Darlington

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The Final Lap Weekly Podcast LogoSHOW #375 – Guest: Kelli Stavast from NBC Sports – We recap the Darlington Weekend, Jimmie Johnson gets recognized, Chip Ganassi falls off bike, Denny Hamlin tears ACL, plus a full Richmond preview. Hosted by Kerry Murphey and Toby Christie.

( Roughly 48:00 mins)

Continue reading “The Final Lap Weekly NASCAR Podcast #375 – Kelli Stavast NBC – NASCAR Richmond Preview”

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NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Race – Bojangles’ Southern 500
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Sunday, September 06, 2015
1. (13) Carl Edwards, Toyota, 367, $279625.
2. (1) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 367, $252981.
3. (6) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 367, $180915.
4. (4) Joey Logano, Ford, 367, $182073.
5. (3) Kevin Harvick, Chevrolet, 367, $175190.
6. (2) Kurt Busch, Chevrolet, 367, $133365.
7. (10) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 367, $149731.
8. (26) Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, 367, $120165.
9. (7) Martin Truex Jr., Chevrolet, 367, $129660.
10. (16) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 367, $128873.
11. (11) Aric Almirola, Ford, 367, $137141.
12. (15) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 367, $112935.
13. (23) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 367, $130635.
14. (20) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 367, $127726.
15. (17) Tony Stewart, Chevrolet, 367, $125249.
16. (5) Jeff Gordon, Chevrolet, 367, $140571.
17. (28) Clint Bowyer, Toyota, 367, $129493.
18. (24) Greg Biffle, Ford, 367, $126018.
19. (19) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 367, $137996.
20. (31) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 367, $93710.
21. (14) Matt Kenseth, Toyota, 367, $134996.
22. (29) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 367, $128846.
23. (34) AJ Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 367, $124018.
24. (35) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 367, $106818.
25. (25) Matt DiBenedetto #, Toyota, 367, $105613.
26. (12) Paul Menard, Chevrolet, 367, $97255.
27. (38) David Gilliland, Ford, 367, $108213.
28. (33) Sam Hornish Jr., Ford, 367, $114200.
29. (32) Casey Mears, Chevrolet, 366, $105202.
30. (9) Ryan Blaney(i), Ford, 366, $85955.
31. (41) Jeb Burton #, Toyota, 364, $86755.
32. (42) Mike Bliss(i), Chevrolet, 363, $84055.
33. (27) Justin Allgaier, Chevrolet, 354, $91855.
34. (36) JJ Yeley(i), Toyota, 348, $83655.
35. (18) Trevor Bayne, Ford, 342, $128035.
36. (40) Brett Moffitt #, Ford, 332, $83360.
37. (43) TJ Bell, Ford, 325, $83138.
38. (8) Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Ford, 313, $86348.
39. (39) Michael Annett, Chevrolet, 300, $74285.
40. (21) David Ragan, Toyota, Accident, 275, $97499.
41. (22) Chase Elliott(i), Chevrolet, Accident, 227, $66285.
42. (30) Danica Patrick, Chevrolet, Accident, 190, $70285.
43. (37) Cole Whitt, Ford, Accident, 5, $58785.
Average Speed of Race Winner: 111.993 mph.
Time of Race: 04 Hrs, 28 Mins, 35 Secs. Margin of Victory: 0.902 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 18 for 89 laps.
Lead Changes: 24 among 11 drivers.
Lap Leaders: B. Keselowski 1-62; C. Edwards 63-65; K. Kahne 66-67; D. Hamlin 68-109; K. Harvick 110; D. Hamlin 111-117; B. Keselowski 118-137; K. Harvick 138-139; B. Keselowski 140-193; Kurt Busch 194; B. Keselowski 195-202; Kurt Busch 203-208; K. Larson 209-211; T. Stewart 212-221; D. Hamlin 222-229; K. Harvick 230-247; J. Logano 248-266; Kyle Busch 267-269; J. Logano 270-279; K. Harvick 280-302; D. Gilliland 303; B. Keselowski 304-344; C. Edwards 345; B. Keselowski 346-356; C. Edwards 357-367.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): B. Keselowski 6 times for 196 laps; D. Hamlin 3 times for 57 laps; K. Harvick 4 times for 44 laps; J. Logano 2 times for 29 laps; C. Edwards 3 times for 15 laps; T. Stewart 1 time for 10 laps; Kurt Busch 2 times for 7 laps; K. Larson 1 time for 3 laps; Kyle Busch 1 time for 3 laps; K. Kahne 1 time for 2 laps; D. Gilliland 1 time for 1 lap.
Top 16 in Points: K. Harvick – 948; J. Logano – 906; D. Earnhardt Jr. – 855; B. Keselowski – 837; J. Johnson – 817; M. Truex Jr. – 806; M. Kenseth – 776; D. Hamlin – 754; Kurt Busch – 752; J. Mcmurray – 726; R. Newman – 714; C. Edwards – 713; J. Gordon – 700; P. Menard – 692; C. Bowyer – 682; A. Almirola – 653.

