Monday, Sept.6 Midnight, NASCAR Camping World Truck Series In It To Win It 200, FS2 (re-air) 6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 11 p.m., NASCAR Camping World Truck Series In It To Win It 200, FS1 (re-air) Tuesday, Sept.7 1 a.m., NASCAR Race Hub Best of Radioactive: Darlington, FS1 (re-air) 5:30 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 Wednesday, Sept. 8 6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 Thursday, Sept. 9 4 p.m., Lost Speedways: Animal House, NBCSN (re-air)
4:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Concrete Palace on the Passaic, NBCSN (re-air)
5 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Toyota Mod Classic 150, NBCSN (tape delay) 6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1 6 p.m., Dale Jr. Download, NBCSN/NBC Sports App Friday, Sept. 10 6 p.m., NASCAR The Season, NBCSN 6 p.m., NASCAR Race Hub, FS1
7 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
On MRN
7 p.m., NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150 Saturday, Sept. 11 2 a.m., Lost Speedways: Fit for a King, NBCSN (re-air)
2:30 a.m., Lost Speedways: Home Treasures, NBCSN (re-air)
1:30 p.m., Lost Speedways: Home Treasures, NBCSN (re-air) 2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5) 2:30 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5) 6:30 p.m., NASCAR America, NBCSN/NBC Sports App 7 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Countdown to Green, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5) 7:30 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders, NBCSN/NBC Sports App (Canada: TSN5) 8 p.m., ARCA Menards Series West Portland 112, TrackPass on NBC Sports Gold
11 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Post-race Show: Richmond, NBCSN/NBC Sports App
On MRN
2 p.m., NASCAR Xfinity Series Go Bowling 250
6 p.m., NASCAR Cup Series Federated Auto Parts 400 Salute to First Responders
Sunday, Sept. 12
4 p.m., IMSA Auto Racing: Monterey Sports Car Championship, NBCSN
Busch’s No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota made significant contact with the outside retaining wall in Turn 2 after contact from the No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet of non-playoff driver Austin Dillon. Busch drove away with heavy damage but parked in the garage to end his race.
“It’s killed,” Busch told his team over the radio communications as he limped back to pit road and brought his No. 18 behind the wall. He finished 35th in the 37-car field and now sits two points outside of advancing with two races left in the Round of 16.
After a routine check at the infield care center, Busch was critical of his team’s performance and also made a point to clear Dillon of blame.
“It wasn’t the 3’s fault. Just take our lumps, you know,” Busch said. “We were running like (expletive) and got wrecked, so that’s what you get when you run like (expletive). It just shouldn’t be there. I don’t know what our problem is, but every time we go to sim and use sim and think we have a good sim session, we go to the race track and we suck. So I’m done with that, and we’ll have to use some other tools in figuring out how to be good, but the M&M’s Camry was not very good and we’re running terrible and we got wrecked. It wasn’t the 3’s fault.”
Busch stands to gain back some of his lost ground in the Round of 16’s remaining races. He’s a six-time winner at Richmond Raceway, site of the Cup Series’ next race on Saturday night, and Bristol Motor Speedway — host of the last event before the first elimination phase — is a track where Busch has won eight times.
Busch found little consolation in the favorable schedule after his early exit at Darlington.
Coach Joe Gibbs was celebrating at the end of the night with Denny Hamlin in Victory Lane for the first time this season, but the evening presented a mixed bag for the venerable team owner’s four-car organization. Martin Truex Jr. rallied for fourth place, Christopher Bell finished an eventful 20th and Busch brought up the JGR caboose.
But Busch wasn’t the only playoff driver exiting early after a crash; the same fate also hit Chase Elliott, William Byron and Michael McDowell, which kept a large group bunched up near the provisional elimination line.
“Well, I think everybody in the sport — he’s been through the Playoffs a number of times. We have, and it’s extremely tough,” Gibbs said. “You’ve got three races, it’s like the whole playoffs. The thing that probably helped us some, it seemed like a lot of cars that were in the (playoffs) had issues. And so I haven’t seen where the points are or anything, but this is going to be a hard-fought deal for the next two weeks. I think that’s probably what the fans like.
