What to Watch: More moments to be made in Darlington throwback race
Goodyear 400
(⏰ Sunday, 3 p.m. ET | FS1 | MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio)
Weekend schedule | TV schedule | Weather tracker | NASCAR 101
Location: Darlington, South Carolina
Track length: 1.366 miles
Cup Series race purse: $8,090,969
Race distance: 293 laps | 400.2 miles
Stages: 90 | 185 | 293
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Starting lineup: Tyler Reddick to lead field to green
Pit stall assignments: See where drivers will pit
Defending winner: William Byron, May 2023
Key things to watch
Saturday sessions
Tyler Reddick put down a 170.124 mph hot lap around Darlington to claim his seventh career Cup pole and first of 2024. The RFK Racing Fords will start second and third as Brad Keselowski (170.018 mph) and Chris Buescher (169.543 mph) flew around the facility. Ty Gibbs and William Byron completed the top five of Sunday’s starting lineup.
The Fords were fast in single-lap speed and long-run speed during practice as Michael McDowell topped the board at 169.44 mph. Austin Cindric, Buescher, Kyle Larson, Todd Gilliland and McDowell were top five in 10 consecutive lap averages. Ford locked out the top five in 20, 25 and 30 consecutive lap averages with Cindric and Gilliland the top two in all three. | Full Saturday recap
Big story line
More moments to be made in celebration of roots during Darlington throwback race
Last Sunday’s affair at Kansas Speedway saw the closest finish in Cup Series history as Kyle Larson outdueled Chris Buescher by 0.001 seconds. The nailbiter topped the 2003 Darlington spring race where Ricky Craven beat Kurt Busch by 0.002 seconds as the two drivers rubbed fenders off Turn 4 all the way down to the start/finish line.
With NASCAR’s return to the 1.366-mile oval, more opportunities await at a track where some of the most thrilling finishes have occurred in all three national series.
Four-time Cup Series victor Ross Chastain has created electrifying moments himself, and as he gets set to make his 200th Cup start Sunday, he said he’s thrilled about the buzz from Kansas.
“That‘s what the Cup Series is,” Chastain told NASCAR.com on Wednesday. “That‘s why it‘s been so successful for so long. You have these moments where two of the best drivers in the sport right now go for the win and put on a heck of a show. I think it was a great race across the board from when I was up there earlier in the race and then we slipped back and other people went forward. It‘s really a good time to be watching Cup racing in NASCAR and even better time for me to be in it.”
History tells us…
Ford should be a major player on Sunday. In both Darlington races last year, Ford collected a combined eight top-1o finishes, just one off Chevrolet’s nine for most among manufacturers. However, Ford drivers led just 11 laps in those events.
Chevrolet has won the last three Cup races at Darlington, but Erik Jones, William Byron and Kyle Larson only led a combined 85 laps en route to their respective victories. With Darlington’s abrasiveness and the debut of a new right-side tire at the track, expect another checkered-flag bandit on Sunday.
He may not be the betting favorite to win, but watch out for…
Erik Jones. After a two-week absence due to a back injury, Erik Jones returns behind the wheel of the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota and there isn’t a better track on the circuit for him to turn laps again. Entering at 40-1 odds for Sunday’s race, the eight-year veteran offers high value as a two-time Southern 500 winner. In four Next Gen races, Jones owns two top 10s and has scored the eighth-most points at the track among active drivers. | Darlington odds
Speed reads
Our biggest pieces of the week — get covered for race day from all angles.
• Turning Point: Trends from Kansas, arriving in Darlington | Read article
• Milestone achievement: From journeymen to Cup star, Ross Chastain’s ‘incredible’ path to 200 starts| Read article
• New home for McDowell: Michael McDowell set to leave Front Row after ’24, inks multiyear deal with Spire | Read article
• Heim time: Corey Heim to pilot No. 50 23XI Toyota at Nashville Superspeedway| Read article
• Retro regalia: A look at throwback schemes from each series appearing this weekend | Photo gallery
• Taking flight: Joey Logano doubles down with 77th Fighter Squadron ‘Gamblers’ | Read article
• Renewed focus: Tyler Reddick ready for Darlington with Tim Richmond throwback| Read article
• All-Star voting continues: See current top-10 fan vote-getters so far for next weekend’s All-Star Race | Read article
• The Field of 16: Last four in, first four out for Cup Series Playoffs | Latest projections
• Through the years at Darlington: Take a trip through legendary moments | Photo gallery
• NASCAR Classics: Picks to click from our Darlington video archives | Read article
• 36 for 36: NASCAR survivor pool picks for Darlington | Read article
• To tame or be tamed?: Racing Insights projects Sunday’s race results | Read article
• Fantasy Fastlane: Lineup pointers for Darlington | Sleepers, drivers to avoid
• Paint Scheme Preview: Schemes for South Carolina tripleheader | Pick your favorite
• Power Rankings: Is it possible that 2024’s best driver hasn’t even won yet? | Latest driver rankings
Fast facts ⏩
Race-relevant statistics, brought to you by the experts at Racing Insights.
• Chevrolet won the last three Darlington races. Chevrolet had not won in the 11 prior races.
• The driver who led the most laps in each of the last three Darlington races finished 25th or worse.
• There have been eight or more cautions in seven of the last nine Darlington races.
