At Darlington Raceway, 30% of the regular season will be over when the checkered flag is raised to end today’s Cup race. Would a driver’s season improve or worsen as a result of today’s events? Will it be a car without a throwback scheme in Victory Lane or one with one on a throwback weekend? Favorite drivers to watch include Denny Hamlin and William Byron. At Darlington, Byron had the best average running position among the Next Gen cars after starting on the pole (6.32).
One of just two drivers to place in the top 10 in both of last year’s Darlington races, Hamlin starts third after winning at Martinsville. Watch out for Ryan Blaney and Kyle Larson. This weekend, Larson will have a new pit crew that includes a jackman, tire transporter, and tire changer. Despite having a poor record at Darlington, Blaney demonstrated long-distance speed throughout practice. Don’t forget about Chase Briscoe and Ryan Preece.
Both of the former colleagues of Stewart-Haas Racing get off to a strong start. Briscoe qualified fourth, Preece second. In Saturday’s practice, Preece, who has been in the top 10 in the last three races, came in second in terms of average speed across 20, 25, and 30 consecutive laps. Briscoe was the only driver to place in the top five in both of last year’s Darlington races and won the Southern 500. Briscoe, riding for Joe Gibbs Racing, comes into this weekend having recorded consecutive top 10 finishes.
Needing a successful run or victory
The winner of this race a year ago, Brad Keselowski, is currently ranked 30th going into today’s race. During the first seven races of a season, his average finish of 25.1 is the lowest of his Cup career.
Keselowski, who starts 20th, stated, “I think we’re going to do all the right things and get where we need to be.” “We simply haven’t received the findings. “Neither of us has qualified as well as we would have liked, but neither has the 60 car (of teammate Ryan Preece).” We haven’t been able to put it together in the race; some of it was within our control, but a lot of it wasn’t. It’s been frustrating, but I feel like we’re clearing away a lot of the poor luck early in the season. That’s the general feeling, and if we stick with it, it will eventually find us.
It’s not just him that needs a nice run today. In terms of points, Austin Cindric is ranked 24th. In five of the first seven races, he has placed 19th or lower. He comes in sixth. Over the past five races, including three DNFs, Ryan Blaney has failed to place in the top 10. He gets off to a good start.
The difficulty of Darlington
Today’s drivers will have to pay close attention, the temperature will be in the mid-80s, and tire wear is severe.
How much will it cost them if someone makes a mistake? Denny Hamlin, a four-time Darlington winner who starts third, stated, “I think Darlington is by far one of the most grueling race tracks that you go to simply because it’s going to be a warm one this weekend.” “Knowing that you have to hit your marks exactly right at this track and that there are thirty-five other guys out there who don’t want to let you win is going to be mentally taxing.” Navigating that is incredibly challenging, because you can’t avoid other people on that track.
Similar to other mile-and-a-half tracks, this one is sufficiently wide to allow you to likely obtain clean air anywhere you wish to go. There’s simply no getting around it here. Getting runs and making passes on people is quite difficult. Every time I compete here, it simply takes a toll on my body and mind, or it has for me.
Watch the entrance to the pit
Pit entries at Darlington are some of the most challenging of any track. Drivers frequently spin in an attempt to reach pit road or miss the entrance. “When you go to pit road, you don’t know where pit road is, what the racetrack is, or where you can run,” Austin Cindric explains.
It’s all simply a huge paved space. Since you are unable to perceive your visuals, you use other points of reference. A lot of distance can be cut. You can make a sharp angle and brake hard. By the time you have to pit under green, your tires are at their worst and it’s very easy to make a mistake. So, it’s kind of whatever you can do consistently without really upsetting the car. Weekend of throwbacks There is a discussion this weekend about whether throwback weekend has lost its appeal because 19 of the 38 cars competing in today’s race have throwback schemes. About four or five years ago, I believed I had lost everything, so I was way too early to that conversation, I think,” Chase Elliott said.
Not to be depressing, but if we continue in this direction, we will be throwing it back to me in 2018.” I made a joke about this years ago. I believe we need to take a break from it at some time. We tend to do that a bit too much, and I believe we have ridden the horse to death. Ryan Blaney has a different perspective. “I adore it,” he declared. “I adore it to pieces. Every year, I enjoy seeing what folks come up with. Many people are motivated to be in the garage today and get to throw it back because of the several clever tactics that drivers or teams have come up with.
“I enjoy simply strolling around the garage. I sincerely hope that we won’t reveal (the plans) on Twitter, X, or any other platform you choose. It would be a big, impressive reveal if you just showed up with it and everyone in the garage saw it for the first time. It still is extremely special and the teams love performing it, and I hope the fans still appreciate it.”
