NASCAR Darlington Sunday, August 28, 2022

DARLINGTON RACEWAY NASCAR CUP SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

Darlington wins:

Denny Hamlin 4

Kevin Harvick 3

Martin Truex Jr. 2

Kyle Busch, Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano 1

Champions winless at Darlington:

Kurt Busch: 29 Races – Best finish: 2nd (3/03)

Chase Elliott: 11 Races – Best finish: 4th (5/17/20)

Kyle Larson: 9 Races – Best finish: 2nd (3 Times)

27th of 36 races this season – First race of Playoffs – 10 Races remaining this season

Darlington 9/21

Denny Hamlin

Darlington 9/21 winner – Started 2nd, Stage 1 winner & finished 4th in Stage 2, 146 laps led (2nd most)

Winner pit stops: Denny Hamlin (10 Stops) 27, 49, 81 (G), 118, 158 (G), 165, 196 (G), 233, 279 (G), 320

Longest green flag run: 82 Laps (238-319)

Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Denny Hamlin (1st & 4th), Kyle Larson (2nd & 1st), Kevin Harvick (5th & 5th)

Speeding: Martin Truex Jr. (4th)

Rear of field: Austin Dillon (10th)

Best Hendrick: Kyle Larson (2nd)

Best Gibbs: Denny Hamlin (1st)

Best Stewart-Haas: Kevin Harvick (5th)

Best Penske: Brad Keselowski (7th)

Longest race last season: 4:08:01 – Darlington Sept.

Darlington May

Joey Logano

Darlington May winner – Pole, Stage 1 winner & finished 3rd in Stage 2, 8 times led for 107 laps (most), final lead change with 2 to go

Winner pit stops: Joey Logano (8 Stops) 32, 56, 93, 136 (Green), 170, 191, 237 (Green), 256

Top 5 Stage 1 & 2: Joey Logano 1st & 3rd, Ross Chastain 2nd & 1st, Martin Truex Jr. 5th & 2nd

Best free pass finisher: Justin Haley 3rd

Best Hendrick: Chase Elliott 5th

Best Gibbs: Christopher Bell 6th

Best Stewart-Haas: Kevin Harvick 4th

Best Penske: Joey Logano 1st

Hendrick Motorsports: 14 Darlington wins (Most all-time) – 6 Drivers

Joe Gibbs Racing: 10 Darlington wins – 7 Drivers

Richard Childress Racing: 8 Darlington wins

Roush: 5 Darlington wins

Stewart-Haas Racing: 3 Darlington wins

Team Penske: 4 Darlington wins

Wood Brothers Racing: 8 Darlington wins

Martin Truex Jr.: 3 Wins last 6 Playoff openers

4 Won first Playoff race & championship in same season

New Hampshire first Playoff race 2004-’10 (7 Years)

Chicagoland first Playoff race 2011-’17 (7 Years)

Las Vegas first Playoff race 2018-‘19 (2 Years)

Darlington first Playoff race 2020 & ’22 (3 Years)

52 Different winners in 122 NASCAR Cup Series Darlington races

23 Hall of Fame drivers won Darlington races

23 of the 35 NASCAR Cup Series champions won at Darlington (77 Total wins)

12 Champions winless at Darlington including Kurt Busch, Chase Elliott & Kyle Larson

41 Different winners in 72 Southern 500s

Jeff Gordon leads all with 6 Southern 500 wins

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

Commitment Line Violations: 2017: 3 / 2018: 3 / 2019: 0 / 5/17/20: 0 / 5/20/20: 0 / 9/6/20: 0 / 5/9/21: 0 / 9/5/21: 0 / 5/8/22: 0

Kevin Harvick: Record 13 Straight Darlington top 10 finishes

Denny Hamlin: 4 Darlington wins with 3 different crew chiefs – Mike Ford (2010), Michael Wheeler (2017) & Chris Gabehart (5/20/20 & 9/21)

Erik Jones only under-25 driver to win in last 17 Darlington races (23-Years-old)

