
Although Usry passed away in 2009, Riggs appreciates seeing his influence persist in the Late Model Stock ranks and is fortunate to have a chance at delivering a victory in the same car number Usry utilized until the end of his long career.
“Carrying the No. 00 was my idea,” Riggs said. “They were OK with using the No. 99 if that’s what I wanted, but I thought using the No. 00 would be cooler. This is a throwback, classic team and they were the last team I thought I would get a call from.
“I’m thankful to help carry on [Tom’s] legacy, and this will be a good tribute.”
Riggs’ No. 00 is not the only car being fielded by Usry’s team at North Wilkesboro. He will be joined by Kaden Honeycutt, a fellow Late Model Stock standout who picked up his first victory in an Usry car at Orange County Speedway in March.
Before entering the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, Layne Riggs enjoyed a solid Late Model Stock career that included a NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series title. (Photo: Andrew Coppley)
Riggs knows having a teammate like Honeycutt to lean on will be beneficial when it comes to finding the perfect balance in his car. A pre-race test at North Wilkesboro in April showed that Riggs was evenly paced with Honeycutt, which has given him plenty of optimism about contending for the win.
That session also gave Riggs an idea of what to expect in a Late Model Stock at the resurfaced North Wilkesboro. He was pleasantly surprised at how much room there was to race around the facility with the fresh pavement, which he believes will lead to auspicious on-track conditions throughout the week.
“The track was smooth,” Riggs said. I was surprised with how high we ran in turns one and two. The Pro Late Models got within a car-length of the outside wall, and that only moved up during the race. There are a lot of people who will run the top, and that’s going to lead to side-by-side racing down the backstretch heading into [turns] three and four.”
“Every series that races there should have a good show to put on.”
No matter how the CARS Tour race turns out for him, the track time at North Wilkesboro on Tuesday and Wednesday can only help Riggs prepare for Saturday’s Wright Brand 250.
Riggs is searching for a jolt of momentum in the Truck Series following a tumultuous start to his rookie campaign. Despite showing speed, bad luck has hindered Riggs through his first eight starts with Front Row, with his only top 10 so far occurring at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Now that he is back in familiar territory, Riggs feels he can improve upon his career-best Truck Series finish of third at Lucas Oil Indianapolis Raceway Park last year. The only way he can eclipse that milestone is to stay composed and put together a full race.
“I’m glad to go back to another short track,” Riggs said. “We were fast at Bristol and Martinsville, two places that I’m very familiar with. We’ve tried carrying momentum from those races into the other ones, but we’ve had something different go wrong every weekend. Two out of three things go right, but one won’t stick like we need to.
“If we bring a fast truck and make no errors, we’ll be up front at any race we go to.”
Layne Riggs enters North Wilkesboro Speedway determined to get his rookie NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series season back on track. (Photo: Jacy Norgaard)
Climbing into a competitive Late Model Stock ride also brings some much-needed levity for Riggs as he tries to turn his Truck Series season around. A victory in Usry’s No. 00 on Wednesday evening could provide Riggs the necessary jolt to break through in the Truck Series and establish sustainable consistency.
“[Getting two wins at North Wilkesboro] would be massive,” Riggs said. “With the points in the Truck Series, we’re pretty much in a must-win situation to make the playoffs, but that isn’t our mindset. The mindset is to get wins no matter what, but we might as well try to get into the playoffs while we can. Our chemistry is getting better, but a win would just light everybody up.
“Winning fixes everything.”
With a couple of great rides at his disposal, Riggs is ready to shine amongst the all-stars at North Wilkesboro and remind the garage area of the talent he has possessed since his days in a Late Model Stock.
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Taking advantage of a late caution, Ross Chastain surged ahead during an overtime restart and held off Nick Sanchez to win Friday night’s Buckle Up South Carolina 200 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Moonlighting from the Cup Series in a race delayed more than two hours by rain, Chastain, driving for Niece Motorsports, led only the last three laps after seizing the top spot from Ty Majeski on the overtime restart on Lap 148.
