Skip to content

In the Know – Darlington

In The Know – DARLINGTON

The NASCAR Playoffs begin Sunday with the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington (S.C.), with Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe making playoff runs. Get up-to-speed on race info, driver stats, our weekly wraps, and more as we look to tame the Lady In Black.

The Details

NASCAR Cup Series Overview

●  Event:  Cook Out Southern 500 (Round 27 of 36)
●  Time/Date:  6 p.m. EDT on Sunday, Sept. 4
●  Location:  Darlington (S.C.) Raceway
●  Layout:  1.366-mile oval
●  Laps/Miles:  367 laps/501.32 miles
●  Stage Lengths:  Stage 1: 115 laps / Stage 2: 115 laps / Final Stage: 137 laps
●  TV/Radio:  USA / MRN / SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

SHR FAST FACTS

Kevin Harvick:
For the 16th time since the advent of the playoffs in 2004, Harvick is a part of it. Harvick qualified for this year’s playoffs by scoring two wins – Aug. 7 at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn and Aug. 14 at Richmond (Va.) Raceway. This is Harvick’s 13th consecutive playoff appearance. He won the championship in 2014.

Darlington is one of the 10 tracks that make up the NASCAR Playoffs, and of Harvick’s 60 career NASCAR Cup Series victories, 26 have come at playoff tracks. Three of those wins have been at Darlington, while Harvick also has three wins apiece at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway and Texas Motor Speedway in Ford Worth. He has two wins at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and one win each at Talladega (Ala.) Superspeedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway and Martinsville (Va.) Speedway. The remaining nine wins were earned at the most valuable playoff venue – Phoenix Raceway, home to the championship-deciding race. The only track where Harvick doesn’t have a win is the Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway Roval.

Darlington is known as “The Track Too Tough To Tame” but Harvick has tamed the venerable 1.366-mile oval three times, the second-most of any active NASCAR Cup Series driver. The 46-year-old racer from Bakersfield, California, owns two Southern 500 victories (2014 and 2020) and one win in the track’s 400-mile race. In fact, Harvick enters Darlington with an impressive record – he hasn’t finished outside the top-10 since 2012. How long ago was that? “Gangnam Style” and its music video by South Korean singer Psy went viral in 2012, four years before the social media app TikTok became reality.

Aric Almirola:
In 14 starts at the 1.33-mile egg-shaped oval, Almirola has earned two top-10 finishes, which came in back-to-back starts in 2020. Almirola finished 11th at Darlington earlier this year after running in and around the top-10 for the majority of the race.

Earlier this year, Almirola announced that he would step down from fulltime racing following the 2022 season. In the course of the year, Almirola has discovered a new balance between his passion for racing and dedication to his family. His wife Janice, and kids Alex and Abby, join him on most race weekends, oftentimes enjoying once-in-a-lifetime experiences together as they travel the country. His rapport with crew chief Drew Blickensderfer has flourished, and the intense pressure he had put on himself was replaced with the joy of simply being present. Not only did Almirola see a new perspective on the sport, but so did anchor partner Smithfield Foods, who broached the subject of Almirola returning to fulltime racing in 2023. On Friday, Aug. 26, Almirola, Stewart-Haas Racing, and Smithfield Foods announced their return with a multi-year agreement and the largest allotment of races since joining the team in 2018. View the full press release here.

Chase Briscoe:
Darlington marks Briscoe’s debut in the Cup Series playoff format. The playoffs begin with 16 drivers, including the 15 drivers who combined to win the first 26 races of the year. Four drivers will be eliminated at the end of each of the first three rounds before the final four drivers compete for the championship Nov. 6 at Phoenix Raceway, where Briscoe and the No. 14 team claimed victory earlier this year. Briscoe starts the playoffs in the 12th position with a two-point cushion above the cutoff line.

Briscoe has three Cup Series starts at Darlington with a best finish of 11th in the May 2021 race. He also has three NASCAR Xfinity Series starts at “The Track Too Tough To Tame,” one being the most memorable performance of his career – his May 2020 win over two-time Cup Series champion and the winningest driver across NASCAR’s top three series, Kyle Busch.

