Next Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Sunday, September 1 The Time: 6 p.m. ET TV: NBCSN, 5:30 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) 2018 Winner: Brad Keselowski Busch is back on top with two to go Only two races after reclaiming the championship lead, Kyle Busch shows up at the iconic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway having stretched his advantage over defending series champion Joey Logano to 39 points as the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series prepares for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio). Busch’s fourth-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago in the No. 18 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota was his fifth top 10 in the last six races. But it’s been 11 races since the four-time 2019 winner has celebrated in Victory Lane – the longest span between wins this season and the longest span between victories since 2017 when he earned his first win 21 races into the year at the second Pocono Raceway stop. Busch began the year with a record tying 11 top-10 finishes in the opening 11 races and his 20 top 10s on the season remains best among all his competitors. Yet the 2015 Cup champion would prefer to fully get back on track with a victory as the series finishes out the regular season with races at Darlington and then Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week before starting the 10-race Playoff swing on Sept. 15 at Las Vegas. Busch has one victory at Darlington – in his third start in 2008 – and remains the youngest driver in history (23 years, eight days) to win at the iconic track. He’s scored nine top 10s in 14 career starts there, including three top fives. He’s finished 11th or better in the last nine races. He was runner-up to JGR teammate Denny Hamlin in 2017 and in 2013 led a dominating 265 laps only to finish sixth. Busch is ranked among the top five in all six major statistical categories at Darlington. His 598 laps out front at the track, nicknamed, “Too Tough to Tame” is most among active drivers. He also has the most quality passes (541) and has run the most Laps in the Top 15 (4,539 laps, 88.1%)since 2005. Darlington defense Brad Keselowski started the 2019 season with a steady, if quiet reminder that he is a former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup champion and with three wins in the opening 12 races of the year, ready to mount a challenge for his second Cup title. And while he hasn’t hoisted a trophy since May, the 2012 series champion will show up at the historic Darlington (S.C.) Raceway next week as the defending winner of the iconic Bojangles’ Southern 500. He’s fresh off top-five finishes in four of the season’s last five races and led 91 laps en route to a third-place finish at Bristol Motor Speedway two weeks ago, just before the series’ final off-week of the year. In all, Keselowski has eight top-five and 13 top-10 finishes this year – including the three victories – and is ranked sixth in the standings. Only points leader Kyle Busch, 2017 series champ Martin Truex Jr. and their Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin have more wins (four) than the Team Penske driver Keselowski. His record at Darlington makes Keselowski an absolute favorite at this track too. In addition to his win last year, in 2015, he started from the pole position, led a race-best 196 of the 367 laps and finished runner-up. He finished third in 2011 and has led laps in the last five Darlington races. Among active drivers with at least 10 Darlington starts – only Denny Hamlin (6.2) has a better average finish than Keselowski (11.3). Playoff implications at Darlington Two races remain to set the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series 16-driver Playoff field and the competition has not only been lively but unpredictable among the four drivers vying for the final two Playoff positions. An eighth-place finish by Daniel Suarez at Bristol Motor Speedway in the series’ last race was good enough to move the Stewart-Haas Racing driver into the Playoff Top-16 for the first time in eight races (since Chicagoland Speedway) and jumble the postseason outlook for the fourth consecutive week. Heading into Darlington this weekend, veteran Ryan Newman sits 15th in the standings with a 12-point edge over Suarez in 16th. Suarez’s SHR teammate Clint Bowyer dropped a position and is now ranked 17th – 14 points back on Newman and two points behind Suarez. And seven-time Cup champion Jimmie Johnson, who suffered a frustrating 19th-place run at Bristol, is now 26 points behind Suarez for that last Playoff eligible points position. Of the two tracks left to set the Playoff field – Darlington (S.C.) Raceway and then the regular season finale at Indianapolis Motor Speedway next week – Johnson is the only driver among these four with wins at both venues. Johnson is a three-time Darlington winner – having swept the 2004 season – and scoring his most recent victory in 2011.The driver of the No. 48 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet is a four-time winner at Indianapolis – most in the field and second-most all-time next to his former Hendrick Motorsports teammate, five-time Indianapolis winner Jeff Gordon. Veteran Ryan Newman is the only other