Sanchez finished second, 0.315 seconds behind Chastain. Defending series champion Ben Rhodes was third, followed by Christian Eckes. Majeski, who chose the top lane on the front row for the final restart, faded to fifth.
“We have been trying to win at Darlington,” said Chastain, who picked up his fifth Truck Series victory and his first of the year in his second start. “This is where my career changed, my life changed forever.
“It’s so cool — we won Darlington.”
It was at the “Lady in Black” in 2018 that Chastain first turned heads in the NASCAR world. Driving a handful of Xfinity Series races for team owner Chip Ganassi, he won the pole at Darlington and swept the first two stages before an accident relegated him to a 25th-place finish.
But at that point, he had made his mark, and on Friday night, Chastain completed the circle.
Sanchez won the pole for Friday’s race but had to start from the rear after his team replaced a right-rear hub on his No. 2 Chevrolet. On the final restart, he surged from the inside of the third row into second place but couldn’t catch Chastain before the finish.
Majeski lamented his lane choice after the fact.
“I should have taken the inside,” said Majeski, who held a lead of more than five seconds before Jack Wood hit the outside wall with five laps left to cause the seventh caution and force overtime.
“It sucks when you’re in position to win with a truck like that. We were so good on the long run and not so good on the short run. It would take 10-15 laps for this thing to get going, and then the thing was just lights out.
“But it came down to a short run, and I didn’t execute like we needed to.”
Corey Heim, the series leader entering the race, swept the first two stages with 77 laps led, but after a Lap 98 restart, the No. 5 Toyota of Dean Thompson broke loose beneath Heim’s No. 11 Tundra at the exit from Turn 2 and ignited a wreck that severely damaged the trucks of Heim, Rajah Caruth, Layne Riggs and Matt Crafton.
Caruth, who was eliminated along with Heim, Thompson and Crafton, had started from the rear after scraping the wall during qualifying earlier in the day, but had worked his way up to second by pitting for fresh tires midway through Stage 2.
“It’s real tight there off of (Turn) 2, and the 5 just kind of lost it there,” Caruth said after exiting the infield care center. “We had a really fast truck. We’ll get ’em next time.”
Heim surrendered the series points lead to Eckes and trails by 14 points.
Racing for the first time in a truck at Darlington, Kyle Busch was challenging Heim for the lead on Lap 2 when his No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet snapped loose on the backstretch and nosed into the inside wall.
Busch lost seven laps on pit road as his crew tried to make repairs. After he returned to the action, Busch pounded the Turn 1 wall and exited the race in 32nd place.
That result marked a dubious distinction for the all-time Truck Series winner with 66 victories to his credit. Before Friday night, Busch had never finished last in a Truck Series race.
“The truck was wrecked — there’s no reason it should have been back on the race track,” Busch told FOX Sports’ Bob Pockrass after the second accident.
The Truck Series is action again at the historic North Wilkesboro Speedway on Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
NOTE: No issues were found during post-race technical inspection, confirming Chastain as the race winner. No vehicles will be taken back to the NASCAR R&D Center for teardown inspection.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – An intense late-afternoon storm and lingering rain have delayed the start of Friday night’s NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series race at Darlington Raceway.
Lightning brought a halt to on-track activity in the late hours of the afternoon, canceling practice and qualifying sessions scheduled at 5 p.m. ET for the Xfinity Series. Heavy rain and hail hit nearly an hour later, drenching the 1.366-mile track and placing the 7:30 p.m. ET start for the Truck Series’ Buckle Up South Carolina 200 (FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) on hold.
After more intermittent showers had cleared, driver introductions began at 9:30 p.m. ET, with the green flag waving at 10:10 p.m. ET.
