Daytona, Darlington, Kansas announce fully open grandstands for upcoming races

Posted on May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 by Staff Report

Daytona International Speedway, Darlington Raceway and Kansas Speedway announced Friday afternoon that the tracks’ summer and fall races will be held with fully open grandstands.

Creating a safe environment for fans, competitors, employees and the community is the top priority for NASCAR and its tracks. Both entities will continue to work closely with local and state government and health officials throughout the year on any necessary health and safety protocols and adjustments for the upcoming race weekends,

Daytona

Daytona will host late summer night racing on Aug. 27-28, and there will be no restrictions on the number of fans allowed to take in the action at the World Center of Racing. Fans will be treated to two races – the Coke Zero Sugar 400, NASCAR Cup Series regular season finale, on Saturday, Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. and the Wawa 250 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday, Aug. 27 at 7:30 p.m.

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“The fans are the lifeblood of NASCAR and the reason we race week in and week out. Their presence at the track creates the aura and energy this sport thrives upon,” said Daytona President Frank Kelleher. “Even with a limited capacity at the DAYTONA 500 the atmosphere was palpable, so we look forward to welcoming back all of our fans for what will be an electrifying environment filled with dramatic and unpredictable racing action.”

Darlington

Darlington, which hosts a tripleheader this weekend, also serves as host for the start of the NASCAR Cup Series Playoffs over the fall race weekend on Sept. 4-5. There will be no restrictions on the number of fans allowed to take in the action from the grandstands for the famed Cook Out Southern 500® NASCAR Cup Series Playoff race on Sunday, Sept. 5 at 6:00 p.m. and Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Sept. 4 at 3:30 p.m.

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“Our loyal race fans have displayed their passion for NASCAR at Darlington Raceway throughout the pandemic, so this is a key moment in our storied track’s history to fully open our gates once again for the fall race weekend featuring one of the crown jewel races of NASCAR, the Cook Out Southern 500,” said Darlington President Kerry Tharp. “Thanks to Governor McMaster and his administration for their collaboration in helping us take this step forward together as a state to welcome the best fans in motorsports back home to the track Too Tough To Tame.”

Kansas

When NASCAR returns to Kansas Speedway during the NASCAR Cup Series and NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs Oct. 23-24, there will be no restrictions on the number of fans allowed to take in the action from the grandstands. Fans will be treated to three races — the Hollywood Casino 400, NASCAR Cup Series race, on Sunday, Oct. 24 at 2 p.m. and on Saturday, Oct. 23, the Kansas Lottery 300 NASCAR Xfinity Series race at 2 p.m. followed by the Reese’s 150 ARCA Menards Series Championship Race at 6 p.m.

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“Fans have expressed their overwhelming desire to get back to the racetrack so we are thrilled to welcome back all of our fans as we celebrate our 20th anniversary season during the Hollywood Casino 400 NASCAR Playoffs weekend,” said Kansas Speedway President Pat Warren. “We saw some great NASCAR racing throughout our spring race weekend, and we look forward to what’s in store when the NASCAR Playoffs and ARCA Menards Series championship return Oct. 23-24.”

Posted on May 7, 2021May 7, 2021 by Sean Montgomery

It’s throwback weekend for the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway and the tribute paint schemes are loaded for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

Check out this week’s edition of the 101 for a comprehensive list of details you need to know ahead of the Mother’s Day race.

STARTING LINEUP

Brad Keselowski is leading the field to green for the second consecutive week, claiming the Busch Pole Award for Sunday’s 293-lap race.

Starting alongside the No. 2 Team Penske Ford is the 2020 throwback race winner Kevin Harvick, followed by Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., William Byron and Chase Elliott filling out the next two rows. See the full starting lineup for Darlington.

BETTING ODDS, BIGGEST SLEEPER?

Familiar faces top the betting charts this weekend, with Denny Hamlin (11-2) and Kyle Larson (6-1) solid bets to make a trip to Victory Lane, according to BetMGM Darlington odds. Trailing the pair of favorites, there is an intriguing list of challengers who have fared well at the track in recent history and bring good value to the books:

Kevin Harvick (7-1) claimed the checkered flag in two of the last three races at Darlington and boasts an impressive 10-race top 10 streak
Kyle Busch (8-1) has five finishes of seventh or better in the last six trips there.
Erik Jones (80-1) might be the biggest sleeper of them all, after winning at Darlington in 2019 and two top-five finishes in the three races there in 2020. Jones is also fresh off a checkered-flag run in the 2021 eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational race, showcasing his consistent ability to navigate his way to the front of the pack.

