This weekend the Xfinity Series travels to Darlington Raceway for the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200.

Thirty-nine teams brought cars to Darlington for 38 starting spots.  Among the list of drivers are Cup Series regulars Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch, Ross Chastain, and Denny Hamlin.  This is the last race that the Cup drivers will be allowed to drive in an Xfinity Series race.  With the Truck Series off this weekend, Corey Heim is also hoping to make the race today.

Known as the “Lady in Black”, Darlington is known for being abrasive on tires and drivers scraping the wall.

When NASCAR first came to Darlington in 1950, the drivers ran speeds of around 80 miles per hour.  The drivers on the track today are running speeds nearly 100 mph faster.

While the spring race at Darlington is the official throwback weekend; some of the cars are carrying the paint schemes from the days of Petty Enterprises.

Choosing to wait a bit before getting out on the track, Sheldon Creed spins out but avoids the wall.  On the radio he said, “I was good, then I wasn’t”.

After a 20 minute practice session, the drivers will get one lap to make their best time in qualifying.  Daniel Hemric topped the list in practice with a time of 165.732 mph around the 1.3 mile track.

Kyle Busch calls Darlington, “fun, difficult, and challenging”.

Timmy Hill was the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and posted a time of 30,785 seconds.

Denny Hamlin is the first driver to break the 30 second mark with a time of 29.813 seconds.

With a time of 29.804 seconds John Hunter Nemechek puts his number 20 car on the pole with teammate Denny Hamlin alongside on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200:
John Hunter Nemechek
Denny Hamlin
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Sam Mayer
Daniel Hemric
Josh Berry
Brandon Jones
Austin Hill
Chandler Smith
Sammy Smith
Kyle Larson
Parker Kligerman
Kyle Busch
Riley Herbst
Sheldon Creed
Corey Heim
Brett Moffitt
Parker Retzlaff
Ryan Sieg
Ross Chastain
Rajah Caruth
Anthony Alfredo
Jeb Burton
Kyle Sieg
Jeremy Clements
Stefan Parsons
Kyle Weatherman
Timmy Hill
Kaz Grala
Brennan Poole
Matt Mills
Chad Finchum
Joe Graf Jr
Blaine Perkins
Ryan Ellis
Josh Williams
Patrick Emerling


Dawson Cram failed to make the race.

Stages one and two of the race are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 57 laps for a total of 147 laps around the 1.3 mile track.  The drivers can run 65 to 70 laps on a single load of fuel but tire wear will have the drivers wanting fresh tires every chance they get.  The crews have four sets of tires in the pits for today’s race.

Sam Mayer, Sammy Smith, Matt Mills, and Patrick Emerling will all have to start the race from the back of the field after crews made unapproved repairs and adjustments to the cars.

John Hunter Nemechek brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Denny Hamlin alongside.  Nemechek edges out in front for the lead from the outside lane to take the lead.

Drivers are getting three wide back in the field.

Lap two, John Hunter Nemechek leads the race with Cole Custer in second; Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier, and Daniel Hemric round out the top five.

Lap five, John Hunter Nemechek has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Cole Custer; Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier, and Daniel Hemric round out the top five.

Daniel Hemric and Josh Berry got way loose and slapped rear ends but they saved the cars and the track stays green.

In just seven laps, the times have dropped over a second and the drivers are loosing even more grip.

Lap 10, John Hunter Nemechek continues to lead the race and is nearly a second in front of Cole Custer; Denny Hamlin, Justin Allgaier, and Kyle Larson round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap eleven when Sammy Smith gets loose and into the wall.  Smith reports that he was “way too free”.

John Hunter Nemechek brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 17 from the inside lane.  Nemechek jumps out in front for the lead with Cole Custer in second.

Daniel Hemric get loose but saves the car and th track stays green.

Drivers are three wide back in the field.

Lap 19, John Hunter Nemechek has a narrow lead on Cole Custer; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

The four cup drivers are in third, fourth, ninth, and 23rd.

Lap 21, John Hunter Nemechek has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Cole Custer with Kyle Larson on his bumper.