Track-drying efforts began at 6:35 p.m. ET, shortly after a lightning warning lifted, and continued throughout. The thunderstorm also interrupted opening-day inspection for the NASCAR Cup Series.
Nick Sanchez won the Cometic Gasket Pole Award in qualifying, posting a 167.905 mph lap in the No. 2 Rev Racing Chevrolet before the rain arrived. But the 22-year-old driver is set to drop the rear before the start, after the team discovered a leak in the right-rear wheel hub.
Series points leader Corey Heim earned the second starting spot in the No. 11 Tricon Garage Toyota.
NASCAR.com’s 36 for 36 continues at Darlington Raceway.
With 36 races and 36 full-time Charter cars, our players select one car per race, but there’s a simple twist: once they’ve made the pick, they can’t choose that car again for the rest of the 36-race season. Yes, that means every car will be selected exactly once … a survivor pool, by another name.
Follow along weekly as our panel of pickers — Dustin Albino from Jayski, along with Steve Luvender and Cameron Richardson from NASCAR.com — embarks on a season-long journey to think like strategists and prove their picking prowess.
We’ll also feature a fourth “community” 36 for 36 pick each week, as decided by fan vote on the r/NASCAR subreddit. Can the collective vote topple our trio of full-timers?
Current Standings:
Steve Luvender: 308
Dustin Albino: -12
@therichreport: -39
@NASCARonReddit: -53
Race 13 of 36: Darlington
It was a middle-of-the-road day for our 36 for 36 pickers at Kansas — no photo finish here. Dustin Albino’s selection of 25th-place finisher Austin Dillon broke his tie for the points lead in Steve Luvender’s favor, who earned 24 points with John Hunter Nemechek. The r/NASCAR community picked up 20 points from Bubba Wallace, while the big winner of the week was Cameron Richardson — thanks to a 50-point, fifth-place day for Denny Hamlin.
Darlington is the next challenge for our panel, a unique and notoriously tricky track with two dates on the calendar. For this weekend, though, there’s hardly any playoff talk; in September’s race that concludes the regular season, that’ll be a different story.
Jayski’s Dustin Albino: No. 10, Noah Gragson
Dustin’s pick last week: No. 3, Austin Dillon
Points earned last week: 12 (25th-place finish)
Total season points: 296 (second place)
Dustin: With three consecutive top-10 finishes, Gragson has jumped 10 spots in the regular season championship standings and is among the hottest drivers in the Cup Series. He shows up to the track regularly as the fastest Stewart-Haas Racing entry. Darlington is also a track that is in his wheelhouse. Sure, his lone Cup start last season wasn’t ideal, but have you seen his numbers there in the Xfinity Series? He won twice, has an average finish of 4.0 and never finished worse than eighth in seven starts. That’s Kyle Busch territory. Here’s to thinking he keeps up the momentum this weekend.
NASCAR.com’s Steve Luvender: No. 77, Carson Hocevar
Steve’s pick last week: No. 42, John Hunter Nemechek
Points earned last week: 24 (13th-place finish)
Total season points: 308 (first place)
Steve: A rookie at a place as notoriously difficult as Darlington? Believe it! Carson Hocevar impressed last year in a surprise start driving the Legacy Motor Club No. 42, qualifying 15th and finishing 17th. Darlington is also the site of one of his rare Xfinity Series starts — he finished sixth last May — and a 5.25 average finish in four Craftsman Truck Series starts at the track isn’t too shabby. It’s a track that requires grit and determination, and even as an underdog, I believe he’s got it (a top 10 at Texas comes to mind). One downside if Hocevar wins Sunday, though: it would spell the end of his memorable campaign to qualify for the All-Star Race Fan Vote, considering a victory qualifies a driver for the big show just as winning the fan vote would.