Source: Racing Insights

RULES PACKAGE

The NASCAR rules package also used at tracks 1 mile in length and under and at road courses will be in effect with a tapered spacer used to set a target of 750 horsepower, along with a low-downforce race package.

GOODYEAR “BLUE STREAK” TIRES

Cup Series teams are allotted 11 sets of Goodyear “Blue Streak” Speedway Radials to conquer the 400-mile marathon. Exclusively tailored for throwback weekend, Goodyear is bringing back the 1960s and 1970s blue streak to the sidewall design that is popular among fans and drivers alike.

“There is a lot to be excited about at Darlington this weekend,” said Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing. “Not only is the Cup race called the ‘Goodyear 400’, it’s throwback weekend for the sport, we are running our ‘Blue Streak’ sidewall design and, with the abrasive track surface, tires are always a story.”

With such an abrasive surface, could the perfect pit stop decide the winner of the race?

HISTORY AT DARLINGTON

— Sunday’s Cup Series race will be the 120th premier series race at Darlington Raceway.

— 2021 is the first time since 2004 that Darlington has two races originally scheduled for one season. Three races were held there in 2020 after the schedule realignment.

— South Carolina’s David Pearson leads all drivers with 10 wins and 12 poles (five were consecutive) at Darlington; Pearson is from Spartanburg, S.C. which is 165 miles west of the track.

— Joe Gibbs Racing won six of the last 10 races at Darlington and have not gone consecutive Darlington races without a win since 2011 and 2012.

— The final lead change was with less than 25 to go in eight of the last 10 Darlington races.

Source: Racing Insights

FANTASY LIVE

Join NASCAR Fantasy Live to compete weekly for points and bragging rights. Already signed up? Go ahead and build your lineup for Darlington.

2021 Fantasy Live points leaders are Denny Hamlin (481), Martin Truex Jr. (394) and William Byron (385).

ALSO ON NASCAR.COM
Get additional camera views by logging on to NASCAR Drive, where each week a select number of in-car cameras will be available – as well as a battle cam and an overhead look.

New for this season, NASCAR has partnered with LiveLike to add fan engagement in the NASCAR Mobile App. Log in to the mobile app during the race for polls, quizzes, the cheer meter and more – and see instant results from NASCAR fans like you.

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Staff Report

Today, NASCAR announced a new digital DAYTONA 500 ticket sweepstakes, ‘Race Back to the Track,’ and an opportunity for fans to win tickets to the 2022 DAYTONA 500 with Global Citizen. Working closely with the White House COVID-19 Response Team, NASCAR joins other major sports leagues and national retailers to incentivize Americans to get their COVID-19 vaccination. This comes on the heels of President Biden announcing his goal of administering at least one vaccine shot to 70 percent of the U.S. adult population by July 4. Increased vaccination rates will allow the U.S. to get back to full capacity more quickly.

The ‘Race Back to the Track’ digital sweepstakes is open to fans who are vaccinated or pledge to make a vaccine appointment. Through May 31, fans can visit NASCAR.com/VAX and enter to win tickets to the 2022 DAYTONA 500® at Daytona International Speedway. To register for a vaccine appointment, please visit Vaccines.gov and text your zip code to 438829 (GETVAX).

Fans can also tune-in to Global Citizen’s VAX Live: The Concert to Reunite the World on Saturday, May 8 beginning at 8 p.m. ET, for details on how to win additional 2022 DAYTONA 500 tickets. The global event featuring artists, entertainers and world leaders, including President Biden, will be aired on ABC, CBS and FOX in support of vaccine equity.

NASCAR and MLS will each offer a sweepstakes that will include 2022 DAYTONA 500 tickets and trip to the 2021 MLS All-Star Game.

And in June, Major League Soccer clubs will be supporting fans that are vaccinated by offering a 30% discount for in-stadium merchandise purchases.

— White House COVID-19 Response Team (@WHCOVIDResponse) May 4, 2021

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Zack Albert

In the latest sign that the potential “new normal” after the COVID-19 outbreak is approaching, the NASCAR garage will open this weekend at Darlington Raceway with a new level of infield access for selected guests.

