Next Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Sunday, September 2 The Time: 6 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 5 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 501.3 miles (367 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 100), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 200), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 367) Sitting Pretty For The Playoffs The Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series arrives at the famed Darlington Raceway this weekend following its final off-week of the season and there is an unmistakable Playoff push in the air for the Bojangles’ Southern 500 (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET, NBCSN, MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Seven-time winner Kevin Harvick, six-time winner and regular season points leader Kyle Busch, four-time winner Martin Truex Jr. and two-time winner Clint Bowyer – the series’ only repeat winners to date – have already secured a shot at the championship and enter the Playoffs considered the favorites. However, there is a talented group of drivers filling out that top 16 championship-bound group equally as motivated and arguably, peaking at the right time. A win this weekend would booster their case. Race winners Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Joey Logano, and first-time trophy hoisters Chase Elliott and Erik Jones are Playoff-eligible by victories. And Ryan Blaney, Brad Keselowski and Kyle Larson have clinched their spots based on the points standings. As of now, the four drivers who tentatively make up the remainder of the Playoff field still need to secure their positions inside the 16-driver Playoff field – Denny Hamlin, Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson and Alex Bowman, who holds a 79-point advantage on the field in the final Playoff transfer position. Clinch Scenario Not Too Tough To Tame For Hamlin Following the last Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, three drivers locked up a spot in the Playoffs, despite a ‘zero’ in the wins column – Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson and Brad Keselowski. The trio has scored enough points during the regular season to ensure that there is no way for them to fall out of the 16-driver grid. That now makes 12 drivers who have locked up a spot in the 10-race Playoffs. We may see a few more added after Sunday’s race at Darlington, with Denny Hamlin the most likely candidate to add his name to the prestigious list. Here are the clinch scenarios for Sunday’s race at the Track Too Tough to Tame: Denny Hamlin – If Hamlin scores 8 points, he will clinch a Playoff spot. If there is a repeat winner at Darlington, Hamlin would clinch regardless of points scored. Aric Almirola – If there is a repeat winner, Almirola would clinch with 25-points. He could also clinch with a new winner and help. Jimmie Johnson – Johnson could clinch with a repeat winner and help, or by winning the race. The following drivers can only guarantee a Playoff clinch by winning at Darlington: Alex Bowman, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ryan Newman, Daniel Suarez, Paul Menard, William Byron, Jamie McMurray, Chris Buescher, AJ Allmendinger, David Ragan, Darrell Wallace Jr., Kasey Kahne, Michael McDowell and Ty Dillon. Matt DiBenedetto could clinch with a win but would need help clinching a top 30 spot. Hamlin is a two-time winner and defending race champion at Darlington. With three Darlington trophies, Johnson is the winningest driver in Sunday night’s field The “Big 3” At Darlington All members of the current Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series “Big 3” have previous wins at Darlington. And points leader Kyle Busch, driver of the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota, ranks among the series’ top-three drivers at Darlington in five of the six key loop data statistical categories. His 598 passes there are best among the competition. In 13 starts, he has posted one win (2008) and three top fives and eight top 10s. Seven-time 2018 winner Kevin Harvick, driver of the No. 4 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford, is second only to Denny Hamlin in top-five finishes at Darlington with five. And he’s on a streak of six top-10 finishes this summer, including victories at Michigan and New Hampshire in the last five weeks. Interestingly, his last win at the “Track Too Tough to Tame” came in his 2014 championship season. Truex, the 2016 Darlington winner, has a streak of three top-10 finishes at the track. The driver of the No. 78 Furniture Row Racing Toyota has had three finishes of 14th or worse in the season’s last four races, but was running among the top-five when he was crashed out at the series’ last race, in Bristol, two weeks ago. Stewart-Haas Racing Looks To Be All In The Stewart-Haas Racing team looks to have a perfect team Playoff mark for the first-time since fielding a four-car stable. And it may be the only team Playoff sweep of the season. Three of the four SHR drivers have already qualified for the playoffs with victories. The veteran Harvick has seven wins, Bowyer has two and Kurt Busch picked up his first of the season at Bristol two weeks ago. The newest addition to the driving stable, Aric Almirola, has looked prime for a trophy hoist, as well. He has three top-10 finishes in the last six races. His 10 top-10s on the season are already a career-high, with 12 races still remaining. And his 115 laps led is also already a career-high mark for the driver of the No. 10 SHR Ford. Hamlin’s Hamlet For whatever reason, Denny Hamlin has had an instant, positive and productive connection with one of NASCAR’s notoriously toughest ovals – Darlington Raceway. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver is still looking for his first win of the season and as the defending winner of the Southern 500, this week’s venue may well be circled on his schedule. Hamlin boasts the top driver rating (110.3 – well above the next statistical best of Kyle Busch at 105.1), the best average running position (7.8) and tops the list of fastest laps run (272) in this race. His average start is 9.417 – and he’s the only driver (who has made more than one start at the track) averaging better than 10th on the starting grid. His two pole positions ties Kurt Busch for most among the Playoff drivers. And most importantly for the driver of the No. 11 JGR Toyota, Hamlin has 10 top-10 finishes in 12 career starts at Darlington, including seven top-fives and two wins. Hamlin has won the Busch Pole position at two of the last venues on the 2018 schedule – Watkins Glen and Michigan, but he’s had only two top-10 finishes in the last seven races. Johnson’s Lair No driver entered this weekend has won more races (three) at Darlington than seven-time Monster Energy Series champion Jimmie Johnson. However, for the first time in his NASCAR Hall of Fame-bound career, Johnson is winless on the season as he arrives in South Carolina for Sunday’s race. Johnson’s last race win here – in 2012 – was a historic 200th win for his Hendrick Motorsports team, and this weekend his No. 48 Chevrolet will have a “throwback” paint scheme honoring that special weekend. And although Johnson is still looking for that first win of 2018, there is historical reason to believe it may be close. Of his 83 Monster Energy Series wins, Johnson has won 34 of them in the months of September (10), October (14) and November (10). There has been progress this year, if still no trophy, yet. Johnson is coming off a top 10 at Bristol Motor Speedway in the last race – his eighth top 10 of the year. He’s looking for his first top 10 at Darlington since a third-place finish in 2014. Throwback Look Back While there are certain drivers who historically have faired well at Darlington, recent races have proven that the driver out front for most of the day may not win. In the last six races, the driver who led the most laps has won only half the races – and that includes last year when Hamlin and 14th-place finisher Kyle Larson both led a race-high 124 laps. Four of the last six races have featured at least 20 lead changes – including a high of 24 lead changes in Carl Edwards’ 2015 Southern 500 win. Edwards beat out Brad Keselowski in that race despite the fact Keselowski led a dominant 196 of the 367 laps. Three times in the last six races a driver has led at least 200 laps and twice that driver did not win. Harvick led 214 laps in 2016 despite finishing runner-up to Truex; Harvick led 238 laps in winning the 2014 race and Kyle Busch led 265 laps in his sixth place run to Matt Kenseth in 2013. Sunoco Rookie Race The summer, of late, has been a bit of a tough run for the Monster Energy Series’ Sunoco rookies. Hendrick Motorsports driver William Byron still leads the rookie race over Richard Petty Motorsports driver Bubba Wallace, but both young drivers are hopeful to turn things around this week at Darlington. Byron, 20, is ranked 21st in the Monster Energy Series points standings. He qualified an impressive fifth at Bristol – his first ever top-five Cup start – but finished 23rd. The driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet had back-to-back top-10 finishes at Pocono (sixth) and Watkins Glen (eighth) but has finished 36th at Michigan and then 23rd at Bristol since. In his only NASCAR Xfinity Series start at Darlington in 2017, he finished fifth. “I love Darlington,’’ Byron said. “I went there as a kid to watch the race a few times. As a driver, it’s just a fun track to get around. It’s really challenging – you have to run against the wall on both ends of the racetrack, which is very demanding on the equipment and mentally on the driver. “I really enjoy it and we had a pretty good run there last year (in the NASCAR Xfinity Series), so I’m looking forward to it.” Wallace, 24, the driver for the No. 43 Richard Petty Motorsports Chevrolet, is 26th in the Monster Energy Series standings and hoping to rebound from a tough luck incident at Bristol when he was collected in a crash only three laps into the race. He has had DNFs in two of the last four races this summer. His Xfinity Series finishes at Darlington are 14th and 17th. Next Race: Sport Clips Haircuts VTW 200 