It’s time to throwback!  NASCAR comes to Darlington Raceway – the Lady in Black and the Track too Tough to Tame! – for the Goodyear 400.

The drivers pay homage to the pioneers of the sport and some of their favourite drivers from the past with paint schemes from the past.  However, not every team has a throwback car due to sponsore obligations.

The drivers have been split into two groups for 25 minute practice sessions.  BUT, the crews only get ONE set of tires for practice and tire degradation is an issue at Darlington.

Xfinity Series driver Austin Hill will be joining the field of 38 cars this week.

Discussing the various paint schemes Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick noted that it doesn’t seem like it has been so long for some of the cars.  Kevin Harvick noted that they are getting old.  Mike Joy said that he didn’t mind growing old; it was growing up that he objected to.

John Hunter Nemechek spins out on the track but keeps it off the wall.  It appears that he lost control of the car coming across the apron.

Numerous drivers are reporting that they are tight in the middle.

Fifteen minutes into Group 1 practice, seven drivers have already earned their “Darlington Stripe”.

Even Larry McReynolds got in on the throwback schemes; wearing his old Robert Yates uniform shirt.  And after 34 years, it STILL FITS!

Carson Hocevar tops the leaderboard for Group 1.  The Darlington Stripe count for Group 1 is 12.

Sixth overall, William Byron tops the leaderboard in Group 2 and the Stripe Count is only nine for a total of 21.

The first driver out on the track to make a qualifying run is Austin Hill who posted a time of 30.07.

Erik Jones is the first driver to break the 30 second mark with a time of 29.617 seconds.

Austin Cindric is the first driver to break the 29 second mark with a time of 28,948 seconds.

With a time of 28.774 seconds, William Byron for the fastest Next Gen car pole at Darlington, William Byron puts his number 24 car on the pole.  Ryan Preece will start alongside Byron on the front row.

The starting lineup for the Goodyear 400:
William Byron
Ryan Preece
Denny Hamlin
Chase Briscoe
Bubba Wallace
Austin Cindric
Tyler Reddick
Kyle Busch
Ryan Blaney
Michael McDowell
Ty Gibbs
Todd Gilliland
Carson Hocevar
Chris Buescher
Chase Elliott
Zane Smith
Christopher Bell
Joey Logano
Kyle Larson
Brad Keselowski
Justin Haley
AJ Allmendinger
Austin Dillon
Josh Berry
Ross Chastain
Noah Gragson
John Hunter Nemechek
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ty Dillon
Daniel Suarez
Cole Custer
Riley Herbst
Alex Bowman
Erik Jones
Cody Ware
Shane van Gisbergen
Austin Hill
JJ Yeley

Before the racing begins, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer hopped in a couple of Wood Brothers classics to make a few laps around Darlington.   Harvick is in a car driven by David Pearson and Bowyer is in the car that Neil Bonnett drove to the victory at Darlington in 1981.  The Wood Brothers are celebrating 75 years as a racing team.  The Wodd family gives the command to start engines.

Kyle Larson’s Terry Labonte Tony the Tiger throwback won “Best in Show”.

Stage one is 90 laps, stage two is 95 laps, and stage three is 108 laps for a total of 293 laps around the 1.33 mile track.  The drivers can run 75 to 80 laps on a single load of fuel.  Tire wear is a much bigger issue than fuel for the crews.

On a hot Sunday afternoon William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of the race from the outside lane with Ryan Preece alongside.  NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Car Edwards waved the green flag to start the race.

William Byron gets out in front for the lead with Ryan Preece in second; Chase Briscoe, Austin Cindric, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

The first caution flag of the race comes out on lap four when Kyle Larson spins out in turns two and scrapes the inside wall.  There is some significant damage to the car.

Several drivers came down pit road with Bubba Wallace winning the race off of pit road.  Ryan Blaney had a slow stop after he had to back up to get out of his pit box.

After staying out on the track William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with Austin Cindric alongside on lap nine.  Byron gets out in front to lead the field.  Drivers are double and triple wide through the field.

Lap 10, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on Ryan Preece; Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Chase Briscoe round out the for five.

Drivers who made a pit stop are moving through the field on fresher tires.

Lap 13, Bubba Wallace was the first driver on fresh tires in 17th place; he is now in the top 10.

Lap 15, William Byron has pulled out to a second and a half lead on Ryan Preece.