NASCAR.com’s Cameron Richardson: No. 31, Daniel Hemric
Cameron’s pick last week: No. 11, Denny Hamlin
Points earned last week: 50 (fifth-place finish)
Total season points: 269 (third place)
Cameron: A bit of a strategy play for the long haul of the season, but Hemric has two top 10s across the last three races so I’m going to strike while the iron’s still hot for the No. 31 team. Kaulig has had success at Darlington in the Next Gen. The No. 31 has top 10s in the last two spring races at the South Carolina track, and if some late-race chaos ensues similar to last year, it could put Hemric in a great spot for another quality run.
r/NASCAR Community: No. 24, William Byron
r/NASCAR’s pick last week: No. 23, Bubba Wallace
Points earned last week: 20 (17th-place finish)
Total season points: 255 (fourth place)
Reddit’s collective vote went to defending race winner William Byron.
u/FridgusDomin8or: “After a few bad weeks in a row I think we need a rebound, I think Byron is our pick this time around. Either him or Reddick. Byron’s been real good here in the Next Gen era, up front at the end of both spring races the last two years.”
u/LeapsFrog: “I am going to recommend William Byron. He won this race last season and seems to have always been great at this track in the 7th Generation era.”
Check back in two weeks to see how our pickers fared as the season-long 36 for 36 journey continues when points racing resumes for the Coca-Cola 600.
And, if you’ve got a competitive itch beyond meticulously managing your Fantasy Live lineup each week, feel free to save or print your own 36 for 36 sheet and see if you can beat our pickers and the Reddit community!
Editor’s Note: Racing Insights’ playoff projections use a combination of current standings and historical performance at upcoming tracks to determine the probability of each driver winning or making the playoffs on points.
With the Cup Series Playoffs on the mind throughout the season, what if there was a way to project how the 16-driver field could look before each race weekend?
It now exists via Racing Insights. From now until the start of the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs, “The Field of 16” will give fans a weekly look at where their favorite drivers could potentially land in the postseason field — and the likelihood of having a shot at the Bill France Cup.
Here’s this week’s update on the projections heading into Darlington Raceway.
PROBABILITY CALCULATED BY RACING INSIGHTS AHEAD OF DARLINGTON RACEWAY, MAY 12, 2024
DRIVERS LOCKED IN
With multiple wins in 2024 already, Kyle Larson, William Byron and Denny Hamlin are safely into the Cup playoffs with 100% probability. Larson became the third driver of the 2024 season to become a multitime winner after outdueling Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds at Kansas Speedway in the closest Cup finish ever. Larson has the advantage over Byron and Hamlin in points as Hamlin sits 56 points behind Larson while Byron has a lot of ground to make up on his Hendrick Motorsports teammate as he sits 105 points behind Larson.
DRIVERS LIKELY IN
Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick and Daniel Suárez each have one win so far. Reddick and Elliott are in good shape in case there are more than 16 winners in 2024 as both are in the top five in points, but Bell and Suárez have been inconsistent so far this season. The driver of the No. 20 Toyota is 13th in points while Suárez is 18th.
Martin Truex Jr. is well in the playoff picture, sitting second in the Cup Standings, 29 points back of Larson. Defending champion Ryan Blaney is sixth in points and Ross Chastain currently rounds out the top 10.
Buescher was an inch off a provisional playoff berth for the second year in a row but is still in good shape 11th in points. Ty Gibbs has been in a lull lately but is still eighth in points despite just one top-10 result since Richmond.
LAST 4 IN
Quite the shift in Racing Insights’ Last 4 In as Alex Bowman has jumped from the first driver out of the projected playoff field to the top of this bubble group. It’s for good reason as Bowman has flown under the radar sitting ninth in points and racked up a third consecutive top 10 last weekend at Kansas.
Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano remain stagnant despite a pair of solid runs last Sunday from both Busch and Keselowski. Logano has yet to find stable footing as his 34th-place tally at Kansas was his fourth straight finish outside the top 10.
