Throwback paint schemes with Kyle Larson, Austin Dillon and Chris Buescher during the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
Darlington Raceway – Goodyear 400
Denny Hamlin Looking To Win At Darlington For Third Time In Three Years
Six of the 51 NASCAR Cup Series race winners at Darlington Raceway are active this weekend. Four of them are looking for their first win of the season (Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski).
Denny Hamlin has the most wins of the active drivers with four including wins in 2021 and 2020. It has been a feast of famine season for Hamlin. He has run great in pretty much every race but something will pop up to take him out of the race or at least out of contention for the win. Last week at Dover, it was a pit miscue that left him without a lugnut and eventually a tire following a pit stop. That issue will have him without crew chief Chris Gabehart for four weeks starting at Darlington. Maybe the time away from the track will allow the team to regroup and turn their luck around.
More past winners are looking to turn the season around. Harvick, who won at Darlington twice in 2020, is currently in 15th in the standings and 21 points above the cutoff. Truex won at Darlington last season but seems to be missing a little something. Truex has run near the front but is looking to be at the front, this could be the weekend for him to break out. With three stage wins, Truex is currently 11th and 77 points ahead of the cutoff. Jones won in 2019 and was close to a win at Talladega. On the bubble in 16th and three points ahead of the cutoff, this is a weekend for Jones to make a move up the standings. A big points penalty for Keselowski early in the season has him in a hole 112 points below the cutoff line. A victory at Darlington would help the 2015 winner get to the playoffs.
Schedule (all times eastern): Practice: Saturday, May 7 10:30am – 11:05am on FS1 Busch Light Pole Qualifying – Saturday, May 7 11:05am on MRN, FS1
Raceday – Sunday, May 8 3:30pm on FS1, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Track Facts Track Length: 1.366 Miles Race Lengths: 500 Miles (367 laps) Grandstand Seating Capacity: 50,000 First Race: Sept. 4, 1950 – Southern 500 Degree of Banking in Corners: 25 degrees – Turns 1 & 2; 23 degrees – Turns 3 & 4 Banking on Straights: 6 degrees Frontstretch: 1,229 feet
Backstretch: 1,229 feet
Race Records & Results Track Qualifying Record: Aric Almirola, Ford, 184.145 mph, 26.705 secs. April 11, 2014 Track Race Record (500 miles): Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 141.383 mph, (03:32:45), May 11, 2013 Track Race Record (400 miles): David Pearson, Ford, 132.703 mph, (03:00:54), May 11, 1968 2021 Pole Winner: None – Metric Qualifying, Brad Keselowski – Started 1st, May 9, 2021 2021 Race Winner: Martin Truex Jr., Toyota, 123.562 mph, (03:14:21), May 9, 2021
Top 5 In Points:
1 Chase Elliott 418 2 Ryan Blaney 368 3 William Byron 353 4 Kyle Busch 353
5 Alex Bowman 349
Top Driver Stats: DARLINGTON-SPECIFIC STATISTICS
(Driver stats below are during the Loop Data Era: 2005 to Present)
Kyle Busch (No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) · One win, six top fives, 13 top 10s · Average Finish of 11.950, seventh-best · Average Running Position of 10.137, third-best · Driver Rating of 100.6, fifth-best · 353 Fastest Laps Run, fourth-best · 5,776 Laps in the Top 15 (82.0%), second-most
· 707 Quality Passes, series-most
Kurt Busch (No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota) · Four top fives, 12 top 10s; two poles · Average Finish of 15.750, 11th-best · Average Running Position of 13.348, 11th-best · Driver Rating of 87.8, 11th-best · 290 Fastest Laps Run, seventh-best · 5,088 Laps in the Top 15 (72.2%), fourth-most
· 671 Quality Passes, fourth-most
William Byron (No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) · Two top fives, two top 10s; one pole · Average Finish of 20.857, 13th-best · Average Running Position of 14.558, 13th-best · Driver Rating of 83.5, 12th-best · 28 Fastest Laps Run, 18th-best · 1,516 Laps in the Top 15 (67.0%), 12th-most
· 238 Quality Passes, 13th-most
Chase Elliott (No. 9 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) · Two top fives, four top 10s · Average Finish of 18.600, 12th-best · Average Running Position of 11.657, sixth-best · Driver Rating of 89.1, 10th-best · 128 Fastest Laps Run, 10th-best · 2,556 Laps in the Top 15 (76.0%), ninth-most
· 417 Quality Passes, eighth-most
Denny Hamlin (No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) · Four wins, 11 top fives, 15 top 10s; one pole · Average Finish of 7.053, second-best · Average Running Position of 7.460, second-best · Driver Rating of 108.9, second-best · 391 Fastest Laps Run, third-best · 6,029 Laps in the Top 15 (90.3%), series-most
· 685 Quality Passes, second-most
Kevin Harvick (No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford) · Three wins, 12 top fives, 17 top 10s; two poles · Average Finish of 10.150, fourth-best · Average Running Position of 10.384, fifth-best · Driver Rating of 104.7, third-best · 411 Fastest Laps Run, second-best · 5,765 Laps in the Top 15 (81.8%), third-most
· 681 Quality Passes, third-most
Erik Jones (No. 43 Petty GMS Motorsports Chevrolet) · One win, four top fives, six top 10s · Average Finish of 10.125, third-best · Average Running Position of 12.085, ninth-best · Driver Rating of 93.1, eighth-best · 107 Fastest Laps Run, 11th-best · 1,939 Laps in the Top 15 (73.8%), 11th-most
· 284 Quality Passes, 11th-most
Brad Keselowski (No. 6 RFK Racing Ford) · One win, five top fives, eight top 10s; one pole · Average Finish of 11.063, sixth-best · Average Running Position of 11.872, eighth-best · Driver Rating of 95.4, seventh-best · 225 Fastest Laps Run, eighth-best · 3,801 Laps in the Top 15 (68.2%), seventh-most
· 429 Quality Passes, seventh-most
Kyle Larson (No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet) · Five top fives, seven top 10s · Average Finish of 5.500, series-best · Average Running Position of 7.016, series-best · Driver Rating of 114.5, series-best · 309 Fastest Laps Run, sixth-best · 2,546 Laps in the Top 15 (88.7%), 10th-most
· 297 Quality Passes, 10th-most
Joey Logano (No. 22 Team Penske Ford) · Four top fives, eight top 10s · Average Finish of 14.313, eighth-best · Average Running Position of 11.809, seventh-best · Driver Rating of 91.9, ninth-best · 103 Fastest Laps Run, 12th-best · 4,164 Laps in the Top 15 (74.7%), sixth-most
· 551 Quality Passes, sixth-most
Tyler Reddick (No. 8 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet) · One top 10 · Average Finish of 14.600, ninth-best · Average Running Position of 13.540, 12th-best · Driver Rating of 81.6, 13th-best · 32 Fastest Laps Run, 16th-best · 996 Laps in the Top 15 (65.2%), 18th-most
· 185 Quality Passes, 17th-most
Martin Truex Jr (No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota) · Two wins, four top fives, 10 top 10s · Average Finish of 10.789, fifth-best · Average Running Position of 10.179, fourth-best · Driver Rating of 103.8, fourth-best · 465 Fastest Laps Run, series-best · 4,963 Laps in the Top 15 (74.3%), fifth-most
· 638 Quality Passes, fifth-most
