NASCAR Darlington Sunday, August 25, 2024
Darlington NASCAR Cup Series Stats Highlights
Brad Keselowski
Darlington 5/24 winner – Started 2nd, finished 3rd in Stage 1 & 2nd in Stage 2, 37 laps led, ended 110-race winless streak
Kyle Larson Darlington 9/23 winner
Started 18th, finished 3rd in Stage 1 & 2nd in Stage 2, only led final 55 laps
8 Different winners in last 8 Darlington races – Harvick, Truex Jr., Hamlin, Logano, Jones, Byron, Larson & Keselowski
26 Hall of Fame drivers won Darlington races
No Rookie of the Year contender won Darlington
1 of last 15 Darlington races won by driver starting first – Last winner from pole: Joey Logano 5/22
Pole sitter finished 23rd or worse last 3 Darlington races
Last to win back-to-back Darlington races: Greg Biffle 2005 & ‘06 (Brad Keselowski won last Darlington race)
Last Darlington season sweep: Jimmie Johnson 2004
Southern 500 won back-to-back 7 times – Kyle Larson won last Southern 500
Most consecutive Southern 500 wins: 4 – Jeff Gordon 1995-’98 (Jeff Burton won in 1999)
Last back-to-back Southern 500 winner: Greg Biffle 2005 & ’06 – Kyle Larson won last Southern 500
Last defending NASCAR Cup Series champion to win Darlington race – Jeff Gordon 2001 champ & 9/02 winner
10 To go leader failed to win 3 of last 5 Darlington races
Leader of most laps finished 25th or worse last 4 Darlington races
9 Darlington winners led 10 or fewer laps
Fewest laps led by Darlington winner: 1 (Ricky Craven 3/03) & 2 (Terry Labonte 9/80 & Harry Gant 4/83)
Final lead change with 10 or fewer laps to go in 28 Darlington races
Drivers won first race of season 41 times at Darlington including 4 of last 6 races
5 Darlington races settled by last lap pass
Closest Darlington finish: .002 seconds – 3/03 Ricky Craven over Kurt Busch
6 Won first career NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington
Only 1 Stage 2 winner went on to win Darlington – Martin Truex Jr. 5/21
Stage 2 winner finished 25th or worse last 4 Darlington races
Pit Road Speeding Penalties:
2017: 0 / 2018: 3 / 2019: 0 / 5/17/20: 4 / 5/20/20: 3 / 9/6/20: 4 /
5/9/21: 5 / 9/5/21: 1 / 5/8/22: 2 / 9/4/22: 2 / 5/14/23: 3 / 9/3/23: 3 / 5/12/24: 1
24 of the 36 NASCAR Cup Series champions won at Darlington (79 Total wins)
Darlington 5/24
Winner pit stops: Brad Keselowski – 7 Stops 38 (G), 94, 125, 166, 189, 238 (G), 256
Stage 1 winner: Kyle Larson 34th
Stage 2 winner: Tyler Reddick 32nd
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Kyle Larson 1st & 5th, Ty Gibbs 2nd & 3rd, Brad Keselowski 3rd & 2nd, Tyler Reddick 4th & 1st
Most points scored: 57 Brad Keselowski 1st
Passed for final lead change: Chris Buescher 30th
Winner final laps led: Brad Keselowski 9
Lead changes: 16
Cautions: 6
Failed to finish: 3 Ryan Blaney, Kyle Larson & Zane Smith
Longest green run: 91 Laps (Lap 1-91)
Best free pass finisher: Ryan Preece 17th
Best finisher with pit road speeding penalty: Joey Logano 21st
Best starting rear of field finisher: None
Best Hendrick: William Byron 6th
Best Gibbs: Ty Gibbs 2nd
Best Stewart-Haas: Josh Berry 3rd
Best Penske: Austin Cindric 20th
Darlington NCS 9/23
Winner pit stops: Kyle Larson – 7 Stops 33 (G), 66 (G), 150 (G), 182, 218, 270 (G), 312
Stage 1 & 2 winner: Denny Hamlin 25th
Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Denny Hamlin 1st & 1st, Tyler Reddick 2nd & 4th, Kyle Larson 3rd & 2nd
Most points scored: 57 Kyle Larson
Passed for final lead change: Tyler Reddick 2nd
