Darlington
Race Report
One point. One more shot at the playoffs
Riley Herbst passed Parker Kligerman for the final Playoff-eligible position with one race left to decide the postseason field. Herbst holds a one-point lead over Kligerman, who finished 24th after contact from Sam Mayer’s No. 1 Chevrolet sent him spinning from the 12th position with six laps left in regulation.
Kligerman was not pleased with Mayer and said so after the race, especially since the driver of the No. 48 Chevrolet had overcome a slow pit stop and a brush with the outside wall to gain on Herbst.
“To come back from that and have to make a bunch of adjustments, then just get flat run over by the 1 car,” Kligerman said. “It’s so disappointing… He’s got to clean it up.”
Mayer, who finished 11th, took responsibility for the incident with the concise admission: “I effed up.”
Denny Hamlin resumed his NASCAR Xfinity Series mastery of Darlington Raceway on Saturday, winning the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 to raise his victory total at the track to six.
Next up Kansas, for the last shot at the playoffs. Race starts at 3:00 p.m eastern on NBC. Hear it on Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN stations nationwide.
NASCAR Xfinity Series Race – Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Saturday, September 2, 2023
(2) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 148.
(9) Austin Hill, Chevrolet, 148.
(1) John Hunter Nemechek, Toyota, 148.
(4) Cole Custer, Ford, 148.
(7) Josh Berry, Chevrolet, 148.
(15) Riley Herbst, Ford, 148.
(3) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 148.
(16) Sheldon Creed, Chevrolet, 148.
(14) Kyle Busch(i), Chevrolet, 148.
(6) Daniel Hemric, Chevrolet, 148.
(5) Sam Mayer, Chevrolet, 148.
(10) Chandler Smith #, Chevrolet, 148.
(19) Parker Retzlaff #, Chevrolet, 148.
(8) Brandon Jones, Chevrolet, 148.
(17) Corey Heim(i), Toyota, 148.
(22) Rajah Caruth(i), Chevrolet, 148.
(11) Sammy Smith #, Toyota, 148.
(24) Jeb Burton, Chevrolet, 148.
(27) Stefan Parsons, Chevrolet, 148.
(31) Brennan Poole, Chevrolet, 148.
(26) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 148.
(33) Chad Finchum, Ford, 148.
(21) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 148.
(13) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 148.
(18) Brett Moffitt, Ford, 148.
(34) Joe Graf Jr., Ford, 148.
(32) Matt Mills(i), Toyota, 148.
(30) Kaz Grala, Toyota, 148.
(36) Ryan Ellis, Chevrolet, 148.
(20) Ryan Sieg, Ford, 148.
(28) Kyle Weatherman, Chevrolet, 148.
(29) Timmy Hill(i), Ford, 148.
(23) Anthony Alfredo, Chevrolet, 147.
(35) Blaine Perkins #, Chevrolet, 147.
(25) Kyle Sieg, Ford, 147.
(38) Patrick Emerling, Chevrolet, 145.
(37) Josh Williams, Chevrolet, 143.
(12) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 117.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 106.826 mph.
Time of Race: 1 Hrs, 53 Mins, 53 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.657 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 7 for 34 laps.
Lead Changes: 15 among 5 drivers.
Lap Leaders: J. Nemechek 1-46;K. Larson(i) 47;A. Hill 48-49;J. Nemechek 50-92;A. Hill 93-95;J. Nemechek 96-104;A. Hill 105;P. Retzlaff # 106-110;A. Hill 111-119;D. Hamlin(i) 120;A. Hill 121-123;D. Hamlin(i) 124-133;A. Hill 134-136;J. Nemechek 137;A. Hill 138-145;D. Hamlin(i) 146-148.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): John Hunter Nemechek 4 times for 99 laps; Austin Hill 7 times for 29 laps; Denny Hamlin(i) 3 times for 14 laps; Parker Retzlaff # 1 time for 5 laps; Kyle Larson(i) 1 time for 1 lap.
Stage #1 Top Ten: 20,19,17,7,00,21,11,10,16,98
Stage #2 Top Ten: 20,21,17,19,7,00,16,31,98,11
Overview
Event: Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200
Date: Saturday September 2, 2023
Time: 3:30 p.m. eastern
Location: Darlington Raceway 1301 Harry Byrd Highway, Darlington, SC 29532
Layout: 1.366 mile “egg-shaped” oval “The Track Too Tough To Tame”
Banking: Turns 1 and 2 are 25 degrees, Turns 3 and 4 are 23 degrees, Front straight is 3 degrees and Back straight is 2 degrees.
Laps: 147
Miles: 200.8
Stage Lengths: Stage 1 ends on Lap 45, Stage 2 ends on Lap 90, Final Stage ends on Lap 147.
TV: USA Network
Radio: Sirius XM Channel 90 and MRN. To find the station near you, click here.
Driver Points: 643, 10th place
News and notes:
"Our incredible run of races as we rumble towards the playoffs has created serious momentum for our team,” says Parker Kligerman. “This is a great way to head to Darlington, one of my favorite tracks, and we had great speed there in the spring. We have made other improvements from the spring that also give me confidence. The Summer of Spiked continues, and I know if we keep doing what we have been for the last 11 weeks, we can end this summer on a high note!"
6 top 10 finishes in a row.
For the season: 6 top 5 finishes and 12 top 10 finishes.
Xfinity heads back to the Lady in Black
After some superspeedway action at the World Center of Racing, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will be heading to Darlington Raceway for the penultimate race in the regular season.
