It’s Labor Day weekend which means NASCAR makes a visit to “The Lady in Black” at Darlington Raceway. The Xfinity Series kicks off a doubleheader weekend with the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200.
Just four races remain in the regular season for the Xfinity drivers.
Thirty-nine teams brought cars to the very abrasive track including several Cup Series drivers including Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, Noah Gragson, Chase Elliott, and Joey Logano; to fill 38 starting spots.
The field has been divided into two groups for. The drivers get just 15 minutes for practice.
After both groups had their practice runs, Austin Hill led the drivers with a time of a shade over 30 seconds.
Three time Darlington winner Justin Allgaier notes that the track is very difficult.
Dawson Cram is the first driver on the track to make a qualifying run and post a time of 31.650 seconds around the 1.333 mile track.
Noah Gragson is the first driver to break the 31 second mark with a time of 30.834 seconds.
Matt DiBenedetto got into the wall on his qualifying run and still posted a time of 30.538 seconds.
Craftsman Truck Series driver Corey Heim topped the board of the 12 drivers who had run. The next car out, Parker Retzlaff topped the board with 30.278 seconds. Darlington is not known as a track that gets faster as qualifying continues.
Austin Hill creeps a little closer to the 30 second mark with a time of 30.164 seconds.
Jesse Love got into the wall hard but still completed his lap and still posted a time of 30.633 seconds.
Hitting the wall normally is a sure sign of a wreck, but today, the Xfinity drivers are hitting the wall and running faster. Sammy Smith hit the wall and posted a time of 30.285.
Christopher Bell broke the 30 second mark with a time of 29.828 seconds.
With a time of 29.828 seconds, Christopher Bell puts the Joe Gibbs Racing number 20 car on the pole with teammate Sheldon Creed starting alongside on the front row.
The starting lineup for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200:
Christopher Bell
Sheldon Creed
Sam Mayer
AJ Allmendinger
Chandler Smith
Austin Hill
Brandon Jones
Riley Herbst
Parker Retzlaff
Parker Kligerman
Sammy Smith
Corey Heim
Ryan Sieg
Anthony Alfredo
Chase Elliott
Joey Graf Jr
Jeb Burton
Joey Logano
Kyle Weatherman
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Matt DiBenedetto
Jesse Love
Ross Chastain
Jeremy Clements
Shane van Gisbergen
Carson Kvapil
Brennan Poole
Noah Gragson
Josh Williams
Kyle Sieg
Blaine Perkins
Leland Honeyman
Ryan Ellis
David Starr
Garrett Smithley
Chad Finchum
Greg van Last
Dawson Cram failed to qualify for the race.
Stages one and two are 45 laps each with stage three lasting 57 laps for a total of 147 laps around the 1.33 mile track. Drivers can run 65 to 70 laps on a single load of fuel. The crews have just four sets of tires for the entire race on the track that is rough on tires.
Chad Finchum needs a push to get his car started and out on the track.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of the race and gets out in front for the lead. Parker Retzlaff and Joe Graf are slow on the track and off the pace.
Parker Retzlaff comes down pit road, reporting that he missed a shift and the car has no power.
Lap three Christopher Bell leads the race with Sheldon Creed in second; Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Parker Retzlaff is stopped on pit road and brings out a caution. Retzlaff said that there is no throttle response and is stopped in the middle of pit road. Retzlaff in his pit stall and the crew reports that the car will start but immediately shuts off.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green falg restart on lap nine with Sheldon Creed alongside. Bell holds on to the lead with Sheldon Creed and AJ Allmendinger in a battle for second.
Blaine Perkins is on pit road.
Lap eleven, Joey Logano gets into the wall but the track stays green.
Lap 12, Joey Logano’s car is smoking with a possible blown engine.
Lap 14, Riley Herbst hits the wall hard, but the track stays green. He works his way to pit road with a flat tire.
