NASCAR Sprint Cup Series
Next Race: Bojangles’ Southern 500
The Place: Darlington Raceway
The Date: Sunday, Sept. 6
The Time: 7 p.m. (ET)
TV: NBC, 7 p.m. (ET)
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM Ch. 90
Distance: 501.3 miles (367 laps)
Darlington Not ‘Too Tough to Tame’ for Gordon
Making his last start at Darlington Sunday in the Bojangles’ Southern 500, Jeff Gordon will attempt to add to his active record of seven wins at the track ‘Too Tough To Tame.’
Gordon ranks third on the all-time Darlington wins list behind NASCAR Hall of Famers David Pearson with ten and Dale Earnhardt with nine. The active driver with the next-highest total is Jimmie Johnson with three.
The No. 24 Chevrolet driver is now 15th on the Chase Grid, 52 points above the cutoff line. On the season, he has three top-fives, 12 top-tens and three Coors Light Pole Awards.
In Need of a Win
With two races to go before the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, Clint Bowyer owns the 16th and last spot on the Chase Grid – a comfortable 35 points ahead of the cutoff line. With Bowyer having such a large points lead, the drivers behind him virtually need to win one of the last two races – Darlington and Richmond – to get into the Chase. Here’s a snapshot of how some notable drivers currently off the Chase Grid have done at Darlington.
Kasey Kahne – Despite having earned four Coors Light Pole Awards at Darlington, Kahne has never won at the 1.366-mile track. In 12 Darlington starts, he has three top-fives and four top-tens with a high finish of third in 2005. Kahne is no stranger to the pressure of making the Chase though. Winless heading into Atlanta on Labor Day weekend last season, he took the checkered flag in his nearly chance to secure his spot in the Chase.
Kyle Larson – Acclaimed as one of the top young drivers in NASCAR, Larson has suffered a bit of a sophomore slump with just one top-five and six top-ten finishes in 2015. That follows a Sunoco Rookie of the Year campaign that saw eight top-fives and 17 top-tens. In his lone start at Darlington last season, Larson finished eighth.
Austin Dillon – Dillon, who finished 11th in his first-ever start at Darlington last year has found some speed recently. The 2013 XFINITY Series champion challenged for his first Sprint Cup Series win at Michigan three weeks ago, leading 19 laps on his way to a fourth-place finish.
Greg Biffle – Biffle has struggled mightily this season with just three top-ten finishes, but is a proven winner. He has 19 career victories, including two at Darlington. Biffle owns the fifth-best driver rating (105.7) at ‘The Lady in Black.’
Aric Almirola – Almirola won at Daytona last year to qualify for the Chase when he wouldn’t have made it otherwise through points. In three career starts at Darlington, Almirola’s best finish is 19th. On the season, he has one top-ten at Dover.
Harvick Heads to Darlington Eyeing a Repeat
Kevin Harvick’s back.
Back on the track called the ‘Lady in Black.’
Harvick returns to Darlington Raceway as its defending winner attempting to improve upon his run of eight top-two finishes in the 20 starts since his last victory, March 15, 2015 at Phoenix.
In 18 career starts at the South Carolina track, Harvick claims one win, four top-fives, seven top-tens and one Coors Light Pole. His Darlington victory last year came from the pole.
Although he only has two wins and the most runner-ups of ten, since Bobby Allison’s 1972 total of 12, Harvick leads the Sprint Cup Series in most statistical categories. He ranks first in top-fives (17), top-tens (21), average finish (7.5), average running position (7.5), fastest laps (923), laps led (1,406) and driver rating (119.7).
Elliott to Make Final Sprint Cup Start of 2015
Defending XFINITY Series champion Chase Elliott will compete in his fifth and last Sprint Cup Series race of the season Sunday. The 19-year-old Chevrolet driver is running a partial NSCS schedule this year as he prepares to take over for Jeff Gordon in the No. 24 car next year.
Elliott’s results in his first four Sprint Cup races: Martinsville (38), Charlotte (18), Richmond (16), Indianapolis (18).
Last season, Elliott won the XFINITY Series race at Darlington in his first-ever appearance at the track.
Two to Go Until Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup
Drivers have just two races left to qualify for the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup – Darlington and Richmond.
As of now, 11 drivers are eligible for NASCAR’s playoffs with wins as long as they start the next two races and stay in the top-30 in points: Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Matt Kenseth, Kevin Harvick, Joey Logano, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kurt Busch, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Denny Hamlin and Carl Edwards.
The five remaining drivers on the Chase Grid have to either visit Victory Lane or stay high enough in the points standings where they don’t get bumped by a new winner outside the top-16.
These drivers are Jamie McMurray (76 points above the cutoff line), Ryan Newman (+63), Paul Menard (+54), Jeff Gordon (+52) and Clint Bowyer (+35).
The winless drivers who have won at Darlington in the past and have yet to earn Chase berths this season are Gordon and Greg Biffle.
The winless drivers who have won at Richmond in the past and have yet to earn Chase berths this season are Gordon, Clint Bowyer, Ryan Newman and Tony Stewart.
For the first time, a winless driver CAN clinch a spot in the Chase. If a repeat driver wins at Darlington, a winless driver would need to have a 45 point lead on the fifth-highest of the winless drivers – or 44 points, depending on tie-breakers. If there is a new winner, a winless driver would need to lead the fourth-highest winless driver by 45 points – or 44, depending on tie-breakers.
History Lesson: A Nod to the Greats
The concept of a ‘throwback weekend’ could not become a reality without cars that look the part. To that end, most teams are adopting retro paint schemes this weekend with classic designs and logos.
Here’s a look at some of the paint schemes that pay homage to cars from years past.