NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Take Down The Track Too Tough To Tame at Darlington?
An annual highlight for fans and drivers alike is upon us once again–Darlington throwback weekend. The venerable, narrow, and unique South Carolina raceway is known for rewarding patient-yet-aggressive veterans. Who are some favorites to take the Goodyear 400? Here are a few drivers who excel at Darlington and their chances heading into Sunday.
Denny Hamlin
Among Denny Hamlin’s many racing accolades, an 8.4 career average finish at Darlington is one that often goes overlooked. Hamlin’s mark trumps all drivers ever with more than three starts at The Track Too Tough To Tame. Four wins over 23 career starts is also best out of Sunday’s field. Put simply, Hamlin finds another gear at Darlington that’s often unbeatable.
“Darlington is one of our best racetracks, one of my best tracks,” Hamlin said. “It’s the place where I got my very first Xfinity start way back in 2004. I just feel good at that track. It seems like we’re at the heart of the season where most of the tracks we go to, we’re going to have a great shot to win.”
“I think it suits my style. I think typically how I approach a race weekend at that track, it fits how I finesse a car around a track. It’s hard to place it into words, but it’s a track where I can manipulate the car by taking a different line, I feel good at the track. And that’s a track where if you move down a lane, you move up a lane or two, you really car change the way your car reacts and I like the task of those conditions. Every lap, those conditions are changing, the heat is changing and how fast can you adapt to that to make the lap time. I think it’s just something I’ve been good at for a while.”
It’s been four races since Hamlin’s last Darlington win, the 2021 Southern 500. Despite laps led in all four outings, none hurt more than last fall. After leading nearly half the race, a loose wheel sent the No. 11 a lap down and to a 25th-place result. Much like Kansas a week ago, Darlington is another track where Hamlin should be red hot in chasing the checkers.
Kyle Larson
Even with Hamlin’s legendary Darlington record, he’s still edged out in the prerace favorite odds by Kyle Larson. Hamlin’s misfortunes last fall paved the way for driver 5’s first Darlington triumph in the Southern 500. Larson’s impressive South Carolina résumé features 770 laps led and six top-fives in 12 starts. Like many recent races, expect a 5 vs. 11 battle in the closing laps on Sunday. Both drivers are head and shoulders above the competition at Darlington.
“I love racing at Darlington because we are right up against the wall,” Larson said. “I was finally able to get to victory lane in a Cup car last year. It was such a cool night to celebrate a Southern 500 victory with the team. Hopefully, we can battle for the win again on Sunday.”
Gunning for two straight wins both at Darlington and in 2024, Larson should be lights-out quick. The 12th time was finally the charm for Larson to dance with The Lady in Black. The current points leader is hoping to find similar success in lucky start number 13.
Martin Truex Jr
The Next Gen era has not been kind results-wise to Martin Truex Jr at Darlington. Regardless of laps led in three of four races, his best result was 18th in September. Crashes or mechanical woes derailed the No. 19 Toyota from a third Darlington victory in three of these races. One of the most experienced drivers on The Track Too Tough To Tame, Truex hopes for another winning high.
“It’s quite the challenge,” Truex said. “I love going there. I’m still mad about the Southern 500 last year. Leading late and having the engine issues, so a little bit of redemption, hopefully, this weekend. It’s been so good to us and we’ve only been able to win there twice. I feel like we should have won there seven or eight times over the years. You’ve got to race the racetrack, but somehow with these cars you’ve got to find a way to get track position, as well. It’s very difficult to do but I’m really looking forward to the challenge. I can’t thank our friends at Auto-Owners Insurance enough for being along with us yet again this weekend. It’s going to be a fun weekend, for sure.”
“I think it just suits some guys, and others it doesn’t. For me, I feel like it’s about how I like to drive my car and the feel I need for the long run. For as long as I remember, I don’t really know what I do differently than everyone else. I don’t know if my team does, either, it’s just the way that it happens. Even with all the technology today, sometimes you just can’t pinpoint exactly what it is that makes us good there. You can see the SMT and see exactly what a driver is doing. But there’s more to connecting that feel and those inputs than you can imagine. It just suits me, and I really enjoy it. Looking forward to this weekend with our Auto-Owners Insurance Camry.”