FIRST 4 OUT
After a solid stretch of results from Circuit of The Americas to Texas, Bubba Wallace has fallen out of the projected playoff field after consecutive DNFs at Talladega and Dover, followed by a 17th-place effort at Kansas. Talladega and Kansas were among the No. 23 Toyota driver’s bread and butter, but now with those tracks not appearing until the postseason, Wallace is going to need a solid stretch in the Carolinas to turn the tide back in his favor.
Michael McDowell recovered from a final-stage incident Sunday to collect a top-10 result to see his probability rise. Meanwhile, rookie Josh Berry jumped Erik Jones in the playoff picture after Jones sat out the last two races due to injury.
WHO CAN SHAKE UP PLAYOFF PICTURE AT DARLINGTON?
Much has been made of Keselowski’s over 100-race winless drought but this could very well change Sunday as he’s scored three consecutive top 10s at Darlington. No driver has scored top 10s in all four of the Next Gen races at the track “Too Tough to Tame,” and Keselowski is one of just five drivers with three of them.
Jones returns from injury this weekend and Darlington has been his playground with two wins at the track. He finished 10th in last year’s Southern 500.
Before each race weekend, check back into The Field of 16 to see the latest projections of the 2024 Cup Series playoff field.
Corey Heim will continue his season of firsts throughout 2024 as he prepares to jump back in a NASCAR Cup Series car at Nashville Superspeedway with 23XI racing.
23XI Racing announced on Friday that Heim will pilot the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota for the June 30 race in the Music City (3:30 p.m. ET, NBC, PRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) while sporting a special black-and-gold paint scheme to commemorate the lubricant brand’s 50th anniversary.
“I’m very thankful for this opportunity I’ve been given by Mobil 1 to compete with 23XI in Nashville,” Heim said in a team release. “… We have seen this season how strong 23XI’s Camrys have been, which makes me even more excited to get behind the wheel in Nashville. I’m putting in the effort to be prepared for this opportunity and cannot wait to get on track with the No. 50 Mobil 1 Toyota team in a few weeks.”
Heim currently competes full-time in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, where he drives the No. 11 Toyota for Tricon Garage and sits in second place in the points standings, but he also has two Cup Series starts on his resume in 2024.
Legacy Motor Club tapped Heim to drive the No. 43 Toyota when Erik Jones was sidelined with a back injury at Dover Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway. Heim had his best finish of 22nd at Kansas, and Jones was set to return to the No. 43 for Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Heim also is driving part-time this season for Sam Hunt Racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and posted his first top-five finish in that series in March at Richmond Raceway.
Mobil 1 and 23XI Racing’s black-and-gold 50th anniversary scheme is hitting the track for the second time this season, as Kamui Kobayashi drove the No. 50 to a 29th-place finish in March at Circuit of The Americas.
“We are excited for Corey to join the 23XI team in Nashville as he helps us celebrate our partners at Mobil 1 and its 50th anniversary,” said Steve Lauletta, president of 23XI Racing. “Corey is undoubtedly an up-and-coming star, and we look forward to working with him as he prepares to race at Nashville. Mobil 1 has a history of working with some of the best young talent in racing, and I can’t think of a better person than Corey to drive the No. 50 Toyota at Nashville.”
Throughout the 2024 NASCAR season, Ken Martin, director of historical content for the sanctioning body, will offer his suggestions on which historical races fans should watch from the NASCAR Classics library in preparation for each upcoming race weekend.
Martin has worked exclusively for NASCAR since 2008 but has been involved with the sport since 1982, overseeing various projects. He has worked in the broadcast booth for hundreds of races, assisting the broadcast team with different tasks. This includes calculating the “points as they run” for the historic 1992 finale, the Hooters 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway.
The following suggestions are Ken’s picks to watch before this weekend’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
Fred Lorenzen backed up his winning effort in the 1964 Rebel 300 with a pole-winning effort, besting Marvin Panch and his No. 21 Wood Brothers Racing Ford.