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DR_NSCS_R_090615_13Sept. 6, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. – On a night when throwback paint schemes recalled NASCAR’s past in vivid color, and a low-downforce aerodynamic package suggested the future direction of the sport, Carl Edwards overcame early misfortune to win an exhilarating race at the Lady in Black.

Grabbing the lead thanks to a blisteringly fast pit stop under the track-record 18th caution of Sunday night’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Edwards pulled away after a restart with eight laps left and beat polesitter Brad Keselowski to the finish line by .902 seconds to win his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at the venerable 1.366-mile speedway.

An outspoken proponent of the low-downforce configuration, Edwards was thrilled with the quality of the racing and elated with his second victory of the season and the 25th of his career.

“I don’t think I can get in trouble for how much I liked it, but I loved it – this is as good as it gets,” Edwards said. “This is what it’s about. We’re sliding cars, tires are falling off – this is the style of racing – if there’s any chance we can run this in the Chase, I hope we can do it. It was an awesome day.”

For the record, NASCAR will run its standard 2015 competition package throughout the Chase, but the low-downforce configuration got rave reviews from a wide array of competitors.

“I loved it,” Keselowski said. “It separates the race car drivers from the pretends, and that’s the way it should be.”

Edwards’ victory didn’t come without significant adversity. The driver of the No. 19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota lost two laps after staying out on old tires when the rest of the lead-lap cars came to pit road under caution on Lap 62.

That decision forced Edwards to pit early on Lap 89, and a subsequent caution for Michael Annett’s crash in Turn 2 trapped him two laps down. Edwards spent the next 200 laps working his way back to the front.

Edwards was locked in an intense three-way battle for the lead when caution for Jeb Burton’s spin in Turn 2 on Lap 355 of 367 took fuel mileage out of the equation and set up the final round of pit stops.

Edwards edged Keselowski for the top spot leaving pit road and parlayed that advantage into a hard-earned victory.

Denny Hamlin came home third, followed by Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. It was a late duel with Keselowski and Harvick during a 43-lap green-flag run preceding the final caution that made an indelible impression on the Missouri driver.

“A win like this is really special, especially leading into the Chase,” Edwards said. “This is what we needed. We just needed a shot in the arm and needed to have a good night like this. All over, it’s cool.

“I hope I never forget those last 25 laps. That was really fun, and the restart was fun, but truly racing with Brad and Kevin was a blast. I really had a good time.”

In what was a banner night for Joe Gibbs Racing, Kyle Busch completed his journey back from an 11-race injury absence with a seventh-place finish that locked Busch into the top 30 in the sereis standings and clinched a berth in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup for the four-time winner.

“Making the Chase was something we weren’t all sure was possible after my injuries,” said Busch, who broke his right leg and left foot in a wreck during the Feb. 21 NASCAR XFINITY Series race at Daytona. “It’s a great opportunity to be with these guys on this M&M’S Crispy team. They’re working really hard at Joe Gibbs Racing – we’ve got a lot of speed, and I think all four cars have a really good shot at this championship.

“I had my hands full tonight. I think I just got a little behind on what our adjustments needed to be for the race, but our whole team just really turned this thing around, and it turned out to be a solid finish for us.”

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during the NASCAR XFINITY Series VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway on September 5, 2015 in Darlington, South Carolina.

Sept. 5, 2015

By Reid Spencer
NASCAR Wire Service

DARLINGTON, S.C. – You could call polesitter Denny Hamlin’s victory in Saturday’s VFW Sport Clips Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway “dominating,” but the NASCAR XFINITY Series event wasn’t without its share of drama—courtesy of a fuel shortage and Hamlin’s own Joe Gibbs Racing teammate, Daniel Suarez.

Hamlin Led 117 of 147 laps at the 1.366-mile speedway, but he didn’t make the winning pass until Lap 145, when he surged past Suarez, who was stretching fuel after foregoing a final pit stop in hopes of stealing the victory.

The win was Hamlin’s third of the season (all from the pole), his fourth at Darlington (all from the pole) and the 20th of his career.

In a 1-2-3 finish for JGR, Kyle Busch got past Suarez, who finished third, to start the final circuit and came home in the runner-up position. But Suarez secured a $100,000 bonus as the top finisher among eligible series regulars in the final XFINITY Dash 4 Cash event of the season.

Suarez also won $100,000 for a Kurt Kolstad, a race fan paired with Suarez for the Dash 4 Cash finale.

When Hamlin brought his No. 20 Toyota to pit road under caution on Lap 72, he returned to the track after a lightning fast stop during which his team left the fuel cell slightly short of a full load.

That meant Hamlin would have to pit before his primary pursuers, Busch and Kevin Harvick, and hope the race would run caution-free for the entire cycle of stops.

Hamlin got his wish. After pitting on Lap 122 and gaining time on fresh tires, a relieved Hamlin saw the race run caution-free to the end, giving him just enough time to catch Suarez, who was saving fuel on old rubber, before the laps ran out.