Lap 15, Anthony Alfredo gets into the wall but gets off the racing surface and on pit road; the track stays green.
Cars hitting the wall is not out of question at Darlington since the drivers run very close to the wall.
Lap 17, Christopher Bell has a near one second lead on Sheldon Creed; Sam Mayer, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Hill round out the top five.
Anthony Alfredo returns to the track two laps down.
Riley Herbst returns to the track four laps down.
Lap 21, after starting back in the pack, Justin Allgaier has entered the top 10.
Lap 27, Christopher Bell continues to lead the race and has a near half second lead on Sam Mayer; Sheldon Creed, AJ Allmendinger, and Austin Hill round out the top five with 32 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 28, Sam Mayer passes Christopher Bell for the lead.
The caution flag comes out on lap 31 for debris on the track.
A few cars at the back of the field come down pit road for service.
Sam Mayer brings the field down for the green flag restart with just 10 laps remaining in stage one. Mayer takes the lead but Christopher Bell moves up to battle for the lead.
The top five are Sam Mayer, Christopher Bell, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, and AJ Allmendinger. Parker Retzlaff returns to the track 25 laps down.
With six laps remaining in stage one, Same Mayer spins out with a flat tire. He makes it to pit road and the track stays green. Christopher Bell takes the lead.
Sammy Smith earns his “Darlington Stripe”.
Three laps to go in stage one, Austin Hill begins to challenge Christopher Bell for the lead.
Brandon Jones spins out after contact from Shane van Gisbergen to bring out the caution flag as stage one ends. Christopher Bell wins stage one.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Christopher Bell
Austin Hill
AJ Allmendinger
Parker Kligerman
Sheldon Creed
Sammy Smith
Justin Allgaier
Chad Finchum
Cole Custer
Chandler Smith
Christopher Bell brings the field down for service with Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road and Sheldon Creed out second.
Earning three points in stage one, Chad Finchum pitted from 34th during the caution.
Justin Allgaier reports that he is “roasting” in the car.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two with Sheldon Creed alongside. Bell pulls out in front for the lead but Sheldon Creed comes up on the outside to take the lead.
Kyle Weatherman gets into the wall to bring out the caution flag on lap 54. Working his way down pit road, he reports that “something broke”.
A short race at just 200 miles, there have already been four caution flag with a quarter of the race complete.
Kyle Weatherman brings his car down pit road for a second time and has to be towed to the hauler.
Sheldon Cree brings the field down for the green flag restart with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 58. Christopher Bell gets out in front for the lead.
It is 93 degrees at Darlington with a track temperature of 120 degrees. It is also well over 100 degrees inside the cars.
Lap 60, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a near one second lead on Sheldon Creed; AJ Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five. There are 31 cars on the lead lap with Joey Logano and Kyle Weatherman out of the race.
Running in the top 15, Shane van Gisbergen notes that being at a track for the second time, he hopes to have a better race.
Lap 67, Chad Finchum brings his car down pit road for an unscheduled stop reporting some kind on vibration.
Lap 69, Christopher Bell holds a near one second lead on Sheldon Creed; AJ Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Lap 75, Christopher Bell continues to lead the race with Sheldon Creed in second; AJ Allmendinger, Sammy Smith, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five. There are 27 cars on the lead lap.
Lap 79, Sheldon Creed takes the lead after Greg van Last nearly spins out Christopher Bell.
AJ Allmendinger reports smoke in the cockpit; adding that the instruments all look good.
Lap 81, Sheldon Creed has pulled out to a lead of over half a second on Christopher Bell; AJ Allmendinger, Justin Allgaier, and Sammy Smith round out the top five.
Five laps remain in stage two with Sheldon Creed leading the way by nearly a second over Christopher Bell.
Cole Custer and Austin Hill battle for sixth with Custer taking the spot.
Justin Allgaier reports that he is “wrecking loose”.
