TRACK: Darlington Raceway 1.33 mile oval). DISTANCE: 293 Laps — STAGE 1: 90 Laps, STAGE 2: 95 Laps, FINAL STAGE: 108 Laps, MILES (400.238 Miles)
Track History/Trends
- Top Drivers: Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kyle Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Kurt Busch, Austin Dillon, Tyler Reddick, Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, William Byron, Alex Bowman, Aric Almirola
- Trending Down: Ryan Blaney, Matt DiBenedetto, Cole Custer.
- Just the 3rd spring race at Darlington since 2005. From 1957 through 2004, NASCAR came to Darlington every year during the spring as well as Labor Day weekend too.
- The last eight winners have come from a starting spot outside of the top five.
- Just the second time in 17 years that we’ve had multiple races run on the 1.33-mile South Carolina oval.
- Every race winner at Darlington during the stage era have scored stage points. In fact, in 5 of the 6 races, the eventual winner finished in the top 5 in the second stage.
- What’s odd is, the race winner at Darlington has never won a stage either. 3 of the 7 races saw someone sweep both stages, but in neither event did they win the race in the end either.
- Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick swept both Darlington races last May and have won five of the last nine on the Lady in Black too.
Track Comparison
Similar to Homestead and Atlanta, but this racing package and not as much room to pass with, makes this race tough to watch. With a less downforce package, cars slip and slide around which in turn allows for passing. The high downforce package makes cars more stable. This is a pit call race with varying strategies like Homestead and Atlanta.