“But there’s going to be a lot on the line. As I mentioned, this race was — it was really tough tonight. It was physical.”
Michael McDowell was the first postseason-eligible retiree from Sunday night’s Cook Out Southern 500, his race ending after a Lap 31 crash at Darlington Raceway.
McDowell lost control of his No. 34 Front Row Motorsports Ford after close racing through a repaved portion of the track with Erik Jones in the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet. McDowell’s car scrubbed the outside wall exiting Turn 2 before careening into the inside wall on the backstretch, leaving it with heavy damage. He was unhurt, checked and released from the track’s infield care center.
“I’m not really sure,” McDowell said when asked for his version of events. “The 43 kind of got everybody jammed up. I think he started on the front there without (fresh) tires, which is a tough spot to be in and I just went three-wide underneath him and just got into the patch with my left-sides just a little bit low. I got loose enough into the wall and that was about it.”
McDowell, who qualified for the 16-driver NASCAR Cup Series Playoff grid by winning the season-opening Daytona 500, had said during the postseason’s media day that his team would have to be aggressive to advance through the elimination format. His early exit placed him last in the 37-car field for the playoff opener.
“I’ll have to see the replay, but just heartbreaking for everybody on this Front Row team,” said McDowell. “We had high hopes coming into the playoffs and this is not how we wanted to start it.”
McDowell sits last on the 16-driver playoff grid, 20 points below the elimination line with two races remaining in the Round of 16. His plight was actually helped by the misfortune of other title-eligible drivers, who failed to pad their cushion in the points. Chase Elliott, William Byron and Kyle Busch all retired early in separate crashes.
Two events remain in the opening three-race round — Saturday at Richmond Raceway and Sept. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway. The four lowest-ranked drivers will be eliminated at the end of the Round of 16.
The No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet will drop to the rear for Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway for multiple failures in pre-race inspection. Austin Dillon was slated to start 21st in the NASCAR Cup Series Playoff opener but will drop to the rear during pace laps.
All playoff drivers made it through pre-race inspection without any issues. The race is set for 367 laps at the 1.366-mile track “Too Tough to Tame” and will be broadcast at 6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
DARLINGTON, S.C. – Sheldon Creed completed the Darlington double on Sunday, extending his monopoly on the Round of 10 in the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series Playoffs.
Creed’s victory in the In It to Win It 200 at Darlington Raceway was his second straight in the series and his second straight at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped track, giving him a season sweep at the Lady in Black.
It was the third straight win in a Playoff race for the reigning series champion, who secured his title with a victory in the 2020 season finale at Phoenix Raceway.
“Way to start off the Playoffs,” said Creed, who led 104 of the 147 laps, won the second stage and beat runner-up John Hunter Nemechek to the finish line by .531 seconds. “Man, we started out our day really, really loose, and I was like, ‘Oh, no, we’re in trouble here.’
“The guys worked on it. The pit crew killed it all day.”
Thanks to impeccable work by his over-the-wall crew, Creed seized track position and control of the race. He led the final 80 laps after regaining the top spot from Chandler Smith during a pit stop under caution on Lap 68.
“We’ve had a tough season, but we’re finding it at the right time,” said Creed, who won for the third time in 2021. “It feels so good to go back-to-back wins … Got to put the pressure on the other guys. I had really nothing to lose coming in, and we’ve got fast trucks.
“I had to work for that one. The KBM (Kyle Busch Motorsports) trucks were moving there in the short run. Even in the long runs, I thought they were better than us. Just track position — I could kind of go where I wanted when I was in front. If I got behind them, I was going to be in big trouble.”