Still searching for a first win of 2024, Truex’s consistency has maintained a top-three points spot since March. The 19 team also comes to Darlington off back-to-back top-fives. This elite speed and performance should put the Joe Gibbs Racing driver in victory lane again soon.
Tyler Reddick
Nearly the exact opposite of Truex’s Next Gen Darlington woes is Tyler Reddick’s record. The 23XI Racing driver has two runner-ups and a third-place run in his last four Darlington races. This includes 90 laps led in September. Much like Larson, Reddick’s been seemingly snakebitten at this track. Can a 10th Darlington start end with the No. 45 atop the board?
“I love Darlington,” Reddick said. “It’s certainly one of my favorites. You know, when I was coming into the Cup Series, it was when we started having more than the one race there. I think during the COVID year, we ran there like three times or something. I was eating that up and really enjoyed it. Yeah for me, it’s a track I’ve always really enjoyed. As it’s changed, I still love it a lot, but when we had to redo turn two. I was a little sour about that. But, it’s still a very difficult race track and a lot of fun to race. You’re racing your competitors out there, but you have to battle the race track every lap. Darlington always gets me really excited. Throwback weekend makes it one of the most fun weekends of the year. Seeing all the different schemes the teams come up with and how elaborate they get with putting them all together. And then, we get to go to North Wilkesboro and Charlotte. So it’s really fun stretch of the year for our team.”
His boss Denny Hamlin’s loose wheel last fall appeared to open the door for Reddick, only for Larson to get the upper hand late. Out of all drivers gunning for their first Darlington win Sunday, Reddick’s odds are the shortest.
William Byron
Last year’s Goodyear 400 winner, William Byron was the biggest beneficiary of leaders wrecking ahead of him late. The No. 24 only led seven laps that day for Byron’s breakthrough Darlington victory. Byron returns to try and defend this turf paying homage to one of Darlington’s all-time greats–Jeff Gordon. Byron hopes to bring the flame 24 scheme to a very familiar victory lane.
“There’s nothing like getting ready for Darlington,” Byron said. “Throwback weekend is really fun. We have a really cool-looking Axalta Chevy with the black base and the bright flames like Jeff (Gordon)’s 2009 scheme. It’s always exciting to go to that track and compete. That place is so nostalgic and the fans really show up. There’s just something about that track that has clicked for me. I hope we have a strong showing there again.”
Byron is one of only three drivers with an active streak of three-straight Darlington top-10s. A promising weekend burned out quickly for team 24 in Kansas. The Hendrick driver eyes another winning chance at one of his favorite tracks.
Ross Chastain
For almost 100 laps at Darlington 12 months ago, the No. 1 of Ross Chastain was P1. Chastain was likely on his way to a top-five if not a win. That unraveled however when he got into Kyle Larson on a late restart. This blunder was arguably a 2023 low point for the Trackhouse Racing driver, who got the ire of Rick Hendrick afterwards. A year removed from this, can one that got away come back for Ross Chastain?
“Darlington is the most difficult oval to me,” Chastain said. “The ends being so different and the speed being up by the wall, you’re going to hit the wall if you overstep. It’s a high commitment track. At the end of a run at Darlington you’re running so much slower than the start of a run but you have to be so precise. You put tires on at Darlington and you’re going so much faster than you were. The way you have to adjust your driving at Darlington throughout a run makes it very challenging.”
“Finishing well is keeping the car intact and not hitting the wall too hard. Keeping the wheel straight, keeping paint out of the wheels as much as you can if you hit the wall, have the suspension the same way you went to the track with it at lap 495…those are all the reasons of finishing well instead of just running well.”
Now 10th in points, Chastain searches for tick more consistency once again. The 1 has been outside of the top-10 since COTA in March, a span of six races. Chastain boasts two prior Darlington top-fives, including last fall. South Carolina may be a step in the right direction for this Trackhouse crew.
The Goodyear 400 will go green Sunday at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio Channel 90. Darlington also marks the regular season’s halfway point in the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series. While seven drivers are locked in, many others are gunning for an all-important win and Playoff berth. A win at one of NASCAR’s most revered sites is also up for grabs. All drivers treat Darlington as a top-tier triumph. One of them will celebrate big with a possible season-defining win.
Written by Peter Stratta
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