The humid 85-degree day mirrored the action on the track, as it didn’t take long for some tough racing to take place.
Lorenzen and Panch battled door-to-door after taking the green flag, touching a handful of times as they entered the first turn with the field of 31 drivers behind them.
A few laps later, Wayne Smith’s No. 38 car crashed, ending Earl Balmer’s day as he hit the wall while trying to avoid Smith’s car.
Lorenzen’s sleek No. 28 car started having engine issues early on, and he had to bring it into the pits twice before climbing out and thus ending his chances at a victory.
He lost a cylinder, and his team pulled all of the spark plugs to explore their issues. After losing four laps, they found a broken spark plug wire.
Chaos continued as Timmonsville, South Carolina’s Cale Yarborough ran over debris, which cut a tire on his car and sent him into the guardrail. He attributed part of the issue to the hot temperatures and alluded that the rest of the race could be crazy.
Yarborough wasn’t wrong as Bub Strickler’s car soon turned over, sliding down the track on its roof before coming to a stop upside down. He quickly climbed from the car under his own power.
Throughout all the cautions, it was Junior Johnson who dominated the race. He led 197 of the race’s 219 laps en route to his 42nd career victory.
Darel Dieringer came home second, racing the No. 16 Mercury for Bud Moore. Series points leader Ned Jarrett was third, while Dick Hutcherson and Bobby Johns rounded out the rest of the top five.
The 13th race of the 1970 NASCAR Cup Series season was joined in progress by ABC Wide World of Sports as the No. 71 of Bobby Isaac, No. 17 of David Pearson and No. 43 of Richard Petty battled for the lead. They were the only three cars on the lead lap at the time, as 161 laps had already ticked by.
Within 10 minutes of being on the air, a horrifying crash involving Petty silenced the South Carolina crowd.
In one of the most eye-popping incidents in NASCAR history, Petty’s No. 43 car made a beeline for the inside wall, slamming it head-on, as the wall exploded into the air.
This sent Petty’s car airborne, before barrel rolling down the track. Petty ended the incident hanging outside of his car, seemingly unconscious as one of the red rags that he used during the race lay on the track underneath the wreckage.
Petty’s team sprinted over the wall to assess the incident and help their driver, as smoke billowed from the car. They took him from the car in the rescue squad station wagon to the infield care center.
He was soon transferred to a hospital in Florence, South Carolina. His wife, Linda, climbed into the front of the station wagon for the ride.
His brother Maurice was interviewed and gave an update on his brother, noting that he had pain in his left arm, had bloody eyes but was conscious and alert.
Petty was admitted to the hospital and miraculously the worst of his injuries was a dislocated shoulder.
Only 13 cars were running at the finish of the race, which was won by Pearson. He finished three laps ahead of the second-place finisher, Dick Brooks.
One week after Dale Earnhardt captured the first victory of his career, the NASCAR Cup Series traveled to Darlington Raceway for the annual Rebel 500.
The rising star put his No. 2 Chevrolet for Rod Osterlund 13th in qualifying, as Donnie Allison captured the pole position.
Attrition turned out to be the word of the day, as series points leader Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Terry Labonte and 11 other drivers saw their day end early due to some type of issue.
The finish of the race came down to an epic battle between Darrell Waltrip and Richard Petty. The two drivers exchanged the lead multiple times over the final 80 laps of the race, in every way possible, setting up an unforgettable finish.
Petty was out front at the white flag but Waltrip soon dipped under the No. 43 car for the lead. Petty attempted to cross Waltrip over, as the No. 1 car of Allison closed in. Petty drove his car too deep into the turn as he passed Waltrip, sliding up almost into the wall as Waltrip checked out. Allison then caught up to Petty, as Petty finished inches in front of Allison for second.
Waltrip’s victory moved him into first in the season standings, thanks in part to Bobby Allison’s engine issues.
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You can watch these three races and hundreds more by visiting NASCAR Classics.