With his second-place finish, Nemechek, the regular-season champion, clinched a spot in the Round of 8 on points. Eight other drivers are vying for the remaining six berths in the next round, heading for the Sept. 16 cutoff race at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Zane Smith (ninth Sunday) and Chandler Smith (seventh) are the two drivers below the cut line entering the Round of 10 finale at Thunder Valley.
Stewart Friesen ran third in Sunday’s race and improved to fourth in the standings, two points behind third-place Matt Crafton (10th Sunday) and 33 above the current cut line. Todd Gilliland finished fourth at Darlington, followed by non-Playoff drivers Parker Kligerman and Grant Enfinger.
ThorSport Racing driver Ben Rhodes suffered the most severe damage to his Playoff chances after running into the back of Creed’s truck on an early restart, then spinning and hitting the wall in a three-car incident with Jack Wood and Kris Wright on Lap 67.
Rhodes finished 34th, seven laps down, and dropped to fifth in the standings, 15 points above the cut line.
The race featured eight cautions for a total of 35 laps. There were four lead changes among three drivers, with Nemechek out front for 39 laps and Chandler Smith leading the remaining four circuits.
The series next races Sept. 16 in the UNOH 200 presented by Ohio Logistics at Bristol Motor Speedway (9 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Note: Post-race inspection confirmed the No. 2 Chevrolet of Creed as the winner. No issues found in post-race technical inspection.
It was a silky smooth night at Oswego Speedway for Ron Silk.
The Norwalk, Connecticut, native never ran worse than second throughout the Toyota Mod Classic 150, leading the field to green from the pole position and regaining that lead with 77 laps remaining en route to his first ever win at the New York 0.675-mile short track.
“Just a phenomenal car,” Silk said in Victory Lane following his dominant performance. “I went pretty hard there halfway through the race and said, ‘I’m sure there’ll be a caution and we’ll end up taking tires.’ Then with 20 to go I was getting a little nervous, like ‘did I save enough?’ But just a fantastic job by my guys. My car took a few laps to fire off on restarts. I was glad to not get one at the end there for sure.”
The win is Silk’s second of the season and second in a row, coming after the driver of the No. 85 machine bested the rest at Beech Ridge on Aug. 21. It’s also his fifth top-five finish of the season, third top-five in a row and 17th career win on the Whelen Modified Tour.
While Silk was dominating up front, Matt Hirschman was putting on a show coming from the rear of the field. After being involved in a Lap 43 crash involving five others, Hirschman sustained significant left rear damage and pitted for repairs.
Restarting deep in the field, he went to work, slowly and methodically picking off cars one by one. With just under 30 laps to go, he re-entered the top 10. Fifteen laps later, he was inside the top five. Less than 10 laps later, he was all the way up to second behind Silk.
Hirschman settled for the runner-up spot, his second straight second-place finish (both to Silk in consecutive races) in his return to the track where he won earlier this season.
Bryan Bennett
“We made a charge, it looked like maybe a caution would come. But congrats to the No. 85. If he went the whole way and was still driving away from the rest of them, they obviously had a good car,” said Hirschman, who has an average finish of 1.6 and a worst result of second (three times) in five career Oswego starts. “We just had to overcome a lot that I wish we didn’t have to. Came home with a strong second at the end, but I like first better.”
If he were to have just a few more laps, Hirschman may have been able to get to Silk’s bumper and challenge for the win. But with no caution and lapped traffic to navigate, it didn’t happen.
“We would’ve eventually caught him and passed him probably,” he said. “But the race is 150 laps, I’m not going to make any excuses about it. I’m sure the longer it went the more it favored us, but it’s over.”
Justin Bonsignore came home third after leading more than 30 laps in the middle of the race, extending his top-10 streak to nine races. The result marks his fifth top five at Oswego, bringing his average finish to a whopping 3.2 in his six starts at the track.
More importantly, the two-time and defending champion expanded his points lead over Patrick Emerling, who struggled on the evening finishing 15th and two laps down.
“Obviously on that side of things, it was a good night for us,” Bonsignore said. “It’s getting down to crunch time as far as the points are concerned, so it gives us a little breathing room, but we’ll still have to race hard the next three (events).”
