Track

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

First practice

Cole Custer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.340 seconds and a speed of 167.607 mph (269.737 km/h).^[4]

Final practice

Noah Gragson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.575 seconds and a speed of 166.276 mph (267.595 km/h).^[4]

Qualifying results

Summary

Ryan Blaney started on pole and led early, holding off Tyler Reddick. After John Hunter Nemechek spun and caused a caution, Blaney pitted and gave the lead to Reddick, who won Stage 1. After Brandon Brown spun and hit the inside wall, Blaney and Justin Allgaier caught up to Reddick, with Blaney taking the Stage 2 victory. Allgaier and Cole Custer battled Reddick for top positions, while Denny Hamlin (who started at the rear of the field) caught up to the top 5.

Blaney left pit road with Custer and Hamlin behind him. Hamlin got by Custer and then slid past Blaney for the lead with 27 remaining. The final caution occurred with around 15 laps remaining, stacking up the field. Hamlin stayed in the lead while Custer took the second position. The restart happened with 10 laps to go. Hamlin took off and retained the lead, while Custer chased him closely.

On the final lap, Custer got right up to Hamlin's back and dove into turn 3. Custer was unable to make it stick, causing Hamlin to cross the finish line in first place and take the apparent victory. Although Hamlin was later disqualified, which gave Custer the race win despite him not leading a single lap.^[6][7]

Stage Results

Stage One Laps: 45

Stage Two Laps: 45

Final Stage Results

Stage Three Laps: 57