Sheldon Creed edges out Christopher Bell to win stage two for is first stage win of the season.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Sheldon Creed
Christopher Bell
AJ Allmendinger
Sammy Smith
Justin Allgaier
Cole Custer
Austin Hill
Parker Kligerman
Noah Gragson
Chase Elliott
The field comes down pit road for service with Sheldon Creed winning the race off of pit road.
Sheldon Creed brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Christopher Bell alongside on lap 97. Creed and Bell go side by side in a battle for the lead. Christopher Bell takes the lead.
Lap 98, the top five are Christopher Bell, Sheldon Creed, Austin Hill, Cole Custer, and AJ Allmendinger.
Lap 100, Christopher Bell has a one second lead on Sheldon Creed; Austin Hill, Cole Custer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Sheldon Creed had some debris on his grille and gave up second to Austin Hill to get the debris off.
With 41 laps remaining in the race, Christopher Bell has pulled out to a lead of over two seconds on Austin Hill.
Lap 111, Christopher Bell is running away with the race, with a lead of nearly four seconds on Austin Hill; Sheldon Creed, Cole Custer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Corey Heim had to make an unscheduled trip down pit road with a flat tire.
With 35 laps to go, Sheldon Creed passes Austin Hill for second.
Austin Hill has some debris on his grille.
Thirty tow to go, Justin Allgaier passes Austin Hill for fourth.
The top five are Christopher Bell, Sheldon Creed, Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, and AJ Allmendinger.
With 29 laps to go, there are 25 cars on the lead lap. Christopher Bell’s lead is now to under three seconds with Sheldon Creed running faster laps; Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, and AJ Allmendinger rounding out the top five.
Just 22 laps remain in the race, Christopher Bell has a near two second lead on Sheldon Creed; Cole Custer, Justin Allgaier, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five with 25 cars on the lead lap. Sheldon Creed is running faster laps than the leader.
Sammy Smith reports that his cool suit has failed.
Austin Hill has been falling through the field and reports that he is very tight.
With 15 laps to go, Christopher Bell’s lead is down to just over a second and a half.
Thirteen to go, Sheldon Creed has closed the gap on leader Christopher Bell to one second.
Ten to go! Christopher Bell’s lead is now down to under a half a second on Sheldon Creed; Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, and AJ Allmendinger round out the top five.
With nine laps remaining in the race, Sheldon Creed passes Christopher Bell for the lead.
Just five laps to go, with 24 cars on the lead lap, Sheldon Creed has pulled out to a one second lead on Christopher Bell. AJ Allmendinger brings out the caution flag after getting into the wall hard with a flat tire.
The race will go into overtime!
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires Christopher Bell winning the race off of pit road. Sheldon Creed comes out in third.
Christopher Bell brings the field down for the overtime shootout for the end of the race with Cole Custer alongside. Sheldon Creed start behind Bell with Sammy Smith alongside. Leaders are two by two with Christopher Bell edging out in front. Bell and Custer nearly take each other out.
Christopher Bell takes the white flag.
Christopher Bell wins his first Darlington race. This is win number seven for the number 20 JGR car this season with four different drivers.
The unofficial results of the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200:
Christopher Bell
Cole Custer
Sheldon Creed
Chase Elliott
Sammy Smith
Jesse Love
Shane van Gisbergen
Chandler Smith
Austin Hill
Justin Allgaier
Joe Graf Jr
Ross Chastain
Parker Kligerman
Carson Kvapil
Noah Gragson
Josh Williams
Jeb Burton
Ryan Sieg
Matt DiBenedetto
Brennan Poole
Ryan Ellis
Kyle Sieg
Leland Honeyman
David Starr
Corey Heim
Anthony Alfredo
AJ Allmendinger
Sam Mayer
Greg van Last
Garrett Smithley
Jeremy Clements
Brandon Jones
Chad Finchum
Blaine Perkins
Riley Herbst
Parker Retzlaff
Kyle Weatherman
Joey Logano