Doug Coby and Anthony Nocella rounded out the top five, with Bobby Santos III, Andrew Krause, Woody Pitkat, Kyle Bonsignore and Kyle Ebersole completing the top 10.
Unofficially, Bonsignore’s lead over Emerling in the standings now sits at 20 points with three races remaining on the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour schedule. Silk sits a distant third with Coby, Jon McKennedy and Kyle Bonsignore behind.
Up next for the Whelen Modified Tour is a trip to Richmond Raceway on Sept. 10 for the Virginia Is For Racing Lovers 150. It’ll mark the first trip to “The Action Track” for the tour since 2002 and 11th overall, dating back to 1990.
DARLINGTON, S.C. — Despite scoring his best finish of the 2021 NASCAR Xfinity Series season on Saturday afternoon at Darlington Raceway, Harrison Burton wasn’t satisfied.
Burton crossed the finish line in second place behind race winner Noah Gragson after an overtime restart in the 152-lap race at the 1.366-mile oval. Burton’s teammate, Cup Series regular Denny Hamlin, appeared to have a strong grasp on the victory, but a caution on Lap 138 erased his lead over Gragson. Things went from bad to worse when the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team of Hamlin was penalized for equipment over the wall too soon during the final round of pit stops during the caution period.
That gave Burton an opportunity to give Gragson a run, but it ultimately fell short.
“Bittersweet,” Burton said. “It’s hard to win and whenever you have a chance, it’s like I gotta take advantage of this. The 54 (Hamlin) had some problems, I don’t even know what happened, and that kind of opened the door for me and Noah. I just kind of didn’t walk through it.
“Something about second always sucks worse than anything else because you feel like you’re one move away or one run away from being in Victory Lane,” Burton added. “I think he (Gragson) was just better than us in (Turns) 1 and 2 and we were really strong through (Turns) 3 and 4. I just had to take some lines that I didn’t really want to take, just kind of the opposite of what he did to try to get there and loosen him up. Just kind of didn’t do my job getting up there.”
Before Darlington, Burton had four third-place results this season, coming at Daytona International Speedway, Atlanta Motor Speedway, Charlotte Motor Speedway and Nashville Superspeedway. It also served as Burton’s ninth top five of the year.
Although a win slipped away, Burton was still proud of his team for overcoming the absence of crew chief Jason Ratcliff, sidelined because of COVID-19 protocols. The team has now produced four top-five finishes in the last six races with two races remaining in the Xfinity Series regular season.
“… Our whole team did a great job rallying together and everyone kind of pitched in to pick up the slack for Jason who’s sitting at home,” Burton said. “We’re all thinking of him and I really wish we could have won for him. Just wanted it real bad. Just frustrated, I guess.”
Burton’s interim crew chief, Dustin Zacharyasz, echoed his driver’s feelings about the second-place finish.
“Well, it’s actually a little disappointing to be right there with the green-white-checkered (finish) and feel like you have a better car and just can’t get it done is frustrating,” Zacharyasz told NASCAR.com. “I don’t have this big moral buildup, best finish of the year, I just want to win races. Didn’t get it done.”
“This team is capable of winning races,” he added. “We won quite a few races last year, so just trying to get back to that.”
With the playoffs in sight, Burton will use the Darlington result as more motivation to break into the win column.
“I just want to get this one back,” Burton said. “Make us work harder and be better.”
Fresh from the announcement of his return to JR Motorsports next year, Noah Gragson sped to victory at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, clinching a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.
After pre-race favorite Denny Hamlin was sent to the rear under penalty for an equipment violation during a pit stop under caution on Lap 139, Gragson grabbed the lead from Daniel Hemric on Lap 143 and held it the rest of the way.
Gragson‘s victory in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at the 1.366-mile speedway was his first of the season, his first at Darlington and the third of his career.
