By Lonnie Hugh Skinner

 

 

 

 

 

 

NASCAR Cup Series

Darlington Storylines and Insights:

·       This weekend marks the 128th running of a NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. This season the track is celebrating its 75th Anniversary (1950-2025).

·       Toyota has won the pole for the last four Cup races at Darlington, tied for their longest streak at any one track. The Darlington record for the most consecutive poles is five straight by Mercury from 1975-1977, a feat Toyota can tie this weekend.

·       A total of 56 drivers have won the pole in thew NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway. Of the 56 pole winners all-time, seven are active this weekend:

Active Darlington Pole Winners (7)	Poles	Seasons
Joey Logano	2	2022 sweep
Bubba Wallace	1	2024
Tyler Reddick	1	2024
Christopher Bell	1	2023
William Byron	1	2019
Denny Hamlin	1	2018
Brad Keselowski	1	2015

 

·       Joey Logano leads all active NASCAR Cup Series drivers in poles at Darlington Raceway with two (2022 sweep).

·       2025 is the first season since 2019 there wasn’t a repeat pole winner through the first seven races, and it has only occurred four times in the Modern Era (1998, 2014, 2019, 2025).

·       2025 is the first time since 2018 that five different teams won the pole in the first seven races of the season

·       18 different drivers finished in the top 10 at Darlington in 2024, only Chase Briscoe and Denny Hamlin finished top 10 in both.

·       Nine drivers finished in the top-five at Darlington in 2024, Chase Briscoe was the only driver to finish top-five in both (fifth and first).

·       Denny Hamlin, last weekend’s winner at Martinsville, leads all active Cup drivers in wins (4), runner-up finishes (4), top fives (13), top 10s (18) and average finish (8.2) at Darlington Raceway.

·       The last nine Darlington Raceway NASCAR Cup Series races were won by nine different drivers, the record at the track is 11 between 2006 and 2016.

·       Every winner since 2006 at Darlington had a minimum of 100 career Cup starts.

·       Six drivers earned their first Cup Series win at Darlington, four of them got their only Cup victory – Regan Smith (2011), Lake Speed (1988), Terry Labonte (1980), Larry Frank (1952), Nelson Stacy (1961) and Johnny Mantz (1950).

·       Nine drivers snapped 50+ race winless streaks at Darlington including both 2024 races; tied for the most among non-drafting tracks with Phoenix.

·       Christopher Bell can become the first driver since Jeff Gordon in 1997 to win four of the first eight races in a season. Bell’s best finish at Darlington in the Cup Series is third on 9/1/24.

·       Of the 55 NASCAR Cup Series Darlington Raceway winners, eight will be active this weekend:

Active Darlington Race Winners (8)	Wins	Seasons
Denny Hamlin	4	2021, 2020, 2017, 2010
Erik Jones	2	2022, 2019
Brad Keselowski	2	2024, 2018
Chase Briscoe	1	2024
William Byron	1	2023
Kyle Larson	1	2023
Joey Logano	1	2022
Kyle Busch	1	2008

 

·       The deepest in the field that a Cup Series race winner has started at Darlington Raceway is 43rd by Johnny Mantz in 1950 – the inaugural NASCAR Cup Series event held at the historic raceway.

·       The deepest in the field that an active race winner has started at Darlington is 18th by Kyle Larson on Sept. 3, 2023.

·       The final green flag stretch was less than 17 laps in only one of the last nine Darlington races.

·       The last three Spring Darlington races had a lead change in the final 10 laps.

·       In the Modern Era (1972-Present) in the NASCAR Cup Series there has been three races at Darlington Raceway that were decided on the final lap: April 1979, March 1987 and March 2003.

·       Three Cup Series races have ended with a last lap pass in 2025, tied for the most ever through seven races with 2014.

·       The driver who led the most laps finished 25th or worse in four of the last five races at Darlington.

·       Last fall’s Southern 500 had 26 lead changes, the most for a race at Darlington since 2008.

·       A driver swept the stages at Darlington seven times, but only once went on to win (Martin Truex Jr – 05/2021).

·       Eight of the 12 stage winners at Darlington in the NextGen car finished 25th or worse.

