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.

Shaking the Playoff picture like a Polaroid

There are three races to go until the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs kick off at Richmond Raceway, making this weekend’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (Saturday, August 31 at 4 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Darlington Raceway that much more important to the drivers trying to make the postseason. As the series’ regular season is coming to a close, the Playoff picture is starting to come into focus.

So far, seven drivers have clinched their spot in the Xfinity Series Playoffs by wins or by points – Christopher Bell (six wins), Cole Custer (five wins), Tyler Reddick (standings leader, four wins), Austin Cindric (two wins), Chase Briscoe (one win), Michael Annett (one win) and Justin Allgaier (clinched on points). That’s leaves five Playoff spots still up for grabs heading into this weekend.

In total 11 drivers are still vying for those five spots, but seven of the contenders have already clinched a spot in the Top 20 solidifying their eligibility for the Playoffs, but they still need to clinch a Playoff spot on points or wins to guarantee they make the postseason.

Following Darlington, the simple rule is a driver must be 111 points ahead of. …

1. a) the 4th highest winless driver if there is a new winner
2. b) the 3rd highest winless driver if there is a repeat winner

This weekend JR Motorsport’s Noah Gragson and Kaulig Racing’s Justin Haley are the only two championship contenders that can possibly clinch on points, the rest will need a win. 

Noah Gragson can clinch on points this weekend at Darlington, if there is a repeat winner (or a win by Justin Allgaier, Justin Haley or John Hunter Nemechek) and he scores 28 points. He could also clinch on points with a new winner and help. The Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender will be making his series track debut at Darlington this weekend. 

Justin Haley can also clinch on points with a repeat winner (or a win by Justin Allgaier, Noah Gragson or John Hunter Nemechek) and help this weekend at Darlington Raceway. This will be Haley’s Xfinity series career debut at Darlington.

John Hunter Nemechek is currently 10th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series standings, 160 points ahead of the Playoff cutline. Nemechek, a Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender, will be making his series track debut at Darlington Raceway this weekend as well.

Brandon Jones is now 11th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 33 points behind 10^th-place John Hunter Nemechek and 127 points ahead of 13^th-place Gray Gaulding – the first spot outside the Playoffs. Jones has made three Xfinity Series starts at Darlington, posting one top 10 (ninth in 2016) and an average finish of 14.6. 

Ryan Sieg teeters along the Playoff cutline in the 12th and final postseason transfer spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings. Following Road America last weekend, Sieg is just nine points behind Brandon Jones in 11th and 118 points ahead of 13^th-place Gray Gaulding – the first spot outside the Playoffs. Heading to Darlington this weekend, Sieg is looking to maintain his status in Playoff contention, but if a driver outside the Top 12 in points wins in these last three regular season races (Darlington, Indianapolis and Las Vegas), he could be bounced out of the postseason. Sieg has made five series starts at Darlington, putting up a best finish of 15th in 2016. His average finish at the egg-shaped oval is 21.6. 

Gray Gaulding has found himself in such a points deficit that only a win can cure his Playoff woes. The Virginia native is currently 13th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 118 points behind RSS Racing’s Ryan Sieg in the 12^th and final Playoff transfer spot. Gaulding can win his way into the Playoffs this weekend, but will have his work cut out for him as it will be his series track debut at 1.366-mile course.

Jeremy Clements’ best chances for winning his way into the Playoffs might have just passed, as the former Road America winner finished eighth last weekend and now settles in 14th in the driver standings 131 points behind 12th place Ryan Sieg – in the final postseason transfer spot. Clements rolls into Darlington having made eight series starts posting one top 10 (eighth in 2016), and an average finish of 21.8.

Brandon Brown is the fifth Sunoco Rookie of the Year contender trying to make his way into the Playoffs this season, but is the only one on the outside of the postseason cutline. Brown is currently 15th in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings, 205 points behind 12^th-place Ryan Sieg – in the final Playoff transfer spot. Unlike the other rookies, Brown does have experience at Darlington Raceway, having made two series starts, posting a best finish of 18^th last season. 

The next three drivers can still possibly make the Playoffs with a win, but they may need some help to clinch their spot in the Top 20 in points for Playoff eligibility.