It’s a full-circle trip for the 1.366-mile South Carolina venue and track president Kerry Tharp, who helped resume the racing schedule there last May after the pandemic’s onset. One year later, the garage’s footprint will expand to fully vaccinated guests with fans back in the grandstands at a limited capacity — both sections still observing COVID-19 safety protocols.

“I think it’s exciting for sure, and it brings you a lot of encouragement for how things are going to continue to move forward,” Tharp said earlier this week, with final preparations ongoing for NASCAR’s annual throwback weekend. “The sport has been a leader, I think NASCAR has been a leader in being able to get live sports back, and I think they’ve been very disciplined in their approach with how they’ve done things. They’ve preserved the integrity of the competition area. They have brought fans back in a very strategic and meaningful way, and I think it’s served the sport well.

“Being able to expand the footprint starting here at Darlington gives us a lot of pride, but it’s also a big responsibility. We want to do it the right way, and I know we will, but I think it gives you a lot of hope for how the rest of the season’s going to be. I think as we get each week of the schedule behind us, you’re going to see more and more opportunities for fans to get back to experiencing things that they’re used to doing.”

NASCAR officials announced April 20 that the garage footprint would grow to include selected guests — such as sponsor representatives, corporate officials and media. Those guests will be subject to a screening process before entry. Another trial run at expanding the garage footprint is scheduled for the inaugural race weekend at the Circuit of the Americas in Austin, Texas on May 22-23. Those two events will help officials to determine infield protocols as the schedule moves toward the summer months.

Darlington officials had previously announced Feb. 25 that spectator seating for the weekend would be open at a limited capacity, with social distancing and other protocols in place; a similar system was in place for last year’s Cook Out Southern 500 on Labor Day weekend. Other tracks with later dates on the schedule — Atlanta, Pocono and Sonoma among them — have announced that grandstands will be open at full capacity.

“It’s refreshing that we can get back to some sort of normalcy,” Todd Gordon, crew chief of Team Penske’s No. 12 Ford for Ryan Blaney, told SiriusXM on Monday. “Most all of my guys are either on the road to fully vaccinated or are fully vaccinated. I’m through it, I’m a couple weeks through everything myself. I think it’s great that we’re able to continue to move toward getting our sport and our country back to some normalcy that will allow people to kind of get back on the road to what their lives were like.

“It’s cool to see fans back in the stands. It’s cool to have an opportunity to bring people back into the garage area — fully vaccinated — but I think that’s the next step of what we’re doing and really looking forward to that.”

Darlington Raceway hosted three Cup Series races last season as NASCAR officials worked with tracks and local officials to safely resume the racing schedule. Those first races — held without fans, and minus practice and qualifying — included three national-series events run in a five-day span.

MORE: Saving the season in 2020

By now, teams and drivers have developed a bit of a routine with the protocols that have been in place for nearly a year. One year ago, it was a brand-new frontier. This weekend’s guidelines offer the next step in developing new at-track procedures.

“Being able to bring live sports back to this country is something that we’ll never forget. I think that it went a long way toward NASCAR awarding us a second race date,” Tharp said. “… Drivers like coming here, teams like coming here, fans — it’s in a good location and some of the most history of any track we go to, and being able to be back here now almost a year later and having the throwback weekend and having some fans here, I’d call it a real blessing.”

Posted on May 7, 2021 by Marcus DiNitto

A perusal of recent results from Darlington Raceway reveals a dominant Kevin Harvick at the South Carolina track. Over the last 10 races there, Harvick has three wins, nine top fives and a head-turning 3.5 average finish. Harvick won two of the three races last year at Darlington and finished third in the other.

When handicapping Sunday’s Goodyear 400 (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1), however, bettors should be careful how much weight they give to these performances.

That’s because teams will bring the 750-horsepower, low-downforce package to Darlington this year, a change from the 550-horsepower, high-downforce package used the previous two seasons, and the different equipment makes a massive difference in how the race should be analyzed.

Additionally, comparing the unique in size and shape 1.366-mile speedway to 1.5-mile tracks like Homestead-Miami, Las Vegas, Atlanta and Kansas — where the 550-horsepower package has been used this season, isn’t of much value.

Last season’s COVID-interrupted schedule is also a factor bettors should consider.