Heading into the weekend, this will be the 67th NASCAR Xfinity Series race at “the track too tough to tame.” The previous 66 races have produced 36 different race winners and 32 different pole winners. Fifteen races have been won from the pole or first starting position, most recently by Denny Hamlin in 2017.
NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin sits as the track’s winningest driver in the series, tallying eight wins (1993, 1994 sweep, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 sweep). He’s also set the record for most poles (eight), top fives (14), top 10s (18) and laps led (972).
The track has also been memorable for some drivers as it has been a place of “firsts”. Justin Ashburn (2003), Denny Hamlin (2004) and John Jackson (2011) all got their first Xfinity Series starts at The Lady in Black while Kyle Busch (2004) and Ross Chastain (2018) each won their first poles here. There is yet to be a driver to post their first career Xfinity Series win at Darlington Raceway.
Saturday will be a one stop shop for drivers. They will kick off their morning with practice at 10:35 a.m. ET, followed by qualifying at 11:05 a.m. ET on the NBC Sports App before gearing up for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 later that afternoon at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Is the track “Too Tough To Tame?”
Darlington Raceway’s 1.366-mile has been nicknamed the “the track too tough to tame” but for some, the taming has come easy as four drivers entered in this weekend’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race have conquered the Lady in Black – Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Cole Custer and Kyle Larson.
Justin Allgaier is coming off a long-awaited win at Daytona International Speedway and heads to Darlington as the only drivers with multiple wins at the track. In his 16 starts, he has posted two wins (2021, 2022), seven top fives and 12 top 10s. He posted a runner-up finish when the series ran at the track earlier this season for NASCAR’s official throwback weekend.
His teammate Brandon Jones hasn’t quite had the season he was hoping for but could very well snag his first win of the season this weekend at Darlington Raceway. He’s made 11 starts at the track, posting one win (2020), one pole (2022), two top fives and five top 10s.
Cole Custer has been dominant on the 1.366-mile South Carolina track, posting a top-five or top-10 finish in all four of his starts. His win came in 2019 in a race where he bested Tyler Reddick by a mere .602 seconds.
Cup Series regular Kyle Larson will get behind the wheel of the No. 17 Chevrolet for his third Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season. One of his previous starts this season was at Darlington Raceway where he landed himself in Victory Lane. If Larson wins again this Saturday, he’ll become the ninth different driver to post back-to-back wins at the track, following Ron Bouchard (1984 sweep), Darrell Waltrip (1985, 1986), Dale Earnhardt (1986, 1987), Harry Grant (1989, 1990), Dale Jarett (1990, 1991), Mark Martin (1993, 1994 sweep, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000 sweep), Jeff Burton (2001, 2002 sweep) and Denny Hamlin (2006, 2007).
Clinch scenarios: Two to go in the regular season
There are only two races left in the regular season so drivers will be pushing the limits to secure their spot in the 2023 Playoffs. As we head into the weekend, let’s take a look at the clinch scenarios:
Already Clinched
The following 8 drivers have clinched a spot in the 12-driver postseason field: Austin Hill, Justin Allgaier, John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Sam Mayer, Chandler Smith, Sammy Smith, Jeb Burton.
Can clinch via points
If there is a repeat winner or a win by a driver who cannot advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 4th winless driver in the standings. The same point requirements listed below would hold true if a new win comes from among Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed or Daniel Hemric.
o Josh Berry: Would clinch with 21 points
o Sheldon Creed: Could only clinch with help
o Daniel Hemric: Could only clinch with help
If there is a new winner from Parker Kligerman or another winless driver lower in the standings but still eligible to advance to the playoffs, the following drivers could clinch by being 56 points above the 3rd winless driver in the standings.
o Josh Berry: Would clinch with 54 points
o Sheldon Creed: Could only clinch with help
Can clinch via win
The following drivers would clinch on their win alone:
o Josh Berry, Sheldon Creed, Daniel Hemric, Parker Kligerman, Riley Herbst, Brandon Jones, Brett Moffitt, Kaz Grala, Parker Retzlaff, Ryan Sieg, Jeremy Clements, Anthony Alfredo, Josh Williams, Joe Graf Jr.
Can clinch Regular Season Championship
Additionally, the Regular Season Championship could be clinched by the following drivers:
o Austin Hill: Could only clinch with help
It’s crunch time at Darlington Raceway
Eight drivers have clinched their way into the Playoffs, leaving four spots up for grabs. Sheldon Creed, Josh Berry, Daniel Hemric and Parker Kligerman currently hold those spots on points and will be sure to give it all they have to secure their spot.
Sheldon Creed has made three starts at Darlington Raceway. Although he’s yet to snag a win at Darlington, he did post a runner-up finish in last year’s September race. If he makes it to the post season, it will mark his first Xfinity Series Playoff appearance.
Josh Berry has made five starts at the Lady in Black, posting one top five and three top 10 finishes. Like Creed, he has also come extremely close to tasting victory, finishing runner-up in 2021. Berry made his first Xfinity Series Playoff appearance last season where he made it to the Championship Four.
Daniel Hemric has nine Darlington starts under his belt, posting one top five and three top 10 finishes. He’s no stranger to making Playoff runs, already with four Xfinity Series Playoff appearances on his resume and even a championship trophy in his trophy case (2021).
Big Machine Racing’s Parker Kligerman has three stints at Darlington Raceway with a best finish of 13th. Kligerman is in his second full-time Xfinity Series season. If he manages to stay above the cutline, he will make his first Playoff appearance.