Ray Black Jr. can clinch a Top 20 spot this weekend but will need some help. With a win, he could clinch a Playoff spot on wins if he gets the help with clinching a Top 20 spot. Black is currently 16^th in points, 249 points behind the Playoff cutoff. Black has made two series starts at Darlington grabbing an average finish of 23.0.

Josh Williams can clinch a Top 20 spot this weekend but will need some help. With a win, he could clinch a Playoff spot on wins if he gets the help with clinching a Top 20 spot. This weekend will be Williams series track debut at Darlington Raceway.

Garrett Smithley can clinch a Top 20 spot this weekend but will need some help. With a win, he could clinch a Playoff spot on wins if he gets the help with clinching a Top 20 spot. Smithley has made three series starts at Darlington Raceway, posting an average finish of 22.7.

Impossible to Clinch:

Stephen Leicht even with a win, would not clinch a Top 20 spot, so he cannot clinch a Playoff berth in the next race. If he can’t clinch a Top 20 spot with a win, no winless driver below him in the NASCAR Xfinity Series driver standings could clinch either.

Christopher Bell’s winning ways are similar to Xfinity Series legends

One thing that’s for sure is Joe Gibbs Racing’s Christopher Bell is one of the best NASCAR Xfinity Series drivers to ever compete in the series. With his 14th career series win this past weekend at Road America in just his 64^th start – a winning percentage of 21.9% – he has tied former Xfinity Series champion and NASCAR Hall of Fame nominee Sam Ard for the most wins in a driver’s first 64 races at 14 each. And to boot, the youngster from Oklahoma has also put up the fourth most top fives in that same time frame.

Xfinity Wins & Top Fives in First 64 Starts
Rank	Drivers	Wins	Rank	Drivers	Top Fives
1	Christopher Bell	14	1	Jack Ingram	46
	Sam Ard	14	2	Sam Ard	43
3	Darrell Waltrip	13	3	Ryan Blaney	37
4	Harry Gant	13	4	Christopher Bell	36
5	Dale Earnhardt	12	5	Darrell Waltrip	35
	Dale Earnhardt Jr	12
	Jack Ingram	12

Bell’s six wins this season have him sitting pretty as the No. 1 seed in the Xfinity Series Playoff outlook with 43 Playoff points (including points that would be awarded due to his finish in the regular season standings). In 23 starts this season he has grabbed 15 top fives, 16 top 10s and a series leading 13 stage wins.

Looking forward to this Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (4 p.m. ET on NBC, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio) at Darlington Raceway, Bell will be ready to build off his series debut at the track last season. The 24-year old started second in last season’s event at Darlington but finished 34th after being caught in an incident on Lap 67.

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.

NASCAR Xfinity Series, Etc.

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. 

Sunoco Rookie Update: Stewart-Haas Racing’s with Fred Biagi’s Chase Briscoe continues to lead the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sunoco Rookie of the Year standings by 16 points over second place Noah Gragson following Road America. Currently Briscoe, Gragson, Justin Haley and John Hunter Nemechek are slated to make the Playoffs this season. If Brandon Brown does not make the postseason, he will no longer be in contention for rookie of the year honors.  Brown is the only rookie of the five that has made previous starts at Darlington; in two starts he put an average finish of 19.0.

Xfinity YTD Rookie Standings
Rookie	Points	Awards	Leader	Next
Chase Briscoe	787	12	0	0
Noah Gragson	771	6	-16	-16
Justin Haley	707	2	-80	-64
John H. Nemechek	666	3	-121	-41
Brandon Brown	419	0	-368	-247

 

Manufacturers’ standings update: The NASCAR Xfinity Series manufacturers standings have remained close all season with lots of competition parity among the three OEMs – Toyota (nine wins, 825 points), Chevrolet (six wins, 823 points) and Ford (eight wins, 816 points). Heading to Darlington this weekend all three manufacturers are within nine points of each other.

In total seven different manufacturers have won at Darlington Raceway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, led by Chevrolet and Ford with 17 wins each and followed by Pontiac (10 wins), Toyota (seven), Buick (four), Oldsmobile (two) and Dodge (one).