Starting Lineup | Pit Stall Assignments
Stories to follow during Sunday’s running of the Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, which can be heard live on the Motor Racing Network at 5 p.m. ET.
Too Tough to Tame
Darlington is notoriously one of the most challenging tracks on the schedule. The narrow, 1.366-mile layout along with the race’s 500-mile grind typically combine to provide one of the season’s biggest tests to both drivers and cars. Throw in the drastically different 2019 rules package being run for the first time at Darlington and there are a lot of unknowns in the mix.
Final Practice Speeds | First Practice Speeds
Throwback Vibes
Going to Darlington once a year on Labor Day weekend is literally like taking a page out of NASCAR’s history book. This year again features teams embracing the popular “Throwback Weekend” idea that continues to generate paint schemes, colors and logos on their cars as the sport pays tribute to its long and storied heritage.
Hamlin’s Hot Streak
Denny Hamlin comes into the Darlington weekend as the hottest driver in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. His Bristol win before last weekend’s break in the schedule was his fourth victory of the season and Hamlin’s seventh straight top-five finish. He’s won Darlington twice over the last nine seasons and has a series-best 6.1 average finish at the track dating back to 2009.
Battle for the Top
There are just two races remaining in the regular season and Kyle Busch has a 39-point advantage over Joey Logano in the series standings. If the Joe Gibbs Racing driver can maintain that spot after Darlington and Indianapolis, he’ll earn 15 valuable playoff points to start his quest for a second Cup title. Busch was seventh in last year’s Bojangles’ Southern 500. Busch will start from the rear of the field after an engine change following a 33rd-place qualifying effort.
Tickets for Southern 500 Sold Out
Battle for the Bottom
The last two races of the regular season mean just a pair of chances for drivers to secure a berth in the Playoff field of 16 when things kick off at Las Vegas Motor Speedway on September 15th. Daniel Suarez has the final spot coming into the weekend but just by two points over Stewart-Haas Racing teammate Clint Bowyer. Jimmie Johnson has 26 points to make up as he tries to avoid not making the playoffs for the first time in his Cup Series career.
Larson Still Looking
Kyle Larson has yet to win this season or at Darlington in six career starts. However, he’s had strong runs at “The Track too Tough to Tame” over the past three seasons with two third-place finishes and a series-high 453 laps led in that span. Larson also posted the best 10 consecutive lap average in Friday’s final practice.
Fantasy Racing Preview | Darlington Race Winners
Man of the People
Matt DiBenedetto captured the attention of NASCAR nation with his stirring run at Bristol when he led laps late only to be passed by Hamlin with 12 to go. DiBenedetto’s second-place finish came on the heels of finding out officially he would not be back with Leavine Family Racing in 2020. The popular DiBenedetto is driving for his future and looking to end the year with more finishes like Bristol to hopefully secure a new ride next season. (Read More)