After debris from a Hemric spin on Lap 144 caused the eighth caution of the afternoon and sent the race to overtime, Gragson surged ahead on the final restart and finished .218 seconds ahead of runner-up Harrison Burton.
Reigning series champion Austin Cindric ran third, closing to a single point his deficit to current series leader AJ Allmendinger, who finished 20th after pitting under the final caution because of a loose wheel.
“It‘s been way too long,” said Gragson, who celebrated by climbing the frontstretch catch fence with his team after climbing from his car. “I hate that the 54 (Hamlin) … something happened to him on pit road. It was pretty fun racing there.
“We made good adjustments on the pit stops … And like you said, it‘s been way too long. A lot of frustration this year, and things haven‘t gone our way, but we‘re getting some momentum when we need to, and I just can‘t thank everybody enough on this No. 9 team.”
Hamlin appeared headed for his sixth Xfinity Series victory at Darlington when teammate Brandon Jones spun off Turn 4 on Lap 138 of a scheduled 147. On the ensuing pit stop for new tires, Hamlin‘s crew was penalized for bringing equipment over the wall too soon, ending the driver‘s chances for a win.
Hamlin — making his first Xfinity Series start of the season — overcame early trouble, spinning out of the top spot on the final lap of Stage 1 while trying to work around the slower car of Carson Ware. That handed the opening stage win to Hemric, who rallied on fresh tires after his team remedied a loose spark-plug wire soon after the start.
Gragson took the checkered flag on Lap 152 at the end of the only overtime attempt. The victory marked his fifth straight finish of seventh or better.
Cindric took advantage of Allmendinger‘s late issue to set up a tight battle for the regular-season championship with two races left before the 12-driver playoff field is set.
“We did a solid job all day trying to execute but we weren‘t perfect,” Cindric said. “I‘m proud of what we gained today with the Snap-On Ford Mustang. It‘s definitely the best race I feel like I‘ve had at Darlington, just having the strength and not having too many weaknesses.
“As a team, that takes a lot of conversations throughout the week to try to get that right, so we righted a lot of wrongs for me at this race track today. I feel good about that.”
Justin Haley, last weekend‘s Daytona winner, finished fourth, followed by Kaulig Racing teammate Jeb Burton. Justin Allgaier, Tyler Reddick, Jeremy Clements, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe completed the top 10.
There were eight cautions for a total of 41 laps and 19 lead changes among eight drivers. Hamlin, who finished 12th, led a race-high 43 laps. Gragson was out front for 40 circuits.
According to Cindric, the fresh strip of pavement in Turn 2 seemed to gain grip throughout the race but did not play a significant role in the outcome.
“Today when we showed up it was a construction site, and now it‘s a race track,” Cindric said. “That‘s the way I see it. It‘s dirty. It‘s new asphalt. We‘re the first cars to run on it. It gained grip throughout the day. It got cleaned throughout the day. It got more raceable throughout the day. I don‘t think it will be much of a story line tomorrow (in Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race).”
The Xfinity Series’ next race, the Go Bowling 250, is scheduled next Saturday, Sept. 11 (2:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Richmond Raceway. Just two events remain in the regular season.
Notes: Post-race inspection was completed in the Xfinity Series garage without major issue, confirming Gragson’s victory. NASCAR officials announced that the cars of the top four finishers would be brought back to the NASCAR R&D Center for further inspection and testing on the engine dynamometer. … Ty Dillon finished 13th as a late-hour substitute in the No. 02 Our Motorsports Chevrolet in place of Brett Moffitt, held out of Saturday’s race for medical reasons.
Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (⏰ 6 p.m. ET | 📺 NBCSN | 📻 MRN, SiriusXM)
Everything you need to know for Sunday’s Cup Series Playoffs opener, the 27th points-paying NASCAR Cup Series event of the 2021 season.