Brandon Jones gets sideways going into the corner but saves the car; avoiding the wall and the number 24 car of Corey Heim.

Kyle Larson passes Cole Custer for second and has closed the gap on leader John Hunter Nemechek to under half a second.

Denny Hamlin passes Cole Custer for third.

Lap 25, the top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, Cole Custer, and Justin Allgaier.

There are 35 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 27, John Hunter Nemechek scrapes the wall for his “Darlington stripe”.

While there is a good bit of controversy over Cup Series drivers running in the Xfinity and Craftsman Truck Series races, the drivers themselves love the challenges of the Cup drivers in the races; saying it makes them better drivers.

Lap 29, John Hunter Nemechek leads the race but second place driver Kyle Larson is closing in.

Daniel Hemric and Josh Berry battle for seventh.

Kyle Busch and Josh Berry battle for eighth.

Lap 34, John Hunter Nemechek has a lead of over half a second on Denny Hamlin; Kyle Larson, Cole Custer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Josh Berry has lost four spots in the last several laps.  He reports that his car is very loose; especially on entry to the corners.  He reports that he has never driven anything so bad in his entire career.

Lap 38, John Hunter Nemechek’s lead on Denny Hamlin is under half a second; Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, and Cole Custer round out the top five.

Parker Kligerman reports a very tight condition and chattering tires.

Chandler Smith gets into the wall but the track stays green.

Josh Williams gets into the wall with a flat tire and brings out the caution flag with just three laps remaining in stage one.

John Hunter Nemechek wins stage one under caution for his sixth stage win of the season.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
John Hunter Nemechek
Denny Hamlin
Kyle Larson
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Austin Hill
Daniel Hemric
Kyle Busch
Chandler Smith
Riley Herbst

Austin Hill wins the race off of pit road, advancing five spots.

Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 51 with Nemechek getting out in front quickly with Cole Custer in second.

The top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson.

Lap 54, Austin Hill passes Cole Custer for second and aims for leader John Hunter Nemechek.

The caution flag comes out on lap 55 for Anthony Alfredo getting into Sam Mayer and the wall.  Kaz Grala and Rajah Caruth make contact.

Sam Mayer had some radio issues that needed addressing and restarted the race from the back of the field after moving up over 20 spots in stage one.  Mayer started the race from the back of the field after the crew made some unapproved adjustments.

Sam Mayer is on pit road for further repairs and his radio issues did not get repaired.  The crew had to jump up and down on pit road to get his attention to bring him in.

John Hunter Nemechek brings the field down for the green flag restart on lap 60 from the inside lane.  Nemechek once again jumps out in front for the lead.

The top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Kyle Larson, Cole Custer, and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 63, John Hunter Nemechek has a near half second lead on Austin Hill; Kyle Larson, Cole Custer, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Lap 66, there are 34 cars on the lead lap.

Lap 67, John Hunter Nemechek has a half second lead on Austin Hill; Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, and Cole Custer round out the top five.

Just outside the top 10 in eleventh, Kyle Busch reports that the car “doesn’t feel right”.

Josh Berry reports that he is “pretty speechless” on how ill handling and loose his car is.

Lap 74, the field has gotten single file and are spread out around the track.

Lap 78, the top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Austin Hill, Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, and Denny Hamlin.

Lap 80, Denny Hamlin passes Justin Allgaier for fourth.

Lap 83, Austin Hill has closed the gap on leader John Hunter Nemechek to less than a quarter of a second; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Kyle Larson reports that he may be having a motor issue but his performance on the track does not reflect any issues.

Lap 88, John Hunter Nemechek has pulled out to a lead of nearly a second on Austin Hill; Kyle Larson, Denny Hamlin, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.

Parker Kligerman scrapes the wall but the track stays green.

John Hunter Nemechek sweeps the stages with his stage two win.  The last time Nemechek swept the stages, he went on to win the race.  He has led 87 of the 90 laps run so far.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Hill
Kyle Larson
Denny Hamlin
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Chandler Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Riley Herbst
Daniel Hemric

Drivers come down pit road for service.  Kyle Larson is on pit road with the hood up.  Austin Hill wins the race off of pit road with John Hunter Nemechek coming out second.