driver among these four with a win at either Darlington or Indianapolis. He won at Indianapolis from the pole position in 2013 and the driver of the No. 6 Roush Fenway Racing Ford has top-10 finishes in his last two Indianapolis starts. Historically speaking, Newman counts Darlington as one of his better tracks as well. Although he doesn’t have a win to his credit, he does have a series-best 13 top-10 finishes along with seven top fives in 20 starts. Stewart-Haas Racing teammates Suarez and Bowyer will both be looking to turn their fortune at Darlington. Suarez, the driver of the No. 41 SHR Ford, has finished 38th and 29th in his only two Darlington starts. Bowyer, driver of the No. 14 SHR Ford, has only one top-10 finish in 13 starts at the track. He finished 36th last year after being involved in a crash and was 40th the year before after an early race engine problem. His only top 10 (seventh) came in his second Darlington start in 2007. Indianapolis has been a better venue for both Suarez and Bowyer. Suarez has finishes of seventh and 18th in his two starts on the historic 2.5-miler. Bowyer has four top 10s in 13 starts and three of them are top five efforts, including a fifth-place finish last year when he led 37 laps. “We know how important these next two races are,’’ Bowyer said. “Everyone in the sport knows and everyone will be watching. We know if we run like we are capable of running, we will be fine. Now we just have to go out and do it this weekend at Darlington and next weekend at Indianapolis.’’ Larson on the verge A five-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race winner, one of the most prolific and diverse competitors in the field – racing sprint cars, midgets and IMSA prototypes – Kyle Larson has garnered a large fan base. And lots of high expectations. The Chip Ganassi Racing driver would love nothing more than to get into the 2019 win column this week at Darlington Raceway, where he boasts a strong history. Larson has four top-10 finishes in five Darlington starts in the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet. Twice he’s finished third – in 2016 and just last year. He led 124 laps in 2017’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 and last year led a race-best 284 laps only to finish third behind Team Penske teammates Brad Keselowski and Joey Logano. Larson’s driver rating of 108.1 is second only to two-time Darlington winner Denny Hamlin (109) since 2005. “It stings for sure to not get a win in such a prestigious race,’’ Larson said last year following the Southern 500 checkered flag. “I want to win every race, but I want to win the Southern 500 really bad. ‘’ The 27-year old Californian is certainly primed for a good outcome this weekend. Larson is on a streak of four straight top-10 finishes. He has seven top 10s in the last nine races. In all he has five top fives and 11 top 10s on the season highlighted by a runner-up finish at Chicago in June and a pair of third-place showings (at Dover-1 and Michigan) three weeks ago). Larson has three top-10 finishes in five starts at next week’s Indianapolis Motor Speedway stop and was 14th last year. Hamlin’s setting the pace Denny Hamlin’s fourth win of the 2019 season at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway two weeks ago wasn’t just significant statistically. It puts him in the right frame of mind at the right time to make another Playoff run. The victory extended Hamlin’s current streak of top-five finishes to six and provides him with good momentum towards hoisting the biggest trophy of all – the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series championship hardware. Hamlin and his Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. lead the championship field with four wins each as the regular season concludes with races at Darlington, S.C. on Sunday and Indianapolis, Ind. next week. Arguably, no one heads into the notoriously tough Darlington race weekend with more championship optimism than Hamlin’s No. 11 JGR Toyota team. He has a season best 13 top-five finishes through the opening 24 races and his sixth straight top five at Bristol was good enough to move him up another position – to third place – in the championship standings. It’s the highest he’s been ranked since April following his Richmond win – after the Daytona 500 winner teetered between first and second in the points during the season’s opening nine races. And based on his history at Darlington, there’s no reason to believe Hamlin’s current momentum shifts. He boasts one of the best Darlington records on the grid with victories in 2010 and 2017. He has top-10 finishes in 11 of 13 starts at the track. His average finish is 6.154 – best among all active drivers – and he has never suffered a DNF. Three times he’s led at least 100 laps – two of those resulting in wins. In 2007, he led 179 laps and finished runner-up. Last year he won the pole position, led 11 laps and finished 10th. “This FedEx team is on such a roll right now,’’ said Hamlin, whose No. 11 JGR Toyota will carry a paint scheme honoring a former No. 11 driver, three-time Cup champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Darrell Waltrip. “We show up fast to the race track each and every weekend and I’m proud of what our entire team has been able to accomplish these past few weeks. We are happy with what we have been doing, but know there is a lot of work ahead of us, especially with the Playoffs just around the corner.’’ Harvick is “Happy” again Kevin Harvick, long ago given the nickname “Happy” Harvick, is once again in-sync with the moniker. He’s won two of the last five Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series races – at New Hampshire and Michigan – and is rolling into the series Playoffs with good momentum. Few drivers have been as good at “The Lady in Black” as Harvick in recent years. Since joining the Stewart-Haas Racing team five years ago, Harvick has won three pole positions, led 518 laps, earned five top-10 finishes – including four top-five showings. He won the 2014 race from the pole position en route to his first series championship two months later. His 518 laps led in this five-year span is 89 percent of his career total (581) in 22 starts at the track. He’s finished in the top-10 the last six straight Darlington races. Harvick boasts 11 top-10 finishes in 22 career Darlington races – second only to Ryan Newman’s 13 top 10s. His 100.9 driver rating (since 2005) is third-best among drivers with at least 10 starts. He is the only active driver to have won the Southern 500 from the pole position. On the year, Harvick has seven top-five and 15 top-10 finishes in the No. 4 SHR Ford including two wins and three poles. He’s ranked fifth in the standings and only Brad Keselowski (three wins), Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and Denny Hamlin (four wins each) have more victories this season. “Any good momentum, especially from winning, is huge momentum,’’ Harvick said. “I think for us, you look at last year and probably is was the best year I’ve ever had in my career in not winning the championship. There were probably a few things that go into not winning a championship. But I think you look at the 22-car (Joey Logano) and the momentum they had going into the last 10 races and that was more important at that particular time of the year than what we had done early in the year, so it’s definitely different (this season). “There are two parts to the season and obviously, to win the championship, you want to be hot at the right time, but winning races also makes the year more tolerable as you go through the first 26 (races), so you’d love to put it all together.’’ Joe Gibbs Racing putting together record-setting season Not only was Denny Hamlin’s win at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway last weekend impactful for him – his fourth victory of the season – but it gave his Joe Gibbs Racing team 12 wins on the year – the most EVER in NASCAR’s Modern Era through the opening 24 races of the season. Since 1972 (the start of NASCAR’s Modern Era of statistics) only eight organizations have won at least 10 races in the opening 24-race stretch. It’s happened 10 times, however JGR (2019 and 2016) and Hendrick Motorsports (2007 and 1998) are the only teams to have done so multiple times. JGR’s 12 wins through the opening 24 races – four victories each from Hamlin, Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr tops the list. Hendrick Motorsports combined for 11 wins in the same period in 1998 with Jeff Gordon (10) and Terry Labonte (one) as did Richard Childress Motorsports (Dale Earnhardt 11 wins in 1987) and Petty Enterprises (Richard Petty 11 wins in 1975). Monster Energy Series competition highlights The Joe Gibbs Racing team is easily pacing the series in victories (12). Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr. and the series most recent winner Denny Hamlin all have four wins apiece. Hamlin’s win from pole position at Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on Aug. 17, however, marked the first pole position earned by the team this season. Through the first 24 races, there have been 14 different pole winners, which is one off the best season mark (15) of the last 10 years. Twice – in 2017 and 2018 there were 15 different pole winners. Hendrick Motorsports currently leads teams with seven – William Byron has four, Chase Elliott has three and Jimmie Johnson has one. The average Margin of Victory in races is 1.177-seconds over the 24-races to date. But 15 of the 24 (62.5 percent) have had a MoV less than one second. The average number for race leaders (9.00) through the first 24 races this season is the most in five years (10.50 in 2014). And the average number of lead changes per race (17.9) is also the most since 2014 (22.13). Year-over-year, green flag passes are up 39.1 percent. Next Race: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 The Place: Darlington Raceway The Date: Saturday, August 31 The Time: 4 p.m. ET TV: NBC, 3:30 p.m. ET Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Distance: 200.08 miles (147 Laps); Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 45), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 90), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 147) 2018 Winner: Brad Keselowski Historic “Too Tough To Tame” Darlington Raceway is up next With just three races left in the NASCAR Xfinity Series regular season, championship contenders know their chances are running out to secure their spot in the Playoffs. This weekend the series heads to the historic Darlington