Where: Darlington Raceway, aka The Lady in Black, a 1.366-mile oval in Darlington, South Carolina
Starting Lineup: Ryan Blaney will lead the field to green under the lights, accompanied by Denny Hamlin on front row. See the full lineup Green flag: 6:18:40 p.m. ET TV/Radio: NBCSN/NBC Sports App, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Forecast: Partly cloudy, with a low around 70, according to NOAA.gov Grand Marshal: Representative of Cook Out, Katie Yonchuk Race Distance: 367 laps, 501.322 miles Stages: 115 | 230 | 367 Pit-road speed: 45 mph Caution car speed: 50 mph Darlington 101: Get the full lowdown
Entry list: See who’s in the field Pit-stall assignments: See who is pitting where| Expert breaks down pit-road selectionsGetty Images
Five to watch
Here are five big story lines we’ll be following at Daytona:
1. We’re here — the 2021 NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs. Just 10 races separate 16 remaining drivers from the forever glory of being crowned a NASCAR champion, and the field may be deeper than ever before. First up: the Round of 16, starting with Sunday’s Cook Out Southern 500. Win that and you advance to the Round of 12, along with staking claim in one of NASCAR’s most prized races. Win-win. The regular season held no shortage of story lines right from the jump, seeing Michael McDowell shock the world in the Daytona 500, Christopher Bell become the first Joe Gibbs Racing driver to lock in a week later on the road course at the World Center of Racing, William Byron become elite seemingly overnight and Kyle Larson flex on the field in ways reminiscent of a few other guys who used to drive for Hendrick Motorsports and know a thing or two about championships. But one thing’s for sure: we’re just getting warmed up, and the 2021 Playoffs are sure to sizzle.
2. Perhaps the biggest question as we get rolling here: will Larson’s dominance carry over into the postseason? All signs point to yes, but it does feel likely that JGR’s best days of 2021 are still ahead of the Toyota organization, Team Penske likely won’t go winless the rest of the way given Ryan Blaney is coming off two straight wins, Kevin Harvick could still find a path to Victory Lane and oh, by the way, all three of his teammates have been excellent this year as well and are also vying for a championship. With only 10 race trophies left to collect, it doesn’t leave much room on the plate for Larson to feast, but he’s also been otherworldly. He’s still likely to make the Championship 4 and currently stands as the title favorite, but his road to the Bill France Cup looks a good deal bumpier than it did during his summer peak.
3. And how about the underdogs? Given the season-long strength of the top of the field and relative consistency the top 10 teams have shown, those drivers on or around the bubble certainly have an uphill battle ahead of them. Daytona darling McDowell knows his team needs “to have the three best races of our careers” just to make the Round of 12, so any expectations for advancement past that point is a bit of wishful thinking. Tyler Reddick appears to be catching fire at the right time and could make a run, Bell is in top-tier equipment and has had nearly a full season to prepare for the playoffs and Aric Almirola sets up well to have a productive Round of 16 and potentially build some momentum. And then, of course, is Harvick, who enters as the No. 16 seed after last year’s top seeding — he’s a complete wild card, and should be fascinating to watch.
4. Come playoff time, any sort of perceived advantage needs to be explored, and Darlington is no exception. The winner will advance to the daunting Round 12, which opens at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, takes a trip to Talladega Superspeedway and wraps up at the Charlotte Motor Speedway Roval. Every one of the dozen eligible drivers at that point will be clamoring to win at Vegas and avoid the stress of the mercurial Talladega and Roval. What would come in handy in the quest to win at Vegas? The extra two weeks of preparation that come along with a Southern 500 victory and the peace of mind knowing you’re already locked into the Round of 12.
5. Lest we forget that other, non-playoff drivers make up the rest of Sunday’s field of 37 cars and also would love to be crowned a Southern 500 champion. Erik Jones is a former winner, and has six top 10s there in his seven starts, albeit in better equipment. Matt DiBenedetto and the No. 21 Wood Brothers group still look like a team that could sneak in a win before they part ways at the end of the year, and one in this race would do wonders for his future prospects. Ryan Newman has seen success at this track before, is coming off his best finish of the season and was 10th here in the spring. Austin Dillon is fresh off just missing the playoffs and was runner-up in this race last year. It’s more likely a playoff driver wins, but these guys certainly won’t make it easy on them.
