An all-time classic in the Heartland that ended with the closest finish in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series and had seemingly endless battles all throughout the field. But now, Mother’s Day and Throwback Weekend are upon us at the sport’s most ruthless and challenging track, Darlington Raceway.
Buckle Up South Carolina 200
Friday, May 10 @ 7:30PM EST
Darlington, South Carolina
147 Laps/200.8 Miles
Corey Heim won last weekend at Kansas Speedway in dominating fashion, never wavering from his competitors. But now they return to the heart of NASCAR country, the Carolinas and Darlington Raceway.
Most Recent Winner At Darlington
Christian Eckes won at and tamed the track “Too Tough To Tame” one year ago, taking control late and holding off Stewart Friesen to claim the win.
Names To Watch
Christian Eckes: As mentioned above, Eckes is the defending winner of this race, with the roll he has been on last season and thus far this season, you could argue Eckes should be the favorite this weekend.
Kyle Busch: In what will be his final start of the year in the Craftsman Truck Series, Busch returns to Darlington, which is, shockingly, a track he has never won at in the Truck Series. Busch will look to change that on Friday night.
Rajah Caruth: Last year, Caruth showed flashes of what he could be. The first of those was one year ago at Darlington, and in his first attempt at the track, Caruth finished 6th in an outstanding late-race effort. Caruth has shown much more speed, confidence, and maturity this season, culminating in a win at Las Vegas in March.
My Pick To Win: Rajah Caruth
Crown Royal Purple Bag Project 200
Saturday, May 11 @ 1:30PM EST
Darlington, South Carolina
147 Laps/200.8 Miles
Two weeks removed from a wild race at Dover, where Carson Kvapil came one spot short of his first career win in just his second start in the national ranks. Ryan Truex came out on top to successfully defend his win from a year ago.
Most Recent Winner At Darlington
Denny Hamlin went to victory lane last Fall at Darlington Raceway.
Names To Watch
Carson Kvapil: Kvapil has taken the Xfinity Series by storm over the last month or so. He debuted in the series at Martinsville and survived the chaos to finish fourth. He followed it up with an incredible showing at Dover two weeks ago, in which he came just short of his first career win but ended up settling for second place. Kvapil is back in the #88 for JR Motorsports at Darlington this weekend and will certainly be a threat to win.
William Byron: Byron will pilot the #17 for Hendrick Motorsports on Saturday afternoon, and his resume speaks for itself. Byron is a former series Champion and a 13-time Cup Series winner. He is tied with Denny Hamlin for the Cup Series lead in wins this season with 3.
Justin Allgaier: Allgaier has won 2 of the last 3 Spring races at Darlington and with his level of experience being something that tracks like Darlington favor, Justin Allgaier is someone you should never overlook when visiting “The Lady In Black”.
My Pick To Win: Carson Kvapil
Goodyear 400
Sunday, May 12 @ 3:00PM EST
Darlington, South Carolina
293 Laps/400.24 Miles
Last Weekend, Kansas Speedway put on one of the greatest races in the history of the sport. The first stage featured one of the best battles for the lead you will ever see when Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain traded the lead dozens of times over what felt like a 35 to 40-lap span. As they battled and wore down their tires, Denny Hamlin ran them down and took the stage win. Stage 2 was much more subdued up front after Chris Buescher made it five wide up the middle, with many battles going on throughout the field. A rare slow pit stop from Larson’s pit crew handed the lead to Buescher, who would hold on to win the stage. The intensity picked up in stage 3, and it showed that, after a string of cautions early in the stage, the drivers settled into a rhythm. As the stage went on it became increasingly clear that the fuel situation was dire for many of the front runners as they went into massive levels of fuel saving. With 7 laps to go, Kyle Busch spun, completely changing the complexion of the race yet again. On the ensuing overtime restart and after everyone pitted, Kyle Larson would dive below Denny Hamlin and make it 3 wide, and Hamlin would fall back. Buescher would take the lead from the outside line and would hold off Larson through the white flag until Larson got to Buescher’s outside in turns 3 & 4, coming to the checkered flag. Buescher pushed Larson as high up the track as he could without putting him in the wall. Buescher peeled down the track and Larson chased him and they made significant contact coming to the line; and Kyle Larson beat Chris Buescher to the line by 0.001 seconds. The closest finish in the history of the NASCAR Cup Series.
Most Recent Winner At Darlington
Kyle Larson captured his long-awaited victory in the Southern 500 last September.
Names To Watch
Ross Chastain: The Melon Man has had the speed this season but has failed to capitalize on it yet. In this race a year ago, Chastain was dominating the late stages but got caught up in an incident with Kyle Larson on a restart, handing the win to William Byron. Chastain will undoubtedly want redemption this time around.
Noah Gragson: Gragson is a 2-time Darlington winner in the Xfinity Series, winning the Fall race in back-to-back years. He has always had a knack for tracks like Darlington, where the fastest line is typically right up against the wall, and the track is eating your tires alive. Along with the aforementioned two Darlington wins, Gragson has also won at Kansas, Homestead, and Richmond. All tracks share the abrasive quality, and furthermore, Kansas and Homestead are tracks where you rely on “ripping the fence” to go the fastest. Long story short, Darlington is right up his alley. Keep an eye on him this weekend.
My Pick To Win: Tyler Reddick
Header Image Credit: Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images