·       2025 is the first year in the stage era where a driver hasn’t won more than 2 stages through the first seven races of the year.

·       28 drivers finished on the lead lap in last year’s spring Darlington race, tied for the most ever at Darlington (09/2015).

·       Joey Logano is one of only two defending champions without a top-five finish through the season’s first seven races (Bill Elliott – 1989).

·       Last year’s Championship 4 drivers combined for only 10 top-10 finishes so far in 2025, the fewest through seven races in Elimination Era history (2014-2024).

·       Three full-time teams have not had a DNF yet in 2025:  Hendrick Motorsports, HYAK Motorsports and Legacy Motor Club.

·       The 210 lead changes in 2025 are the second most through the first seven Cup Series races (220 in 2011)

·       175 lead lap finishers in 2025 are the most ever through the first seven races of a season.

·       Josh Berry accounts for two of Ford’s five top-five finishes in 2025 including the only win.

·       Ford’s five top-fives are their fewest since 1986 (5) and their 18 top-10s are their fewest since 2016 (12).

·       2024 NASCAR Cup Champion Joey Logano’s 260 laps led in 2025 are the most for a driver through the first seven races without a top-five finish since 2006 (Greg Biffle – 404).

·       Ty Gibbs earned 33 fewer stage points in 2025 through seven races compared to seven races in 2024, the biggest decline among all drivers.

·       Bubba Wallace’s 69 stage points through seven races in 2025 are his most ever at this point in a season by 40 points.

·       Ryan Blaney will be making his 350th career start this weekend.  Three drivers won in their 350th start:  Lee Petty (Martinsville – 05/1959), Bill Elliott (Rockingham – 03/1992) and Tony Stewart (Talladega – 10/2008)

·       Ryan Blaney ranks first in 2025 in stage points earned (74), 38% of his total points this season came from stages

·       Four full-time drivers have yet to score stage points in 2025:  Justin Haley, Riley Herbst, Zane Smith and Cody Ware.

·       Tyler Reddick has three top-three finishes in the Next Gen car at Darlington Raceway, series-most.

·       Kyle Busch has finished runner-up at Darlington three times since he last won there in 2008.

·       Chevrolet won only three of the last 16 Darlington races, all three wins came in the Next Gen car.

·       Denny Hamlin has led laps in 19 of his 25 Darlington starts, including the last 10 (fifth longest streak at Darlington all-time).

·       Denny Hamlin leads all drivers with 298 laps led in 2025, the fewest by the driver leading the most laps after seven races in a season since Richard Petty’s 269 in 1964.

·       Kyle Larson leads all drivers in laps led in the Next Gen car at Darlington Raceway with 392 laps out front.

·       JGR led 37% of the laps raced at Darlington in the Next Gen car but have more DNFs than top fives.

·       Bubba Wallace ranks second in laps run in the top-five and in the top-10 in 2025 in the Cup Series.

·       Ryan Preece’s one top-five, three top-10s, 43 laps led and 23 stage points through seven races are all career bests.

·       Defending 2024 Darlington race winner Brad Keselowski has yet to finish inside the top-10 this season; his best finish in 2025 is 11th at Las Vegas.

·       Erik Jones (Toyota 2019, Chevrolet 2022) is the only active driver to win in more than one manufacturer at Darlington, but former active winners Chase Briscoe (Ford 2024) and Kyle Busch (Toyota 2008) currently drive different makes than what they have previously won in.

·       Hendrick Motorsports (1995-1996 sweep and 2003-2004 sweep) and Richard Childress Racing (1989-1990 sweep) are tied for the most consecutive wins in the Cup Series at Darlington with three straight each.

·       In the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington Raceway, the outside front row (second starting position) has produced the second-most wins all-time at 19 (a winning percentage of 15%); including this race last season.

·       Five NASCAR Cup Series races have resulted in an overtime finish at Darlington Raceway: 2005, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2023.

·       Darlington Raceway has hosted races on Mother’s Day five times; including the last four spring races at the track (2007, 2021-2024). This season Kansas Speedway will host its first NASCAR Cup Series race on Mother’s Day – May 11, 2025.

 

NASCAR Xfinity Series

Darlington Storylines and Insights:

·       This weekend will be the 70th running of a NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway (1982-2025).