3 Won Darlington in first try – Johnny Mantz, Dick Rathmann & Herb Thomas

Ricky Rudd won Darlington for first time in 29th try – Most of all drivers

Tim Richmond won for the first time in his last Darlington race

No Rookie of the Year contender won Darlington

William Byron: 2019 Darlington pole winner – Youngest ever (21-Years-old)

Erik Jones: 2019 Darlington winner – 2nd youngest ever (23-Years-old)

Three 23-year-olds won Darlington: Kyle Busch 23-0-8 (2008), Erik Jones 23-3-2 (2019) & Terry Labonte 23-9-16 (1980)

1 of last 11 Darlington races won by driver starting first – Last winner from pole: Joey Logano 5/22

Worst starting position of Darlington winner: 43rd – Johnny Mantz 1950

Only 6 Darlington races won from outside top 20 starting position

Last to win back-to-back Darlington races: Greg Biffle 2005 & ‘06 (Joey Logano won last Darlington race)

15 Darlington win streaks (Back-to-back wins)

Last Darlington season sweep: Jimmie Johnson 2004

Southern 500 won back-to-back 7 times – Denny Hamlin won last Southern 500

Youngest Darlington winners: Kyle Busch, Erik Jones & Terry Labonte – 23

Oldest Darlington winners: Harry Gant – 51 & Mark Martin – 50

Only 1 won Southern 500 & championship in same season last 20 years – Kevin Harvick 2014

Last defending NASCAR Cup Series champion to win Darlington race – Jeff Gordon 2001 champ & 9/02 winner

Martin Truex Jr. led most laps 2 of last 4 Darlington races – Finished 22nd (9/20) & Winner (5/21)

Most laps led by Darlington winner: 351 – Johnny Mantz (1950)

Most Darlington laps led to finish: 351 – Johnny Mantz (1950)

Most laps led by Darlington non-winner: 284 – Kyle Larson (2018)

8 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 26 Darlington races

Jeff Burton won 2 shortened Darlington races – Each in 1999

4 Darlington Overtime finishes – Leader at scheduled distance won 2

Teammates finished 1-2 six times at Darlington – Joe Gibbs Racing finished 1-2 three times (2013, ’17 & 5/20/20)

Drivers won first race of season 39 times at Darlington

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

Southern 500 winners went on to win championship 13 times – Last: Kevin Harvick 2014

Chevrolet leads all with 27 Southern 500 wins – Winless last 7 Southern 500s

5 Won Daytona 500 & Southern 500 in same year – Last: Jeff Gordon 1997

9 Times driver won Coca-Cola 600 & Southern 500 in same year

Martin Truex Jr. won Darlington Stage 1, 2 & race 5/21

Darlington History

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

3/21/04: 100th Darlington race – Jimmie Johnson winner

5/12/12: Jimmie Johnson’s Darlington win was 200th win for Hendrick Motorsports

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

DARLINGTON RACEWAY NASCAR XFINITY SERIES STATS HIGHLIGHTS

35 Different winners in 64 Darlington Xfinity Series races

Justin Allgaier only repeat winner last 9 Darlington races (2 Wins last 3 races) – 7 Others 1 win each

First Joe Gibbs Racing NXS win: Darlington 3/98 (Bobby Labonte)

Last Darlington season sweep: 2002 Jeff Burton (Justin Allgaier won in May)

Worst starting position of Darlington winner: 36th – Larry Pearson 3/95

*Justin Allgaier started rear of field 5/22

3 Scored first career win at Darlington – Last: Ron Bouchard 4/84 (Both career wins came at Darlington)

4 Won Darlington & championship in same season – Last: Chase Elliott 2014

2 Darlington races settled by last lap pass:

2014 – Chase Elliott passed Elliott Sadler & 5/20 – Chase Briscoe passed Kyle Busch

Fastest Darlington race: 141.355 mph (9/15) – Only 2 cautions (1:25:14)

3 Won Darlington in first try: Geoff Bodine, Neil Bonnett & Chase Elliott

Chase Elliott only Rookie to win Darlington (2014)

Todd Bodine won Darlington in 19th try – Most of all drivers

3 Sets of brothers won Darlington races – Geoff & Todd Bodine; Bobby & Terry Labonte; Darrell & Michael Waltrip