Darlington, the Track Too Tough to Tame, once again plays host to a fan-favorite event. During the Goodyear 400 (Sunday, May 8 at 3:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio), current and past drivers will celebrate Throwback Weekend. But that won’t be the only thing on the mind of teams.
Darlington hosts the twelfth round of the Cup Series season, and nine drivers have secured a Playoff spot with a win. Only fifteen races remain, and pointing-in to the sixteen-driver bracket seems increasingly unlikely each weekend. While Ryan Blaney in 10th has a 109-point gap to the cutline, Erik Jones is only three points to the good ahead of Austin Dillon.
As the intensity ratchets up, only six drivers have a win: Denny Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch. Of those, only Hamlin and Busch have scored a win so far this year.
Truex does have a history of winning on Mother’s Day, though. He won last year’s race at Darlington. Sunday’s race will be just the ninth time NASCAR’s premier series has raced on Mother’s Day.
Adding to the throwback star power will be a host of former champions. Richard Petty, The King of NASCAR himself, will be honorary starter. “Richard Petty is an icon in the sports world, so we are proud to add one more accolade to his legendary career as the honorary starter for the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway,” said Kerry Tharp, Darlington Raceway President.”
“Darlington Raceway has always been too tough for me as I only conquered it three times,” said Petty. “I generally ran good but did not always finish well.” Referring to his stint as honorary pace car driver, he said: “The last time I drove around the track at Darlington in 2017, I got black flagged. This time as the honorary starter, I’ll be holding the flag!”
Petty will also join Hall of Fame drivers in the broadcast booth. He will call the race alongside Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer for the first stage, followed by Bobby Labonte in the second stage and Bill Elliott during the third stage. The three combined scored nine victories at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.
And plenty of drivers will get in the throwback spirit with unique designs on their cars. All the throwback schemes are available to see here.
Justin Allgaier Has a Chance for Xfinity Series Payback
Only three drivers who will be competing in Saturday’s Mahindra ROXOR 200 (Saturday, May 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) have won at Darlington in the Xfinity Series before: Chase Elliott, Brandon Jones, and Justin Allgaier.
Allgaier will be hoping to score another win after his disappointment last week. The Jr Motorsports driver lost to his teammate Josh Berry by 0.604 seconds in last week’s Dover race, and said: “It’s just disappointing when you kind of feel like you gave one away.” He said he intended to “regroup” for Darlington.
Indeed, last year’s Darlington spring race was a reversal from Dover, as Allgaier finished ahead of Berry. However, he’ll have to face off against a Jr Motorsports that performs historically well at Dover. Indeed, Noah Gragson has never finished outside eighth place in five starts at Darlington.
Different New Drivers Continue to Win in Trucks
The last five races in the Camping World Truck Series have produced five different winners, and those are the only five drivers to have won in the series. All five have an average age of just 22.3, the oldest is only 25 years old.
Only two drivers in the field have won at Darlington heading into Friday’s Dead On Tools 200 (May 6, at 7:30 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Former winner Brett Bodine returns for a one-off start with Halmar Friesen Racing, and defending series champion Ben Rhodes has also won at the track.
One thing’s for sure: it’ll be a close finish. The average margin of victory in the Truck Series has been just 1.191 seconds, the closest in three years.
NASCAR Cup Series
Next Race: Goodyear 400
The Place: Darlington Raceway
The Date: Sunday, May 8
The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $7,292,599
TV: FS1, 2 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 400.2 miles (293 laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 90),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 293)
NASCAR Xfinity Series
Next Race: Mahindra ROXOR 200
The Place: Darlington Raceway
The Date: Saturday, May 7
The Time: 1:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $1,273,583
TV: FS1, 12:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 147)
NASCAR Camping World Truck Series
Next Race: Dead On Tools 200
The Place: Darlington Raceway
The Date: Friday, May 6
The Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
The Purse: $712,347
TV: FS1, 6:30 p.m. ET
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Distance: 200.1 miles (147 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45),
Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 147)
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