Lap 17, William Byron has increased his lead to two seconds on Ryan Preece; Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Chase Briscoe round out the top five.

Lap 20, William Byron has pulled out to a near three second lead on Ryan Preece; Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Chase Briscoe.

There are some internet issues for some of the teams hindering crews ability to communicate with the drivers.

Lapa 23, William Byron continues to increase his lead over Ryan Preece and the field; he is now three and a half seconds out in front.

The second caution flag comes out on lap 24 when Carson Hocevar gets into the wall and spins out.

Drivers come down pit road for service including the leaders.  William Byron wins the race off of pit road.

The teams have 10 sets of sticker tires and a set of qualifying scuffs for the race.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with Kyle Busch alongside on lap 30.  Byron gets out in front for the lead from the outside lane.

JJ Yeley gets into the wall but the track stays green.

Lap 32, the top five are William Byron, Ryan Preece, Chase Briscoe, Chris Buescher, and Kyle Busch.

Austin Cindric’s Dale Earnhardt rookie year car won second place in the Place in Show.

Lap 37, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on Ryan Preece; Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 46, William Byron now has a lead of nearly a second and a half on Ryan Preece; Chris Buescher, Chase Briscoe, and Kyle Busch round out the top five.

Lap 50, William Byron is pulling away from the field with a two second lead on Ryan Preece.

Denny Hamlin has earned his “Darlington Stripe” but keeps going.

Lap 53, Willaim Byron is now three seconds out in front of the field.

Brad Keselowski’s regular spotter TJ Majors is ailing and not at the track; brother Brian Keselowski is spotting for Brad today.

JJ Yeley and Kyle Larson are off the track.

Lap 58, William Byron is quickly approaching “drive it like he stole it” status with a four and a half second lead on Ryan Preece.

Lap 61, the top five are William Byron, Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Bubba Wallace, and Ryan Blaney.

Lap 67, Leading every lap so far, William Byron has a five second lead on Ryan Preece; Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Bubba Wallace round out the top five.

There are 32 cars on the lead lap.

Several of the drivers are falling back in the field trying to conserve their tires with 17 laps remaining in stage one.  Chase Briscoe is off the pace.  Leader William Byron is now just over three seconds out in front.

Ten laps remain in stage one with William Byron over three seconds out in front; Ryan Preece, Chris Buescher, Ryan Blaney, and Tyler Reddick round out the top five.

The caution flag comes out on lap 83 for a crash involving Carson Hocevar and Riley Herbst.  Hocevar reported that the car was destroyed but he has two flat tires.

With just six laps remaining in stage one lead lap drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with William Byron winning the race off of pit road.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with just two laps remaining in stage one.  Byron jumps out in front to hold on to the lead with Bubba Wallace in second.

JJ Yeley is out of the race.

Drivers are three wide in a battle to end stage one.

William Byron wins stage one.

The top 10 at the end of stage one:
William Byron
Bubba Wallace
Ryan Preece
Chris Buescher
Tyler Reddick
Brad Keselowski
Ryan Blaney
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
AJ Allmendinger

William Byron is the first driver to lead every lap of stage one at a race in Darlington since the introduction of stage racing.

Only about a dozen drivers come down pit road for service.

“The King” Richard Petty and son Kyle join Clint, Kevin, and Mike Joy in the broadcast booth.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of stage two on lap 98 with Ryan Preece alongside.  Byron gets out in front once more to hold on to his lead.

Lap 100, William Byron has a near half second lead on Bubba Wallace; Ryan Preece, Tyler Reddick, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Lap 102, Bubba Wallace is gaining ground on leader William Byron.

Lap 105, the top five are William Byron, Bubba Wallace, Tyler Reddick, Ryan Preece, and Ryan Blaney.

Tyler Reddick passes teammate Bubba Wallace for second.

Lap 112, William Byron has just a quarter of a second lead on Tyler Reddick; Bubba Wallace, Ryan Preece, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Ryan Blaney passes Ryan Preece for fourth.

Lap  119, William Byron has a third of a second lead on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.  Bubba Wallace has fallen to sixth. 

For the past hour and 15 minutes Kyle Larson has been sitting in his car watching the race on his phone while his crew replaced the front end of his car.  They are looking to get back in the race.

Lap 124, William Byron is still leading the race and has the record for the most laps led at Darlington.