Raceway for the 37th annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, August 31, at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Darlington Raceway is one of the most admired tracks by competitors in NASCAR history; largely due to its unique 1.366-mile egg-shaped layout. The famed facility is located in Darlington, South Carolina, and with 25 degrees of banking in Turns 1-2 and 23 degrees of banking in Turns 3-4, the distinctive track offers a one-of-a-kind challenge to the competitors. This season’s event will be 147 laps (200.8 miles) with the first stage ending on Lap 45 and the second stage ending on Lap 90. Darlington has hosted a total of 58 NASCAR Xfinity Series races yielding 28 different poles winners and 30 different race winners. NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin leads the series in poles (eight) and wins (eight) at Darlington. In fact, the first NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Darlington Raceway was on April 3, 1982, just the fifth race of the inaugural season of the series, and the event was won by Geoffrey Bodine driving a Pontiac owned by Frank Plessinger. Last season, Team Penske’s Brad Keselowski won the Xfinity Series race and the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway, becoming just the fourth different driver to pull a national series weekend sweep at the track; joining Dale Earnhardt (1987), Mark Martin (1992) and Denny Hamlin (2010, 2017). Dale Earnhardt Jr. slated to make Xfinity Series season debut at Darlington Though Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s last few weeks been challenging, don’t think the 44-year-old is slowing down anytime soon as he is still planning on making his NASCAR Xfinity Series 2019 season debut this weekend in the 37th annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, August 31 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Earnhardt, his wife Amy, daughter Isla, as well as their two pilots and dog Gus were involved in a plane crash a couple weeks ago during the Bristol weekend. All were reported to be safe following the incident. Despite going through that, the former Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver and two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion turned NBCSN TV analyst has indicated he intends to race this weekend. “I plan on driving still,” Earnhardt told a fan on Twitter after he was asked if he would race as scheduled at Darlington. “My lower back is bruised up real bad. Lots of swelling and I just need that to go down and the pain to chill out. (I’ve) been treating the area every day solely to get well to race. I have a plan B but hope not to use it.” Earnhardt is expected to be in the JR Motorsports No. 8 Chevrolet with crew chief Taylor Moyer on the pit box. “There are many things I love about Darlington that contributed to my decision to run there this year, but the main reason is the track surface,” Earnhardt said after the official announcement was made in late February. “I love races where you have to be smart and manage your tires. Darlington is slick, and it wears out tires. It’s one of the few stops on the circuit that provides that challenge.” Earnhardt has made four Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, posting one top five and two top 10s. This will be just his second NASCAR national series start since retiring at the conclusion of 2017 season. He competed in a Xfinity Series event at Richmond Raceway last season; he started second and finished fourth. Joe Gibbs Racing taps Darlington ace Denny Hamlin While the Xfinity Series’ Big 3 have managed to corral 15 of the first 23 races of the season – an astounding winning percentage of 65.2% – they just might meet their match this weekend because Joe Gibbs Racing has tapped Darlington ace Denny Hamlin to pilot the No. 18 Toyota Supra in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, August 31 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio in his series season debut. Denny Hamlin’s Darlington statistics are far and away the best of the drivers entered this weekend. He leads the series in poles (five), wins (five), top fives (nine) and laps led (528) among active drivers. In total he has made 11 Xfinity Series starts at Darlington posting 11 top 10s and an average finish of 2.7 (also series-best). What’s even more impressive is Hamlin’s five wins were all from the pole (2006, 2007, 2010, 2015 and 2017). Hamlin’s last NASCAR Xfinity Series start came at Darlington last season, he started fifth and finished fourth. Blaney to pull double duty at Darlington Team Penske will have Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver Ryan Blaney strapped into the No. 12 Ford Mustang this weekend at Darlington Raceway for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200. Blaney made his series season debut a few weeks back at Watkins Glen, finishing in the top-five (fourth). But Blaney has had mixed results at Darlington in the Xfinity Series making two starts posting one top 10 (seventh in 2016) and an average finish of 25.0. Next Race: World of Westgate 200 The Place: Las Vegas Motor Speedway The Date: Friday, September 13 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) 2018 Winner: Grant Enfinger source – NASCAR communications