• Darlington is not a Dash 4 Cash race; it returns at Bristol.
• The four Dash 4 Cash races in 2025 are Miami, Martinsville, Bristol and Rockingham.
• Austin Hill claimed Richard Childress Racing’s 100th Xfinity Series win at Martinsville.
• Austin Hill’s 12th win ranks second among RCR winners behind Kevin Harvick with 35.
• Austin Hill won the Dash 4 Cash $100,000 for the first time at Martinsville last weekend.
• Austin Hill won twice in the first seven races of the season for third straight year (three wins in 2023).
• Sheldon Creed earned his 14th career runner-up finish at Martinsville, most by a winless driver in NASCAR Xfinity Series history
• JR Motorsports is nine wins away from 100, only three other teams won at least 100 NXS races (Joe Gibbs Racing-215, Roush Fenway Keselowski Racing-138, Richard Childress Racing-100)
• Cup Series drivers Chase Elliott (Hendrick #17), Christopher Bell (Gibbs #19) and Ross Chastain (JR Motorsports #9) are racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington.
• Four drivers in the field are past NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington race winners: Justin Allgaier-3, Chase Elliott-1, Christpher Bell-1 and Brandon Jones-1.
• Justin Allgaier is the only driver to sweep both stages and the race at Darlington – May 2024.
• Justin Allgaier finished inside the top-10 in eight straight Darlington races, one away from tying Mark Martin for longest streak in Xfinity Series history at Darlington Raceway.
• Sheldon Creed (2), Christian Eckes (1) and Ross Chastain (1) won in the NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Trucks Series at Darlington and are entered in the Xfinity Series race this weekend.
• Four drivers finished runner-up at Darlington in the Xfinity Series, but are still winless there: Austin Hill-2, Ross Chastain-1, Sheldon Creed-1, Harrison Burton-1.
• Three of the last 10 Darlington Xfinity Series races featured last lap passes, the pass for the win came in the final 10 laps in nine of the last 10 races there.

·       Three former Xfinity Series Darlington pole winners are entered this weekend: Christopher Bell-1, Ross Chastain-1, Brandon Jones-1.

·       The Stage 1 winner has won four of the last five Darlington Xfinity Series races.

·       Four of the last eight Darlington Xfinity Series races have finished in overtime.

·       The last five Xfinity Series races at Darlington were won by five different drivers.

·       JR Motorsports (5) and Joe Gibbs Racing (3) combined to win eight of the last nine Darlington Xfinity Series races.

·       13 drivers had or tied their best finish of the season at Martinsville, including two who made series debut.

·       Four races this year have ended with a last lap pass, the most ever through seven races in a season.

·       Four of the seven races this season went to overtime.

·       Sam Mayer is the only driver to finish in top-10 in six of seven races this season.

·       Ryan Sieg is the only driver to finish in top-25 in all seven races this season.

·       Justin Allgaier is the only driver to finish on the lead lap in all seven races of 2025.

·       Justin Allgaier is the only driver to earn multiple Fastest Lap Awards in 2025.

·       Sammy Smith scored 19 more stage points through seven races than he did last year, the biggest improvement of any full-time drivers.

·       Daniel Dye’s 9.3 average finish over last three races leads the eight rookies.

·       The average age of pole winners this season is 21, while average age of race winners is 30.

·       Chevrolet led 943 of 1,219 laps this season (77.3%).

·       For the first time in NASCAR Xfinity Series history, rookies swept the front-row in qualifying the last two weeks.

·       Brennan Poole finished better than he started in each of the last six races including Martinsville where he finished fourth after starting 29th.

·       Richard Childress Racing is winless at Darlington in the Xfinity Series, it has five runner-up finishes there.

 

NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series

Looking Ahead – Bristol Storylines and Insights:

·       Next weekend will be the 29th running of a NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway (1995-2025).

·       McAnally-Hilgemann Racing’s Daniel Hemric won the first race of the 2025 Triple Truck Challenge at Martinsville Speedway taking home the $50K bonus. If he wins at Bristol and Rockingham, he can win up to $500k in bonus prize money.