“I wouldn’t rely on hardly anything the drivers did last year at the track,” said Zack White, a professional bettor who specializes in NASCAR. “First of all, the first two (Darlington) races last year were the first ones back from the pause, people kind of scrambled bringing a car to the track, and with no practice and no qualifying, nobody was really sure what they were getting into. …

“And the difference in horsepower is definitely gonna make a big difference here,” White added. “The shorter spoiler is gonna make handling a challenge. I certainly wouldn’t look at other downforce tracks this year, mile-and-a-halves or bigger, where they ran a different package and say, ‘Oh yeah, they’re going to run that same way at Darlington.’ That’s absolutely not going to happen.”

Harvick, whose Stewart-Haas Ford has had trouble keeping up with the Gibbs/Penske/Hendrick triumvirate this season, opened at 8/1 odds at SuperBook USA in Las Vegas to get his first win of 2021, making him the fifth favorite on the oddsboard.

“I would be surprised if Harvick’s ready to contend for a win,” said Ed Salmons, who handles NASCAR oddsmaking duties at the SuperBook. “I think you’re going to start to see him get top fives all the time, but I don’t think he’s quite ready to win yet.”

“Equipment-wise, there’s some issues going on at Stewart-Haas this year,” White added. “When you look at drivers historically, yeah, Harvick’s going to be at the top of that list, (Denny) Hamlin is going to be at the top of that list of people who have found success at this track. But this year is going to be a different beast.”

Larson tops the betting board

Kyle Larson, who had the best car at Kansas until he got into Ryan Blaney on the restart with three laps to go, opened as the betting favorite for the second week in a row. This week, he’s an even shorter 7/2 (+350, or bet $100 to win $350) to finish in front.

Success at Darlington demands a high level of skill, and Larson has proved he can drive this oval. In his six runs in a Chip Ganassi Chevrolet here, he has five top 10s, including three top 5s, with a 6.7 average finish. This season, he’s piloting a Hendrick Chevy.

“If you look through his runs here, he’s been incredible, and that’s when he was in Ganassi equipment,” Salmons said. “The last two races on 1.5-mile tracks — Atlanta and (Kansas) — he’s been dominant. He didn’t win either one, but he’s just been unbelievably dominant, which you just don’t see in today’s NASCAR. And this is his kind of track, where he can run that really high line, so he was my starting point here. … He seemed like the guy that should be the big favorite in this race.”

White doesn’t sound particularly interested in backing Larson at such a short price.

“Dominating and leading all those laps last week (132) and then his wins at other mile-and-a-halves this year is going to put him at the top as the favorite going to this track,” White said. “I think it’s probably right, but not necessarily for that reason. If this was another downforce race, yeah, but I wouldn’t automatically put him as a favorite with this new package if I didn’t have another angle to look at. I’m not going to be betting him, but I think he’s going to be leading laps. …

“There’s still some drivers that have done well at Kansas and Atlanta that are going to translate and still do well here even though it was a different setup,” he continued. “That’s just because they’re wheelmen, and they got the equipment and they’re good at both packages.”

Is Joe Gibbs Racing separating from the pack?

After Larson on the oddsboard comes a trio of Joe Gibbs drivers: Hamlin, who has yet to win this season but has eight top fives and leads the Cup Series standings, opened 4/1; Martin Truex Jr., who has two wins and is second in points, is 6/1; Kyle Busch, who got off the schneid with his first win of the season last week, is 7/1.

Based largely on the strength of the Gibbs team, the SuperBook prices Toyota as the +155 favorite to be the winning manufacturer, with Chevy +165 and Ford +245. Barstool Sportsbook has Gibbs as the +185 chalk to be the winning team, followed by Hendrick (+200), Penske (+450) and Stewart-Haas (+600).

Salmons shakes some salt on Busch’s Kansas win but anticipates the No. 18 will continue to be a force in this menace of a garage.

“He shouldn’t have won on Sunday, he had more of a third- or fourth-place car, but he had a solid run and he just capitalized on the cautions at the end,” Salmons said.

“(But) the Gibbs cars are running really well this year, and he showed that he can win. Guys like Kyle Busch, it doesn’t take much for them to regain their power rating from where they were in their glory days.”

Marcus DiNitto is a writer and editor living in Charlotte, North Carolina. He has been covering sports for nearly two-and-a-half decades and sports betting for more than 10 years. His first NASCAR betting experience was in 1995 at North Wilkesboro Speedway, where he went 0-for-3 on his matchup picks. Read his articles and follow him on Twitter; do not bet his picks.