Winner final laps led: Denny Hamlin 55
Cautions: 8
Failed to finish: 5
Longest green run: 116 (Lap 1-116)
Best free pass finisher: Ross Chastain 5th
Best finisher with pit road speeding penalty: Ricky Stenhouse Jr. 16th
Best starting rear of field finisher: Kyle Busch 11th
Best Hendrick: Kyle Larson 1st
Best Gibbs: Martin Truex Jr. 18th
Best Stewart-Haas: Aric Almirola 14th
Best Penske: Ryan Blaney 9th
9/4/50: First race entirely on asphalt
9/3/51: Most cars 82
9/1/52: Longest race 6:42:37
9/6/65: Ned Jarrett won Southern 500 by 14 laps over 2nd-place Buck Baker
5/13/67: At Darlington, Richard Petty passed Lee Petty for all-time wins with 55th career victory
9/6/71: Bobby Allison started streak of 39 straight races led winning Southern 500
4/16/72: David Pearson won in first race with Wood Brothers
4/13/75 & 9/1/75: Team Penske’s first Darlington wins – Bobby Allison driving Matador
9/6/76: David Pearson won final race in triple-crown – 1976 Daytona 500, 1976 World 600 & 1976 Southern 500
4/8/79: Darrell Waltrip & Richard Petty each swapped lead final 4 laps
4/13/80: David Pearson won in first race with Hoss Ellington
9/6/82: 10th straight Buick win in 1982 – Cale Yarborough Southern 500
9/2/84: Southern 500 run on Sunday instead of Labor Day
9/1/85: Bill Elliott wins million-dollar bonus
3/29/87: First of 4 straight wins for Dale Earnhardt (Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol & Martinsville)
9/1/91: Harry Gant’s Darlington win was first of 4 straight victories for Mr. September
9/6/92: Darlington was 84th and final career win for Darrell Waltrip
9/5/93: Mark Martin won 4 straight races in 1993 with the final win of streak coming in Southern 500
8/31/97: Dale Earnhardt blacked out twice during Southern 500
9/5/99: Jeff Burton won 50th Southern 500 with brother Ward Burton finishing 2nd
3/16/03: Ricky Craven edged Kurt Busch by .002 seconds winning Darlington leading only final lap
8/31/03: Last career win for Terry Labonte 23 years after first career win in 1980 Southern 500
3/21/04: 100th Darlington race – Jimmie Johnson winner
5/12/12: Jimmie Johnson’s Darlington win was 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports
9/6/15: Carl Edwards comes from 2 laps down to win Southern 500
5/17/20 & 5/20/20: Darlington race added to schedule & run without fans due to COVID-19
5/17/20: Kevin Harvick 50th career win
9/4/22: #43 Wins first Darlington race since 9/4/67
5/12/24: Brad Keselowski ends 110-race winless streak
Darlington NASCAR Xfinity Series Stats Highlights
Darlington wins:
Joe Gibbs Racing: 12; JR Motorsports: 7; Stewart-Haas Racing: 2; Kaulig Racing: 1; Richard Childress Racing: 0
JR Motorsports won 5 of last 7 Darlington races
Chase Elliott only Rookie to win Darlington (2014)
Justin Allgaier won Stage 1, 2 & race 5/24
Final lead change with 3 or fewer laps to go 7 of last 9 Darlington races – 2 of last 4 races settled by last lap pass
4 Darlington races settled by last lap pass:
2014 – Chase Elliott passed Elliott Sadler
5/20 – Chase Briscoe passed Kyle Busch
9/22 – Noah Gragson passed Kyle Larson
5/23 – Kyle Larson passed John Hunter Nemechek
First Joe Gibbs Racing NXS win: Darlington 3/98 (Bobby Labonte)
3 Scored first career win at Darlington – Last: Ron Bouchard 4/84 (Both career wins came at Darlington)
Most leaders: 9 (4/84, 5/05 & 5/23)
Most cautions: 10 (4/84, 5/07, 5/09 & 5/23)
Slowest race: 91.924 mph (5/23)
Most finishing on lead lap: 32 (9/23)