“I’m almost glad we didn’t (get the car full of fuel),” Hamlin said after the race. “We didn’t want a caution to fall and trap us there, but I had scraped the wall and kind of misjudged my line one time and got a little right-side damage, and the car just stopped turning.

“I don’t know if the right side would have made it or not (under the pressure of all-out racing).”

Harvick led 16 laps and finished fourth, his chances thwarted when the race ran green to the finish.

“The 9 (Chase Elliott) hit the wall or was blowing up or something, and we stayed out a few extra laps, thinking that the caution was going to come out, and got a little bit behind, “ Harvick said.

“The 20 (Hamlin) had the best car. We were better in the long run—we could run him back down and race with him, but on the short run, those guys were a little bit better than we were.”

Chris Buescher ran fifth and extended his series lead to 29 points over Ty Dillon, who finished 15th, and 35 over Elliott, who came home 24th, three laps down, after his engine soured late in the race.

Joey Logano, Kyle Larson, Landon Cassill, Regan Smith and Ross Chastain completed the top 10.

NASCAR XFINITY Series Race – VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200
Darlington Raceway
Darlington, South Carolina
Saturday, September 05, 2015

1. (1) Denny Hamlin(i), Toyota, 147, $53679.
2. (36) Kyle Busch(i), Toyota, 147, $32435.
3. (2) Daniel Suarez #, Toyota, 147, $32251.
4. (9) Kevin Harvick(i), Chevrolet, 147, $21878.
5. (10) Chris Buescher, Ford, 147, $28698.
6. (4) Joey Logano(i), Ford, 147, $18464.
7. (3) Kyle Larson(i), Chevrolet, 147, $17790.
8. (19) Landon Cassill, Chevrolet, 147, $23854.
9. (8) Regan Smith, Chevrolet, 147, $23555.
10. (14) Ross Chastain #, Chevrolet, 147, $24227.
11. (24) Elliott Sadler, Ford, 147, $23099.
12. (12) Brian Scott, Chevrolet, 146, $23024.
13. (6) Brendan Gaughan, Chevrolet, 146, $22973.
14. (15) Darrell Wallace Jr. #, Ford, 146, $22922.
15. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 146, $23271.
16. (11) JJ Yeley, Toyota, 146, $22745.
17. (18) Ryan Sieg, Chevrolet, 146, $22694.
18. (26) Dakoda Armstrong, Ford, 146, $22643.
19. (21) Cale Conley #, Toyota, 146, $22593.
20. (16) Jeremy Clements, Chevrolet, 145, $23017.
21. (20) Parker Kligerman, Chevrolet, 145, $22666.
22. (25) David Starr, Toyota, 145, $22410.
23. (17) Ryan Reed, Ford, 145, $22359.
24. (7) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 144, $23284.
25. (5) Paul Menard(i), Chevrolet, 144, $16156.
26. (23) John Wes Townley(i), Chevrolet, 144, $22157.
27. (22) Blake Koch, Toyota, 143, $22106.
28. (33) Eric McClure, Toyota, 142, $22031.
29. (28) Todd Bodine, Chevrolet, 141, $21995.
30. (32) Joey Gase, Chevrolet, 141, $22254.
31. (31) BJ McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 138, $21899.
32. (30) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 134, $21854.
33. (35) Harrison Rhodes #, Chevrolet, Vibration, 83, $21828.
34. (38) Mike Harmon, Dodge, Suspension, 82, $21807.
35. (34) Morgan Shepherd, Chevrolet, Brakes, 34, $15550.
36. (27) TJ Bell(i), Toyota, Clutch, 23, $14039.
37. (37) Carlos Contreras, Chevrolet, Accident, 10, $19245.
38. (29) Jeff Green, Toyota, Suspension, 6, $12039.
39. (39) Carl Long, Dodge, Suspension, 4, $11039.
40. (40) Ryan Ellis(i), Ford, Suspension, 1, $10039.

Average Speed of Race Winner: 141.355 mph.
Time of Race: 01 Hrs, 25 Mins, 14 Secs. Margin of Victory: 2.058 Seconds.
Caution Flags: 2 for 8 laps.
Lead Changes: 7 among 3 drivers.
Lap Leaders: D. Hamlin(i) 1-29; K. Harvick(i) 30-34; D. Hamlin(i) 35-48; K. Harvick(i) 49-50; D. Hamlin(i) 51-121; K. Harvick(i) 122-130; D. Suarez # 131-144; D. Hamlin(i) 145-147.
Leaders Summary (Driver, Times Lead, Laps Led): D. Hamlin(i) 4 times for 117 laps; K. Harvick(i) 3 times for 16 laps; D. Suarez # 1 time for 14 laps.
Top 10 in Points: C. Buescher – 874; T. Dillon – 845; C. Elliott – 839; R. Smith – 820; E. Sadler – 783; D. Wallace Jr. # – 766; D. Suarez # – 759; B. Scott – 755; B. Gaughan – 736; R. Reed – 652.

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