Posted on May 6, 2021May 6, 2021 by Track Release

CONCORD, N.C. (May 6, 2021) – Earlier this week, as part of Charlotte Motor Speedway’s Mission 600, Coca-Cola Family Racing driver Austin Dillon and his Richard Childress Racing pit crew traded high-intensity workout routines with soldiers from U.S. Army Central Kuwait. The virtual gathering was designed to serve as a prelude to the upcoming Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day Weekend and to highlight the shared connections between NASCAR and the U.S. Armed Forces.

While the two groups were physically more than 6,800 miles apart – or the distance of more than 11 Coca-Cola 600s – they found common ground in the importance of physical exercise to success in their respective fields.

“When you think back to the Daytona 500 you won, think about how good that felt,” said Maj. Clarence Black from U.S. Army Central Kuwait. “All of the hours of training and preparation, all to culminate on probably what was your best day. For us, it’s different. When we train, we are training for combat, and that’s arguably our worst day – not something any of us ever want to do. We train hard so that we can survive and thrive on our worst day ever.”

During the Zoom meeting, members of U.S. Army Central Kuwait demonstrated several exercises that are part of Army Combat Fitness Training (ACFT), including deadlifts, power throws, sprint/drag/carry drills, among others. The unit then highlighted how those drills help prepare them for real-world scenarios on the battlefield.

“It’s awesome to see a lot of the workouts and how they apply to what they do,” Dillon said. “When we get in the gym and pit stop practice, all (my) guys are doing similar things to be the best they can be at their job.”

Following the military demonstrations, Richard Childress Racing strength and conditioning coach Jackson Meadows led Dillon and the No. 3 pit crew in a series of upper body workouts to show the soldiers how race teams use plyometric exercises to prepare themselves for the rigors of a pit stop.

“In pit stops, we are training the anaerobic system,” Meadows said. “Anaerobic systems are anything between 10-12 seconds. We are not conditioning. We are doing straight explosive power movements… to train us to be faster off the jump and faster out of kneeling positions.”

Dillon was the latest Coca-Cola Racing Family driver to participate in Mission 600, joining Daniel Suárez, who held a virtual visit with U.S. Coast Guard sailors last week. Mission 600 is scheduled to continue next week with Ryan Newman taking part in an in-person visit to Camp Lejeune. Later this month, Joey Logano is slated to visit virtually with Air Force Network Japan.

Posted on May 6, 2021May 6, 2021 by Terrin Waack

There’s freedom in the future with the Next Gen car.

As modern-day advancements are made not only in motorsports but in everyday transportation, the ability to adapt is practically required. NASCAR and its manufacturers know that, which is why there was an emphasis on hybrid and electric capabilities for the new set of wheels coming in 2022. The Next Gen car is built to change.

“The current Gen-6 car, it would be a complete overhaul to go to a hybrid system,” said Richard Johns, Ford Performance’s program engineer. “With this, it’s not a complete overhaul. It’s adding a few bits and pieces of electronics, and you’re ready to go on the race track.”

It’s a few more bits and pieces for a full-electric car, too.

Quite simply, and for this purpose, the Next Gen car is divided into three parts: front, middle and back. Switching to a hybrid would involve altering one part. Electric would take two.

Ford Performance’s global director, Mark Rushbrook, can better explain in further detail.

“With this module of the car — with the center section and then the bolt-on front clip and bolt-on rear clip — you have a lot of architectural flexibility there,” he said. “The first step with hybrid will be relatively easy in the sense that the combustion engine stays the same, the driveline stays the same; well, the transaxle in the rear, you can put on electric motor to drive back there and a modest battery — and boom, you’ve got a hybrid. … For a full electric, there will be more changes required, but with the bolt-on front clip and rear clip, you can then have a unique front clip for an electric motor version.”

Johns also called it “package protected.” The package is the powertrain. It’s what has been modified to allow the car to go hybrid or electric.

If the switch happens, then there’s the actual racing aspect on the competition side to consider, aka figuring out how to keep fast speeds once the car is hybrid or electric. Aerodynamics will continue to play a part there, with adjustments being made the same way they would normally.

“We have a driving simulator to run things; if we need to, we could put everything together there,” said Tommy Joseph, Ford Performance’s aerodynamics supervisor. “Here’s the effect of the hybrid-powered unit, here’s how much faster or slower it goes, this is the drag change we need to go with that — we can work through all that virtually.”