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Saturday, September 1 The Time: 3:30 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 3 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 200.8 miles (147 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 147) Playoffs Approach: Only Three Races Remain In The Regular Season The NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs are approaching quickly, leaving little time for drivers to lock themselves into the postseason. Just three races remain before the series crowns the regular season champion and awards the winning driver an additional 15 Playoff points. Justin Allgaier’s win at Road America last weekend vaulted him into the series championship standings lead by five points over second-place Christopher Bell and 12-points over third-place Elliott Sadler. Below is a look at each Playoff-eligible driver and their current Playoff status as the NASCAR Xfinity Series heads to Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, September 1 at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Sitting Pretty In ‘Clinch-ville’: So far this season, six drivers have clinched a spot in the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs – Justin Allgaier (four wins), Christopher Bell (four wins), Tyler Reddick (one win), Elliott Sadler (third in points), Cole Custer (fourth in points) and Daniel Hemric (fifth in points). These next three races are great opportunities for these drivers who have clinched already to pad their Playoff point totals. All six currently have Playoff points, led by Christopher Bell with 24; followed by Allgaier (19), Reddick (six), Sadler (four), Hemric (three) and Custer (one). Can Clinch On Points: Heading into Darlington this weekend only one driver has the opportunity to clinch on points, Joe Gibbs Racing’s Brandon Jones. The youngster from Atlanta, Georgia, can clinch with 52 points and a new winner. If there is a repeat winner, he can also clinch if he scores 39 points. Jones could also clinch a Playoff spot with a win. Jones and the No. 19 JGR team sit sixth in the series standings after making 23 starts this season, posting two top fives, 10 top 10s and an average finish of 14.2. He also has one Playoff point from a stage win. Keep an eye out for Jones this weekend as he looks to get his first series win. If he accomplishes the feat, he will become the fourth driver in series history to get their first career win at Darlington, joining Geoff Bodine (1982), Neil Bonnett (1983) and Ron Bouchard (1984). Jones has made two series starts at Darlington, recording one top 10 and an average finish of 16.0. Needs A Win To Clinch: The next five drivers in the championship standings are currently in position to make the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs, but due to the points being so tight they can’t clinch their Playoff spot on points alone this weekend at Darlington. They could lock themselves into the postseason with a win. Kaulig Racing’s Ryan Truex sits eighth in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings following Road America, 176 points ahead of 13th-place Michael Annett (the first standings position outside the Playoffs). Truex has made 23 starts this season, putting together one top five, nine top 10s and an average finish of 13.4. This weekend at Darlington will be Truex’s second career start at the historic facility. His first series start at Darlington was back in 2011 with Pastrana Waltrip Racing; when he started 14th and finished 25th. Richard Childress Racing’s Matt Tifft is coming off his best performance of the season at Road America, where he started on the pole and finished second. Now the Ohio native is ninth in the series standings with a cushion of 172-points over 13th place Michael Annett. In 23 starts this season, Tifft has posted four top fives, 11 top 10s and an average finish of 13.7. Tifft made his series track debut at Darlington last season, but it didn’t go as planned. At the time driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, Tifft started 14th and finished 40th due to an incident on Lap 1. Look for Tifft to want to rebound from last season’s performance and build on his momentum from last week as the Playoffs approach. Driving the No. 60 for Roush Fenway Racing this weekend, Austin Cindric is currently 10th in the Xfinity Series championship standings, 86-points Ahead of 13th. Cindric has mad 23 starts this season posting three top fives, seven top 10s and an average finish of 17.5. This weekend will be Cindric’s series track debut at Darlington Raceway. Cindric’s Roush Fenway Racing teammate Ryan Reed is looking to make the Playoffs for the third consecutive season and heads to Darlington this weekend 11th in the series championship standings, 73 points ahead of 13th-place Michael Annett. Reed has made four starts at Darlington in his Xfinity Series career with an average finish of 16.0. On The Hot Seat: The 12th and final position in the Xfinity Playoffs is currently occupied by driver Ross Chastain, and with three races left in the regular season his position is officially the proverbial ‘Hot Seat.’ While the chances of Chastain’s 49-point cushion in the championship standings disappearing between he and 13th place Michael Annett are slim, it can still happen. But what should have Chastain most filled with worry is the chance for a new winner, which could potentially bounce Chastain out of the postseason. He is just 24 points behind Cindric, and a jump up in the standings would give him a little more security in the event that a new winner were to join the postseason picture. In 23 starts this season, Reed has two top fives, eight top 10s and an average finish of 16.1. In 2018, the NASCAR Xfinity Series has seen 12 different winners through the first 23 races, three of which were championship contenders (Bell, Allgaier and Reddick). Chastain has made 23 starts this season, posting one top five, six top 10s and an average finish of 16.2. The ‘Lady in Black’ has been relatively good to Chastain, he has three series starts at Darlington, posting one top 10 and an average finish of 17.7. Outside Looking In: The next three drivers, while not mathematically disqualified from getting in on points, it will most likely take a lot for them to close in on 12th-place Ross Chastain with just three races remaining in the regular season. The best course of action for the drivers outside the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs cutoff is to win. Of any of the drivers outside the Playoffs looking in, JR Motorsport’s Michael Annett has the best shot of getting in on points with 49-points separating him from 12th place. Annett has made 23 starts this season, recording one top 10 and an average finish of 17.7. In five series starts at Darlington, he has an average finish of 20.4. Jeremy Clements is currently 14th in the series championship standings, 107 points behind 12th-place Chastain. The South Carolina native has made 23 starts this season, putting together one top 10 and an average finish of 20.3. Clements has made seven series starts at his home track, Darlington, positing one top-10 finish (eighth in 2016) and an average finish of 22.7. Ryan Sieg is 16th in the driver standings following Road America, 120 points behind 12th-place Ross Chastain. In 23 starts this season, Sieg has tallied one top 10 and an average finish of 20.4. He has made four series start at Darlington in his career with an average finish of 22.8. Chip Ganassi Racing Taps Ross Chastain For The No. 42 Rising star Ross Chastain has spent the majority of the 2018 NASCAR Xfinity Series season driving for JD Motorsports in the No. 4 Chevrolet, but this weekend the 25-year-old from Alva, Florida, will get his chance at piloting the Chip Ganassi Racing No. 42 Chevrolet with crew chief Mike Shiplett. Chastain is scheduled to run in the No. 42 for the final three regular season races at Darlington, Las Vegas and Richmond. “This opportunity with DC Solar and Chip Ganassi Racing is unbelievable,” said Chastain. “I want to recognize Johnny Davis for all that he has done for my career and express how proud I am of our performance this year.” Chastain is currently in 12th in series standings, the final transfer spot into the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs. Chastain has made 23 starts this season and has one top five, six top 10s and an average finish of 16.2. Looking to this weekend, Chastain has made three series starts at Darlington and has one top 10 and an average finish of 17.7. The No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing team led by crew chief Mike Shiplett is the perfect opportunity for Chastain to help make his final push into the Playoffs. The No. 42 team, in 23 starts this season, has taken home four wins (Bristol, Las Vegas, Daytona and Chicago), eight top fives and 13 top 10s. South Carolina Drivers In The Xfinity Series A total of 136 drivers with their home state recorded as South Carolina have made at least one NASCAR national series start. Of the 136 drivers, only 28 have competed in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, led by Jason Keller (from Greenville) with 520 series starts – second-most behind Kenny Wallace (527) all-time. Of the 28 South Carolinian drivers, only five have won in the NASCAR Xfinity Series – Larry Pearson from Spartanburg (15 wins), Jason Keller from Greenville (10 wins), Butch Lindley from Greenville (six wins), Jeremy Clements from Spartanburg (one win) and NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson from Spartanburg (one win). Two drivers from South Carolina have been inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame – David Pearson and Cale Yarborough. Jeremy Clements is the only South Carolina native competing in this weekend’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200. Next Race: World of Westgate 200 The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway The Date: Friday, September 14 The Time: 9 p.m. ET TV: FS1, 8:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 201 miles (134 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 30), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 60), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 134) source – NASCAR communications