·       Each Triple Truck Challenge Event will award a $50,000 bonus to the highest finishing eligible driver. If a driver wins two of the three Triple Truck Challenge awards, that race winner will receive an additional $50,000 bonus for a total of $150,000.

·       If an eligible driver wins all three of the Triple Truck Challenge awards that race winner will receive an additional $300,000 bonus for a total of $500,000.

·       Bristol Motor Speedway is the second of seven short track races in 2025 for the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series.

·       There have been 12 different winners in the last 12 CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races at Bristol Motor Speedway.

·       Four former CRAFTSMAN Truck Series Bristol race winners are active this season: Corey Heim-1, Ty Majeski-1, Layne Riggs-1, Chandler Smith-1.

·       Corey Heim has won double the races of any other driver since the start of 2024. Heim leads the Truck Series with two wins this season (Daytona, Las Vegas).

·       Corey Heim leads the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver standings following Martinsville by 20 points over last year’s champion Ty Majeski in second place.

·       Corey Heim has led 278 laps this season, three times more than the next driver (Kyle Busch-80), and 229 more than any other series regular. Heim is the only driver to lead laps all five Truck Series races this season.

·       Five different drivers have finished runner-up in the first five races of the 2025 Truck Series season.

·       Two drivers have finished inside the top-five in three of the first five races of 2025: Corey Heim and Tyler Ankrum.

·       Chandler Smith leads all Truck Series drivers in top-10 finishes this season with five in the first five races.

·       Four drivers have finished every lap of all five of the Truck Series races this season (100% laps completed): Chandler Smith, Daniel Hemric, Tanner Gray and Ty Majeski.

·       There have been 88 lead changes in the first five CRAFTSMAN Truck Series races, the most through five races in series history.

 

Triple Truck Challenge Rundown:

·       2025 Triple Truck Challenge features three races: Martinsville (March 28^th – Daniel Hemric won), Bristol (April 11th) and Rockingham (April 18th).

·       All Truck Series drivers are eligible; however, the Triple Truck Challenge will not be open to NASCAR Xfinity Series or NASCAR Cup Series regulars who participate in the races.

·       The highest finishing full-time CRAFTSMAN Truck Series driver of the race will receive a $50k bonus.

·       If a driver wins the Triple Truck Challenge in two of the three events, they are awarded the $50,000 bonus for the second win an additional $50,000 bringing the total prize winnings to $150,000.

·       If a driver wins the Triple Truck Challenge in all three designated events, they are awarded the $50,000 bonus for the third win an additional $300,000 bringing the total prize winnings to $500,000.

·       Since its inception into the CRAFTSMAN Truck Series in 2019, the Triple Truck Challenge has awarded $1,000,000 in bonus prize money.

·       Daniel Hemric won his first Triple Truck Challenge bonus of his career last weekend at Martinsville. Hemric became the 16th different driver to win a Triple Truck Challenge bonus.

 

Former Triple Truck Challenge Winners:

·       2019 Winners: Texas: Greg Biffle ($50k), Iowa: Brett Moffitt ($50k), Gateway: Ross Chastain ($50k).

·       2020 Winners: Daytona RC and Gateway: Sheldon Creed ($150k), Dover: Zane Smith ($50k).

·       2021 Winners: Darlington: Sheldon Creed ($50k), COTA: Todd Gilliland ($50k), Charlotte: John H. Nemechek ($50k).

·       2022 Winners: Gateway: Corey Heim ($50K), Nashville: Ryan Preece ($50K), Mid-Ohio: Parker Kligerman ($50K).

·       2023 Winners: Charlotte: Ben Rhodes ($50K), Gateway: Grant Enfinger ($50K), Nashville: Carson Hocevar ($50K).

·       2024 Winners: Charlotte: Nick Sanchez ($50K), Gateway: Corey Heim ($50K), Nashville: Christian Eckes ($50K)

·       2025 Winners: Martinsville: Daniel Hemric ($50k).

 

NASCAR & Darlington, Etc.