This Sunday at Darlington, Briscoe will drive a black-and-white HighPoint.com Ford Mustang, eschewing the traditional blue-and-white colors of HighPoint for one of the crown jewel races of the NASCAR Cup Series – the Southern 500. The change in color honors the late sportswriter and 2016 Squier-Hall Award recipient Benny Phillips, who gave Darlington the moniker, “The Lady in Black.” The No. 14 will also carry the name of HighPoint employee Joe Conforth.

Cole Custer:
Sunday night’s 367-lap race will be Custer’s 102nd career Cup Series start and seventh on the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval. The 2020 Cup Series Rookie of the Year’s 11th-place finish in last September’s Southern 500 was the best of his previous six Darlington outings.

The native of Ladera Ranch, California, was credited with the victory in his most recent NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington in 2019 after finishing second the previous year and ninth in 2017, all behind the wheel of the No. 00 SHR Ford. In the 2019 race, he crossed the finish line .602 of a second behind the apparent race-winner Denny Hamlin. But Hamlin’s racecar was disqualified after a ride-height violation was discovered in postrace inspection, giving Custer his eighth of 10 career Xfinity series victories. In the September 2018 Xfinity Series race at Darlington, Custer was runner-up to Brad Keselowski by .738 of a second.

OUR WEEKLY WRAPS

We’re bringing nothing but our Sunday best to tame the Lady In Black.

What Our Drivers are Saying:

Kevin Harvick, Driver of the No. 4 Busch Light Retro Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas:

You’re in the playoffs for a 13th consecutive season and your 16th overall. How does making the playoffs this year compare to any of those previous playoff seasons?
“I would say it’s been a very different route to get to this point. As we started the year with the new car, we were on the wrong side of the fence and trying to figure everything out. And as we’ve gone through the year we’ve become progressively better, and we figured some things out and got back to victory lane and really have some momentum as we start the process of these last 10 weeks and racing for a championship. The biggest thing is, we’re giving ourselves a chance to race for the championship – that’s the first goal. That looked bleak for a little while, but now we’re in a good position to get started.”

Aric Almirola, Driver of the No. 10 Renegade Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

You’re not in the playoffs this year, but there is still a lot to look forward to. What are your goals for the remainder of the season?
“We obviously wish we were in the playoffs to have a run at the championship, so that is tough. This year has had so much parity with new winners and an extremely competitive series. This new car has really leveled the playing field. I think this year is going to be different with cars that are not in the playoffs, though. Our team has found more and more speed each weekend, and we’re constantly progressing. We’re not holding back anything for the next 10 weeks. While our goal to win a championship is gone, we’re still planning to run like championship contenders and make our presence known.” 

Chase Briscoe, Driver of the No. 14 HighPoint.com Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Are the playoffs a chance for this team to start over?
“Truthfully, I feel like we’ve had speed every week but, unlike a lot of teams, we run anywhere from seventh to 12th for a lot of the race. Then we finish 18th to 23rd. So, it’s definitely nice to have a little bit of a reset button. I know we have the speed, it’s just a matter of putting the whole race together. And you know, there are a lot of variables that determine what that means each week. I definitely think it’s a bit of a second life to a certain extent, and one that I’m looking forward to having.”

Cole Custer, Driver of the No. 41 Feeding America / Wow Wow Classic Waffles Ford Mustang for Stewart-Haas Racing:

Darlington is one of the trickiest tracks in the Cup Series. How do you approach racing on “The Track Too Tough To Tame?”
“I would say Darlington is one track that I always look forward to. It’s one of those races that every driver looks forward to because of the challenge behind it and how much you can do as a driver. There are so many different lanes you can work and you’re running right up against the wall. It’s just a driver’s racetrack and I feel there’s not one guy who doesn’t feel excited when they hear Darlington is coming up.”

THE BOSS TALKS PLAYOFFS

When you have a 3x NASCAR Cup Series Champion as a boss, it’s always good to get a little advice before the playoffs start. See what Tony Stewart had to say about the keys to playoffs and advice for Kevin Harvick and Chase Briscoe as the playoffs kick begin.

 

THE BOSS TALKS PLAYOFFS

Join the fight against hunger with Feeding America and Wow Wow Waffles. Bid on an at-track experience with Cole Custer at the race of your choice. Bid now here.