The drivers have Richar Petty’s mother to thank for the window nets.  The first window net constructed is in the Hall of Fame.  Richard Petty had a bad crash at Darlington that left him hanging out of the car and his mother designed the window net to keep him in the car.

Lap 129, William Byron has a near half second lead on Tyler Reddick; Ryan Blaney, Ryan Preece, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

Bubba Wallace reports a tight condition in his car.

Lap 131, Ryan Blaney is the first driver to make a green flap pit stop.

Lap 132, drivers begin the cycle of green flag pit stops.

Lap 135, Brad Keselowski spun out shortly after coming off of pit road.  The track stays green.  The lug nut came off of the tire but the tire stayed on the car.

Lap 137, the caution flag comes out for debris on the track – Brad Keselowski’s lug nut.

Drivers come down pit road including leader William Byron.  Byron wins the race off of pit road.

Greg Biffle joins the guys in the broadcast booth; he also drove the pace car for the start of the race.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart  with Joey Logano alongside on lap 144 and holds on to his lead.

The top five are William Byron, Joey Logano, Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell.

Lap 149, William Byron has a lead of over half a second on Joey Logano; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Lap 154, William Byron has increased his lead to nearly a second on Joey Logano; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and Josh Berry round out the top five.

Lap 159.  William Byron has increased his lead to nearly a second and a half on Joey Logano; Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.

The skies have clouded over and cooled things off a bit; giving the drivers a bit more grip on the track.

William Byron has led 163 laps; but history says that dominating the race does not transfer to winning the race.

Kyle Larson has re-entered the race 160 laps down.

Lap 167, William Byron’s lead is now nearly three seconds in front of Joey Logano.

Lap 170, William Byron’s lead is now over three seconds on Joey Logano; Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

There have been nine different winners in the past nine races at Darlington.

Greg Biffle was among those that flew aid into hurricane ravaged North Carolina last year.  He brought in supplies and lifted people out.  His efforts spawned a massive onslaught of aid to the area.

With 180 laps to go, William Byron’s lead is down to under two seconds on Joey Logano; Denny Hamlin, Josh berry, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

William Byron wins stage two for the stage sweep.

The top 10 at the end of stage two:
William Byron
Joey Logano
Denny Hamlin
Ryan Blaney
Josh Berry
Christopher Bell
Ty Gibbs
Ty Dillon
Tyler Reddic
Alex Bowman

The pit stop NASCAR fans know today was created by the Wood Brothers back in the 60’s.

Drivers come down pit road for service with William Byron edging out to win the race off of pit road.  Ryan Blaney had a slow stop when the jackman had trouble getting the car jacked up.

Noah Gragson was charged with not driving single file on pit road and will have to start from the back of the field.

Ricky Stenhouse Jr was charged with an equipment violation and will also start from the back of the field. 

Shane van Gisbergen was caught speeding on pit road.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three on lap 193 with Joey Logano alongside.  There are 33 cars on the lead lap.  Byron gets out in front and holds on to his dominating lead.

The top five are William Byron, Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, Joey Logano, and Josh Berry.

Josh Berry gets into the wall and brings out the caution flag on lap 195 after contact with Tyler Reddick.

William Byron brings the field down for the green flag restart with 93 laps remaining in the race with Christopher Bell alongside.  After a good start, Christopher Bell goes side by side with William Byron in a battle for the lead.  Byron takes the lead on the turn from the high line. 

The top five are William Byron, Christopher Bell, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano.

Josh Berry is out of the race.

William Byron has led all 205 laps so far.

There are 85 laps remaining in the race with William Byron still out in front but has just a third of a second lead on Chrisotpher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

Eighty to go, William Byron has pulled out to a half second lead on Christopher Bell.

With 77 laps to go, William Byron has led the most laps he has ever led in any race.

On this throwback weekend, even the Goodyear blimp is sporting a throwback scheme.

Alex Bowman gets into the wall but the track stays green. Bowman is on pit road for repairs.

Jeff Burton was the last driver to lead every lap in a race.

With 66 laps to go, William Byron has pulled out to a three second lead on Christopher Bell; Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick, and Joey Logano round out the top five.

With 62 laps to go, Ryan Preece is the first driver to make a green flag pit stop and has a long stop.