Historical & Significant Events at Darlington Raceway:

• Darlington Raceway was originally built as a 1.25-mile paved superspeedway in 1949-1950.
• In 1949, Darlington, South Carolina native Harold Brasington leased cotton and peanut farmland on the west side of town from his poker playing friend Sherman Ramsey. On that property Brasington created an egg-shaped oval with one corner tighter, narrower, and more steeply banked because he promised Ramsey that the new track wouldn’t disturb his minnow pond at the west end. He broke ground on December 13, 1949 and almost single handedly built the track in spite of continually having to find necessary funding.
• Known as NASCAR’s oldest superspeedway, Darlington Raceway also has earned the nicknames – ‘Lady In Black’ and ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame.’
• Darlington Raceway hosted the first 500-mile race in NASCAR history, the first on an oval-track longer than a mile and the first on asphalt on September 4, 1950 – 75 cars competed in the inaugural event.
• Qualifying for the first race at Darlington was held ‘Indianapolis style’ over 15 days from August 19th-Sept 2nd. The five fastest cars each day qualified for the race. Curtis Turner was the fastest on the first day and won the pole. The fastest qualifier was Wally Campbell.  Many competitors drove their racecars to the track.
• For the first NASCAR cup Series race at Darlington, Curtis Turner won the pole at 82.034 MPH, and the race was won by Johnny Mantz (Plymouth, 75.250 MPH). The race took 6 hours, 38 minutes, and 40 seconds to complete.
• The three longest races in NASCAR History were all held at Darlington and all three were over 6 hours and 30 minutes.
• The longest race in the history of NASCAR lasted 6 hours, 42 minutes and 37 seconds and was held at Darlington on September 1, 1952 and won by Fonty Flock.
• In 1953 the track was expanded to 1.375 miles by rebuilding turns one and two (now three and four) and raising the banking to 25 degrees. In the early years there was a pedestrian crossover that spanned the backstretch (now front).
• The largest field ever in a NASCAR race was in the September 3, 1953 race at Darlington when 82 cars competed in the race and for the record, pole winner Frank Mundy finished last, and Herb Thomas won from second.
• The largest Margin of Victory ever was at Darlington on September 6, 1965 when Ned Jarrett won by over 14 laps.
• In 1970 the track was measured at 1.366 miles (like it is today) after retaining walls were added around the track and turns three and four (now one and two) banked at 23 degrees.
• The track was repaved in 1995.
• Prior to the 1997 Southern 500 the track was ‘reversed’ switching the front and back stretches.
• Lights were added in the fall of 2004. The 2005 race was the first Saturday night race at Darlington Raceway.
• The track was again repaved prior to the 2008 season.
• The Throwback theme started in 2015. 
• In 2020, multiple races were run at the track in the same week without fans in attendance in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the first live major sporting event back up and running during the pandemic.
• In total, there have been 127 NASCAR Cup Series races held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina.
• From 1960 – 2004 the track hosted two Cup Series races per year and from 2005 – 2019 it was just one race per season. The series returned to multiple races per season in 2020.
• Darlington has hosted a race in all but the first season of the NASCAR Cup Series (1950-present).

 

Latest Track Storylines at Darlington Raceway:

• Darlington Raceway announced this week that the family of the Wood Brothers Racing team will serve as the Grand Marshals for the Goodyear 400 this Sunday. Celebrating their 75^th anniversary alongside the Track Too Tough to Tame, the pioneer team of the NASCAR Cup Series will say the most famous words in motorsports ahead of the main event of The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.
• Darlington Raceway announced this week that NASCAR Hall of Famer Carl Edwards will serve as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 on Sunday, the flagship event of The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR. Edwards notoriously won the coveted 2015 Southern 500 to close out the inaugural Throwback Weekend at the Track Too Tough to Tame.
• On April 3, in advance of Sunday’s Goodyear 400, defending race winner and 2012 NASCAR Cup Series champion Brad Keselowski will visit patients in the children’s wing of McLeod Hospital. He will then head to Darlington Raceway to greet fans and take photos with Track Laps for Charity participants in Victory Lane.
• Darlington Raceway announced that former NASCAR Cup Series star and two-time Cup Series winner at the Track Too Tough to Tame, Greg Biffle, will serve as the Honorary Pace Car Driver for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway on Sunday, April 6. The former champion of the NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series will lead the field to green during the cornerstone event of The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR.

 

 

COURTESY NASCAR COMMUNICATIONS