Brandon Jones, Parker Kligerman, and Justin Allgaier had slow pit stops due to various issues – Allgaier’s jackman missed the jack post.

Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 97 with John Hunter Nemechek getting out in front for the lead.

The top five are John Hunter Nemechek, Denny Hamlin, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, and Riley Herbst.

Brandon Jones was charged with having too manmy crew members over the wall and had to restart the race form the back of the field.

When the race began, Parker Kligerman had a 20 point advantage over Riley Herbst; that gap is down to just four points.

Lap 102, Denny Hamlin has closed to within a quarter of a second on John Hunter Nemechek in a battle for the lead.

The caution flag comes out on lap 103 for a wreck involving Jeremy Clements and Kyle Sieg. 

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires and adjustments.  Once again Austin Hill wins the race off of pit road.  Kyle Larson is back on pit road with the hood up and has gone a lap down.

After staying out on the track, Corey Heim and Parker Retzlaff occupy the front row and will bring the field to green with 39 laps remaining in the race.  Justin Allgaier gives Parker Retzlaff a push to put Retzlaff in the lead.

The top five are Parker Retzlaff, Justin Allgaier, Austin Hill, Denny Hamlin, and Denny Hamlin.

There are 30 cars on the lead lap; only Kyle Larson on pit road is not on the track.

Austin Hill takes the lead with Denny Hamlin in second; Parker Retzlaff, John Hunter Nemechek, and Cole Custer rounding out the top five.

Just 32 laps remain in the race with Austin Hill a third of a second in front of Denny Hamlin; John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.

Lap 121, Denny Hamlin battles Austin Hill for the lead but so far Hill has held him off.

Just 24 laps remain in the race with Denny Hamlin finally taking the lead form Austin Hill; John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.

Twenty to go, Denny Hamlin has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Austin Hill; John Hunter Nemechek, Cole Custer, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Ryan Sieg spins out and brings out the caution flag with just 16 laps remaining in the race.  Pit road is sure to be very busy with drivers looking for fresh tires.  Austin Hill wins the race off of pit road with John Hunter Nemechek in second and Denny Hamlin in third.

Ross Chastain was charged with a crew member coming over the wall too soon and will have to restart the race form the back of the field.

Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 10 laps remaining in the race.  John Hunter Nemechek edges out Austin Hill for the lead.  Austin Hill comes up on the inside to take the lead.

The top five are Austin Hill, John Hunter Nemechek, Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, and Riley Herbst.  Kyle Larson is back on the track 29 laps down.

Eight to go, Denny Hamlin and John Hunter Nemechek battle for second.

The caution flag comes out with six laps to go when Parker Kligerman spins out.  The spins puts Kligerman back in the field and put Riley Herbst above the cut line.

The race goes into overtime!

Austin Hill brings the field down for the green flag overtime shootout for the win.  Denny Hamlin passes Austin Hill but Hill continues to battle.  John Hunter Nemechek passes Austin Hill for second.  Hamlin has pulled out in front of the field.

Denny Hamlin takes the white flag.

Denny Hamlin wins the race for his sixth career Darlington win.

The unofficial results of the Sports Clips Haircut VFW Help a Hero 200:
Denny Hamlin
Austin Hill
John Hunter Nemechek
Cole Custer
Josh Berry
Riley Herbst
Justin Allgaier
Sheldon Creed
Kyle Busch
Daniel Hemric
Sam Mayer
Chandler Smith
Parker Retzlaff
Brandon Jones
Corey Heim
Rajah Caruth
Sammy Smith
Jeb Burton
Stefan Parsons
Brandon Jones
Jeremy Clements
Chad Finchum
Ross Chastain
Parker Kligerman
Brett Moffitt
Joe Graf Jr
Matt Mills
Kaz Grala
Ryan Ellis
Ryan Sieg
Kyle Weatherman
Timmy Hill
Anthony Alfredo
Blaine Perkins
Kyle Sieg
Patrick Emerling
Josh Williams
Kyle Larson

Josh Berry has locked himself into the playoffs on points.  Parker Kligerman is now one point under the cut line with Riley Herbst one point over the cut line.