Race-day staples
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
•Power Rankings: Tyler Reddick might just be getting started | Scope the ranks •Paint Scheme Preview: Shining bright under the lights | See the schemes
• Meet the field: Analyzing the 16-driver 2021 playoffs | Read more
• Bubble Watch: Who’s already in danger at Darlington? | Read more
• Track-by-track: Analyzing every race in the Round of 16| Read more
• Predict this: NASCAR.com staff playoff predictions | Read more •Fantasy Fastlane: See who to use, avoid | Full Fantasy advice |Set your roster •Preview Show: Jonathan Merryman and Alex Weaver preview the race | Watch the show •Quite a collection: Multi-time winners of the Cook Out Southern 500 | See the list •Darlington stars: All-time Southern 500 winners | See the list
Get in on the action
Think you know NASCAR? Put your mettle to the test with gaming, fantasy.
• Bet on it: Betting odds for Darlington | See the odds
• NASCAR betting: Pro handicappers debate where to find value | Read more
• Go all the way: Odds for 2021 Cup Series championship | See the odds • Talking playoffs: How Fantasy Live game works for the postseason | Read more
• On the grid: How the Cup Series Playoffs Grid Challenge works | Read more • No risk, big reward: Take a shot at winning cash prizes with the free-to-play Jackpot Races app | Hit the jackpot
• Play it LIVE: Full guide to 2021 NASCAR Fantasy Live game | Get the FAQ
Fast facts
Brian Lawdermilk | Getty Images
Hard-hitting, race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Denny Hamlin has an average running position in the top 10 in 13 of the last 14 races at Darlington. • Kevin Harvick has led 1,000 fewer laps this season compared to this point in 2020. • Ryan Blaney owns a series-best 6.6 average finish the last nine races in 2021.
• Joey Logano has finished outside the top 20 in the last four races— his worst streak since May/June 2017.
• Kyle Larson owns the best average finish (6.00) at Darlington all-time among drivers with more than two starts.
Catch the pack
Read up on all the headlines from the week leading up to Saturday’s race.
• Playoff momentum: Blaney rounding into roles as team leader, title contender | Read more
• Team power: Kyle Busch, Bell eye strong runs at 2021 Cup Series title | Read more
• Will or won’t: @nascarcasm on each driver’s title hopes | Read more
• Yes, hard feelings: Distaste for Hamlin will ‘absolutely’ carry over in playoffs, says Logano |Read more
• No playing favorites: Larson enters 2021 playoffs as heavy favorite — but is he? | See details
• ‘We have to crush it’: Underdogs aiming to claw, advance | Read more
• Debate: Is Ryan Blaney Championship 4-caliber? | Watch the video • Testing, testing: Eight teams to test Next Gen at Daytona | Read more • Ripple effects: Inside the dynamics of 23XI’s growth | Read more • Radio silence: Christopher Bell on relationship with Kyle Larson: ‘We haven’t communicated’ | Read more
Say what?
The best quotes from big names in the sport heading into this weekend’s race.