Of course, none of this is an immediate concern for 2022. The Next Gen car is going to remain non-hybrid, non-electrical for the season-opening Daytona 500 in February, when it’ll make its competitive debut. Ford, Toyota and Chevrolet are also the only manufacturers involved still; it’s more than likely too late for others to join for next year.

But say NASCAR does go hybrid in 2023 or even 2024. And so does the rest of the world. The sport then has the ability to gain additional appeal to potential partners looking to promote their own technological development.

“I don’t know that the car itself — if we kept running the internal combustion engine that we have today — will necessarily bring other manufacturers,” Rushbrook said. “But if we go hybrid and/or full electric, I think that will bring more manufacturers.”

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Reid Spencer

Last September, the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series returned to Darlington Raceway for the first time since 2011.

Ben Rhodes won last year’s event and — naturally enough, given the hiatus — revisits Darlington as the only former winner in the field this week. Rhodes also won the first two races of the 2021 season and will try to add a third victory in Friday night’s LiftKits4Less.com 200 (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

After Rhodes’ two wins, Kyle Busch Motorsports swept the next five events on the schedule, keeping Ford and Chevrolet out of Victory Lane. Like Rhodes, KBM driver John Hunter Nemechek will try for his third triumph of the season in the first of three Triple Truck Challenge races, with a $50,000 bonus available to the winner.

For Rhodes, ThorSport Racing’s switch from Ford to Toyota between seasons has been an important aspect of his success.

“I think the big difference for us just has been Toyota’s engineering platform,” Rhodes said. “They’ve got so much engineering support and so much knowledge and data and information available to us that it really makes it night and day, not only strategy during the race, but when you are going to a place and you don’t have practice, what do you pull from?

“I think that’s the biggest difference is the fact they’ve got this wealth of knowledge and they’ve got this army of people, and together we’re working towards the future, not just looking over our shoulder the whole time at what we did in the past.”

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Reid Spencer

Armed with a paint scheme commemorating his first and only NASCAR Cup Series victory and a pole position starting spot, AJ Allmendinger hopes to add another oval-track victory to his resume in Saturday’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race — the Steakhouse Elite 200 — at Darlington Raceway (1 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

An acknowledged ace on road courses, Allmendinger predictably got his Cup win at Watkins Glen International in 2014 when he was driving for JTG Daugherty Racing. Last year, he picked up his first Xfinity Series oval victory at Atlanta Motor Speedway and proved that wasn’t a fluke by winning earlier this season at Las Vegas Motor Speedway.

Though he has 11 career Cup Series starts at 1.366-mile Darlington (without a top-10 finish), this will be Allmendinger’s first trip around the “Lady in Black” in an Xfinity Series car.

“I’d be lying if I said Darlington is a place I’ve always been good at,” said Allmendinger, who drives the No. 16 Chevrolet for Kaulig Racing. “It’s a race track that is unique and unlike any other track in the world.

“It’s a challenge, but I know we’ll have really fast race cars there. We’ve put a lot of work into trying to improve our program at this track. We’ll have another shot to win $100,000 for the Xfinity Dash 4 Cash.”

In fact, Kaulig Racing features two of the four eligible drivers in the running for the Dash 4 Cash bonus at Darlington. Jeb Burton, winner of the rain-shortened race at Talladega Superspeedway, also can claim the prize by finishing higher than the other three eligible drivers. But the two Kaulig drivers will have to beat Noah Gragson, who claimed the first two $100,000 bonuses this year, and series leader Austin Cindric, the Talladega runner-up.

Brandon Jones, who went to Victory Lane in last year’s September race, is the only former Darlington winner in the field this week.

Posted on May 6, 2021 by Staff Report

NASCAR will reopen its infield footprint to a small number of guests beginning May 7-9 at Darlington Raceway. The 1.366-mile South Carolina track was also the site of NASCAR’s first races back after last year’s pause for the COVID-19 pandemic.

NASCAR is re-introducing guests to the restricted areas (garage and pit road) in a measured and deliberate way in order to provide a safe environment. Guest allocations (for teams, OEMs, tracks and drivers) will be provided in advance.

Guests will also need to be fully vaccinated in order to enter the infield footprint.

Additionally, NASCAR has outlined a larger infield footprint for the May 22-23 race weekend at Circuit of the Americas. Guest allocations for future events such as Charlotte, the All-Star Race and Nashville are contingent upon the result of the first two events.

There will be plans to grow these numbers as the season progresses, but with the safety of all of those involved as the main priority.