NASCAR
Stratta’s Six: Who Can Conquer the Goodyear 400 at Darlington?
One of the most grueling, demanding, and technical stops of the NASCAR season awaits all drivers. The Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway will be a very taxing Sunday drive, requiring near-perfection from 38 competitors. Perhaps the most unique and daunting track on the circuit looms large in everyone’s windshield. Who can separate themselves from the pack to summit the winning peak in South Carolina? Here are a few who hope to be standout performers at The Track Too Tough to Tame.
Denny Hamlin
Last week’s Martinsville triumph may have come in perfect time for Hamlin. The next several tracks on the racing calendar are some of Hamlin’s best historically, that includes Darlington. The four-time Darlington winner has a series-best 8.2 average finish here, in addition to a perfect 1000 laps led. Hamlin was asked after Martinsville if he believes the 11’s winning ways can continue into Darlington.
“I hope so,” Hamlin said. “Truthfully, the schedule is really nice to me over the last month, then kind of the next month there’s some good stuff, good tracks for us. I mean, all of them can be good tracks. But tracks that I’ve won a lot at, got great feel for what I need at that track. Yeah, I hope this is the start of things to come and we can build upon it. It would be great. But we got about 24 hours to celebrate this, then on to Cincinnati, as they would say.”
“The momentum is there, right? Surely when you win, there is momentum. NASCAR racing does not care about momentum. You could be first one week and last the next week. That’s kind of the beauty of it. The 35 guys that lost today believe that seven days from now they’re going to win. It’s the great thing about our sport, that it’s got ebbs and flows like that. But certainly we feel like we are doing a lot of right things, and certainly can contend no matter what the racetrack, especially a track like Darlington.”
Few across NASCAR history have taken as kindly to Darlington as Denny Hamlin. Driver 11 owns a pair of victories in both Darlington dates as well as six Xfinity trophies. This Toyota has also seen three top-10s in the last six races since their most recent win. Hamlin pays tribute to past teammate and recent Hall of Fame inductee Carl Edwards this weekend. Now on the No. 11, the Office Depot-inspired Sport Clips colors have an above-average shot at finding victory lane again.
Kyle Larson
Right in Hamlin’s tire tracks for many stats around Darlington is Kyle Larson. The 2023 Southern 500 winner excels at running against the fence and making time like few others, as shown two weeks ago in Homestead. Larson is hunting down a second Darlington trophy and a second checkered flag this season. Paying homage to a Hendrick Motorsports legend, Larson hopes to do an iconic paint scheme proud.
“I always look forward to this race, and we’ve been able to do some cool throwbacks the last two years honoring Terry Labonte and past No. 5 paint schemes,” Larson said. “This year we’re throwing it back to Terry’s last win in 2003 which occurred at Darlington. It was great catching up with him last week when we unveiled this car. A shoutout to HendrickCars.com – they did an amazing job with this scheme.”
Larson actually trumps Hamlin for most Darlington laps led with 1048 circuits paced, but he has trouble finishing the job here. No Darlington race encapsulated this more than last year’s Goodyear 400. Larson methodically found the lead and won Stage 1, but his day ended with a late crash. 263 laps led in the Southern 500 before backsliding also flexed Larson’s muscles here. The 5 is deservedly a favorite coming into this weekend, but execution will be the deciding factor on if this team flourishes.
Chris Buescher
One of the biggest heartbreaking losses in recent Darlington Raceway memory belonged to Chris Buescher last year. Getting the upper hand in the closing laps with a daring three-wide move, the RFK Racing driver seemed destined for glory on the hallowed grounds. Tight racing against Tyler Reddick, however, forced the No. 17 into the wall and to a 30th-place result. 12 months removed from this devastating loss, can Buescher rally again for a winning run?
Aside from last spring, Buescher has quietly put together stout Next Gen stats at The Track Too Tough to Tame. Having to pit for late damage in the Goodyear 400 was his only result outside of the top-10 here since 2022. RFK Racing still went onto victory that day with Brad Keselowski; Buescher hopes to keep this trophy in house. The Texan aims for a banner day ahead at the historic venue.
William Byron
Three years’ worth of Next Gen history at Darlington call William Byron the most consistent man around the 1.366-mile oval. 2023’s Goodyear 400 winner has only seen one finish outside of the top-10 since that breakthrough triumph. Entering Sunday as the points leader, a lot of eyes are on Byron for a strong run. Byron is more than eager to potentially capture another checkered flag.
“I’m excited to get to Darlington this weekend,” Byron said. “I’m actually excited about the next few tracks. They’re usually pretty good ones for us. We’ve had a great start to the season, even though last weekend was tough, it happens. I’m not worried and know we’ll rebound.”
Laps led in five of the six Darlington races since 2022 show that Byron’s built up confidence at this track. Running Jeff Gordon’s famed final start scheme, Byron envisions putting the 24 to the top once again at Darlington.
Tyler Reddick
Surprisingly still 0-11 at Darlington is Tyler Reddick. In similar vein to his dirt racing brethren Larson, Reddick envies going hide wide and handsome to make up ground. Reddick’s been second twice before at this storied track, but has yet to fully execute a flawless race. Last year’s Goodyear 400 was the closest Reddick’s come to having a perfect day at Darlington. The 23XI Racing No. 45 started on pole, won Stage 2, and led 174 laps before tangling late with Buescher.
The Southern 500 also saw Reddick take his first Regular Season Championship, by one point while battling illness. Twice before a Darlington bridesmaid, Reddick hopes to be Southern belle of the ball after 400 miles with The Lady in Black.
Bubba Wallace
Another driver trending towards a Darlington victory is Bubba Wallace. Driver 23 has two front row starts over the last two years here, laps led in four of five races, and four Next Gen top-10s. That last stat is tied with three other drivers for most in the series since 2022.
Darlington aside, Wallace enters April hotter than ever before at this point in a season. The flagship 23XI Racing Toyota is eighth in points, thanks in large part to back-to-back third-place runs at Homestead and Martinsville. New crew chief Charles Denike also knows how to win at Darlington, taking a Truck triumph here two years ago. Can Darlington be another top-five or better day for Wallace? Should this team stay status quo in execution and pace, there’s no reason why they can’t be duking it out after 400 tough miles.
Sunday’s 400-mile trek around Darlington is a dress rehearsal for what will be a pivotal Playoff race this fall. Who stands tall and who’s left yearning for more after the Goodyear 400 will be a back and forth affair among the sport’s best talents. The South Carolina green flag flies at 3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN, and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio.
Written by Peter Stratta
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Photo Credits to James Gilbert/Getty Images