• “I feel good about our team. I think our team has done a great job with the circumstances we’ve been presented with and I think the last four or five weeks our cars have run a lot better. We’ve still got some work to do with some things on the balance side of the car to start these races, but, in the end, our team has done a great job and those numbers could have been a lot better if it weren’t for three or four ill-timed accidents at the end of a few of the races. You obviously want to win, but some years just don’t go exactly how you want them to go and I think those are the years that you’ve got to dig down and do the things that our guys have done this year, so gotta be in it to win it and we’ve given ourselves a chance and see where it all falls in the end.” — Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford
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• “We’re definitely excited to be going to Darlington to start the Playoffs this weekend. It’s a place we have a lot of confidence at – and really this whole first round, we feel really good about. I’m not sure anyone knows exactly what to expect with the repaved area in turn two so that will be a challenge for everyone. I felt like that was one of our stronger parts of the track as the bumps had developed, but we’ll do our best to plan for the change and hopefully continue to build on how strong we have ran the past few times at Darlington to get the Playoffs started strong.” — Martin Truex Jr. driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
• “We are super excited for Darlington this weekend. These next three weeks are exciting races. Three, I feel like, really cool racetracks with fun environments for us. It’s getting to be that time of year. Fall is an exciting time of year for a lot of things around sports and our season is getting down to it, as well. We are just excited to get going. It’s hard to believe we are 26 weeks in. It doesn’t really seem like it, but here we are starting another playoffs and heading into the final 10 of the year. It goes by fast, but over two months of racing is still a long time. They will click off and you’ll get in certain moments that you might like, some you might not like, and we’ll make the most of them all.” — Chase Elliott, driver of the No.9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
• “The first thing I think of with kicking off the Playoffs at Darlington, is that it is a crown jewel event. That is the perfect stage that we could have start the 2021 Playoffs, and we are starting it at one of the coolest tracks. We are also going into some unknowns with the repaved or repaired surface in turn two. it is really going to improve the lap times with the grip level. Turn two is where your lap time is made and if you get through there good, it’s really going to help with that. Now with the extra grip, there is going to be a ton of speed down the back straightaway, into turn three, and there could be a question if we are up against the rev chip. So, you might have to back off the throttle to preserve the engine. With this being the second longest race of the year, that could be a huge factor at the end of the race as far as durability. But for the most part it’s still the same old Darlington. There is a ton of stuff that the driver has to compartmentalize at Darlington, plus the emotions of kicking off the Playoffs. A lot of things that we have to juggle when we get there.” — Kurt Busch, driver of the No. 1 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (September 3, 2021) – AdventHealth joins The Martin Truex Jr. Foundation (MTJF) and The NASCAR Foundation as the presenting sponsor of the Honor a Cancer Hero online auction. Bidding launches today featuring teams competing in NASCAR’s three national series and the ARCA Menards Series. It signifies the most extensive participation with more than 100 opportunities available for the second-annual event raising awareness for childhood and ovarian cancers.
During the auction, NASCAR fans can bid to have their cancer hero’s name placed on the signature panel of their favorite driver’s car during the NASCAR Cup, Xfinity, and ARCA Menards Series races at Kansas Speedway or during the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series at Martinsville Speedway. The auction concludes on September 13.
“As many as one in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime according to the American Cancer Society. It is up to all of us to fund research to help find cures and improve treatments. AdventHealth is honored to be part of this fundraising effort, to celebrate cancer heroes and to provide cancer care that helps patients beat or manage cancer through groundbreaking research, innovative treatments, and whole-person care,” said David Banks, senior executive vice president and chief strategy officer for AdventHealth.
Proceeds from the online auction will benefit MTJF and The NASCAR Foundation, two organizations recognized as champions for the health and well-being of others.
“We are honored to provide NASCAR fans this opportunity to celebrate those involved in the fight against cancer,” said Nichole Krieger, executive director of The NASCAR Foundation. “Whether honoring someone who has personally battled cancer, a medical provider, nurse, caregiver or other member of the all-important support system, what a remarkable way to recognize these heroes. And to partner with the NASCAR community, AdventHealth and MTJF makes this effort even more special.”
With September designated as childhood and ovarian cancer awareness month, the two foundations are teaming up to celebrate and support those champions who have overcome battles with cancer.
“We are so excited to launch this fundraising initiative for a second year,” said Sherry Pollex, founder of the Martin Truex Jr. Foundation. “There was an outpouring of support from NASCAR, drivers, teams, and fans from across the country last year. September is a special month for the MTJ Foundation in creating cancer awareness and we are hoping to raise the fundraising bar even higher this month. We are proud to partner with The NASCAR Foundation and AdventHealth to honor these cancer heroes.”
To learn more and to see a complete list of participating drivers, please visit here.