With 55 to go, Joey Logano is the first driver in the top 10 to make a green flag pit stop.

William Byron now has a four second lead on Christopher Bell.

Tyler Reddick is the first top five driver to come down pit road.

With 52 to go, more drivers are making their green flag pit stops.

With 51 to go, William Byron has a five second lead as Chrisotpher Bell comes down pit road for service.

Fifty to go, the top 15 drivers have yet to make a pit stop.

William Byron comes down pit road and gives the lead over to Denny Hamlin.

Denny Hamlin and Ryan Blaney come down pit road for service and gives the lead over to Daniel Suarez.  He and Justin Haley are the only drivers yet to make a pit stop.

With 45 laps remaining in the race, Tyler Reddick is the new leader after green flag pit stops cycle through…except Austin Dillon.

The top five are Tyler Reddick, Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Austin Dillon.

Just 38 laps to go, Tyler Reddick has run away from the field with a six second lead on Chrisotpher Bell; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Chris Buescher round out the top five.

With 31 to go, William Byron and Christopher Bell battle for second with Tyler Reddick over six seconds out in front.

Thirty to go!  Tyler Reddick holds a lead of over six seconds on Christopher Bell with William Byron in third.

Just 24 laps remain; Tyler Reddick’s lead is down to just over five seconds on Christopher Bell; William Byron, Joey Logano, and Ryan Blaney round out the top five.

Denny Hamlin passes Joey Logano for fifth.

Ryan Blaney passes Denny Hamlin for fourth.

Twenty to go, Tyler Reddick’s lead is down to under five seconds with Christopher Bell in second; William Byron, Ryan Blaney, and Denny Hamlin round out the top five.

Tyler Reddick has caught slower cars and is “stuck” in traffic.

Seventeen to go, Tyler Reddick has pulled out to increase his lead to back over five seconds on Chrisotpher Bell.

Sixteen to go, Ryan Blaney passes Christopher Bell for second.

Fifteen to go, the top five are Tyler Reddick, Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, William Byron, and Denny Hamlin.

With just 13 laps to go, Tyler Reddick’s lead is now under three and a half seconds on Ryan Blaney.

Ten to go! Tyler Reddick has a lead of under three seconds on Ryan Blaney; Denny Hamlin, Christopher Bell, and William Byron round out the top five.

Eight to go, Ryan Blaney has closed the gap on leader Tyler Reddick to just two seconds.

Seven to go, the gap is down to just over a second and a half between leader Tyler Reddick and Ryan Blaney.

Six to go, Ryan Blaney is now less than a second behind Tyler Reddick.

Five to go, Ryan Blaney has caught leader Tyler Reddick!

Four to go, Ryan Blaney passes Tyler Reddick for the lead.  Kyle Larson spins out and gets into the wall to bring out the eighth caution flag of the race.

The race goes into overtime!

Kyle Larson goes to the garage and is out of the race.

There are 20 cars on the lead lap.  Bubba Wallace is the “lucky dog”.

Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Denny Hamlin winning the race off of pit road.  William Byron came out third.

Denny Hamlin brings the field down for the overtime shootout to the end with Tyler Reddick alongside.  Hamlin gets out in front for the lead.

Denny Hamlin takes the white flag!

For the second week in a row, Denny Hamlin wins the race!  Denny Hamlin’s paint scheme is a throwback to Car Edwards – Mr. Black flip.  Edwards said that if Hamlin won he should do a back flip.  Hamlin said that he would pass on the back flip but if Carl Edwards wants to do it, go ahead.

The unofficial results of the Goodyear 400:
Denny Hamlin
William Byron
Christopher Bell
Tyler Reddick
Ryan Blaney
Chris Buescher
Ross Chastain
Chase Elliott
Ty Gibbs
Kyle Busch
Austin Cindric
Zane Smith
Joey Logano
Todd Gilliland
Daniel Suarez
Ty Dillon
Erik Jones
AJ Allmendinger
Noah Gragson
Shane van Gisbergen
Bubba Wallace
Cole Custer
Austin Dillon
Justin Haley
Ricky Stenhouse Jr
Ryan Preece
Cody Ware
Chase Briscoe
Michael McDowell
John Hunter Nemechek
Austin Hill
Carson Hocevar
Brad Keselowski
Riley Herbst
Alex Bowman
Josh Berry
Kyle Larson
JJ Yeley