Part two of a triple header weekend is the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series.
Thirty-nine team have brought cars to Darlington for 38 starting spots including Kyle Larson in the 88 car – Alex Bowman was supposed to drive the car this week but is still dealing with vertigo issues and is out of the car for the next few weeks – and Christopher Bell and Ross Chastain who are racing in all three races this weekend.
The drivers get a full 50 minute practice session before making their qualifying runs and two sets of tires for practice.
The surface of the track at Darlington is very abrasive with plenty of tire wear and lots of particles flying through the air. Jesse Love and Carson Kvapil both have had their windshields cracked from some of those particles.
Christopher Bell is driving the Joe Gibbs Racing number 19 car this week.
Ross Chastain is driving the JR Motorsports number nine car this week.
Nine of the last 10 Darlington races have been won by either Joe Gibbs Racing or JR Motorsports drivers.
Christopher Bell topped the leaderboard in practice.
The first driver on the track to make a qualifying run is Matt DiBenedetto who posted a time of 31.063 seconds around the 1.3 mile track.
After some car issues, Nathan Byrd will not be making a qualifying run.
With a time of 29.994 – the only driver to break the 30 second mark – Kyle Larson put the number 88 car on the pole.
The starting lineup for the Sports Clip 200:
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Carson Kvapil
Justin Allgaier
Parker Retzlaff
Sam Mayer
Willaim Sawalich
Brandon Jones
Ross Chastain
Jesse Love
Austin Hill
Corey Day
Sheldon Creed
Harrison Burton
Taylor Gray
Kyle Sieg
Josh Williams
Sammy Smith
Rajah Caruth
JJ Yeley
Anthony Alfredo
Ryan Sieg
Brennan Poole
Garrett Smithley
Jeb Burton
Blaine Perkins
Nick Sanchez
Patrick Staropoli
Lavar Scott
Jeremy Clements
Austin Green
Josh Bilicki
Dean Thompson
Alex Labbe
Myatt Snider
Ryan Ellis
Joey Gase
Nathan Byrd
Matt DiBenedetto failed to qualify for the race.
Stage 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.
Jesse Love is the only O’Reilly Auto Parts Series driver to finish every race so far in the top 10 – his worst finish was ninth at Daytona.
Drivers get only five sets of tires for the race.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag start of the race with Christopher Bell alongside. Larson gets out in front for the lead with Christopher Bell in second; Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, and Sam Mayer round out the top five.
Kyle Larson has quickly extended his lead to nearly a second.
Lap four, Sam Mayer passes Justin Allgaier for fourth.
Kyle Larson continues to extend his lead and is now over a second out in front of Christopher Bell.
Austin Hill gets into the wall but the track stays green.
Just seven laps into the race, Kyle Larson has a near two second lead on Christopher Bell; Carson Kvapil, Sam Mayer, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
Lap nine, Kyle Larson’s lead is now over two and a half seconds over Christopher Bell. Justin Allgaier has passed Sam Mayer to retake fourth place.
Lap 12, Kyle Larson is well on his way to “driving it like he stole it” with a lead of over three second on Christopher Bell; Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, and Sam Mayer round out the top five.
Lap 18, Parker Retzlaff has passed Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer for fifth place.
Lap 19, Brandon Jones comes back to pass Parker Retzlaff for fifth.
Lap 21, Kyle Larson is now over four seconds out in front of Christopher Bell.
Lap 23, Kyle Larson has encountered slower traffic and begins lapping slower cars.
Lap 24, the top five are Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones. There is nearly eleven seconds between the top five drivers.
Lap 26, Kyle Larson’s lead is down to under three seconds as he negotiates slower traffic; Christopher Bell, Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones round out the top five.
Lap 32, Kyle Larson has led every lap so far and there are now 32 cars on the lead lap as he continues to lap traffic.
Lap 35, Kyly Larson’s lead is now just two seconds over Christopher Bell as Larson continues to negotiate slower traffic; Carson Kvapil, Justin Allgaier, and Brandon Jones round out the top five.
With eight laps remaining in stage one, Austin Hill reports a flat tire and will have to make an unscheduled trip down pit road. The rubber inside the tire is burning. Austin Hill returns to the race two laps down.
Lap 40, Brandon Jones passes Justin Allgaier for fourth.
Kye Larson wins stage one handily after jumping out quickly to lead every lap.
The top 10 at the end of stage one:
Kyle Larson
Christopher Bell
Carson Kvapil
Brandon Jones
Justin Allgaier
Parker Retzlaff
Jesse Love
William Sawalich
Anthony Alfredo
Ross Chastain
There are just 24 cars on the lead lap!
Josh Williams is the “lucky dog”.
Jeremy Clements and Kyle Sieg needed a push to get to pit road.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Kyle Larson winning the race off of pit road with Carson Kvapil coming out second. Jesse Love had trouble getting into his pit stall after contact from William Sawalich.
Kyle Sieg and Jeremy Clements will have to restart the race from the back of the field after pitting while pit road was closed.
Kyle Larson brings the field down for the green flag starts of stage two with Carson Kvapil alongside on lap 56. Once again, Larson jumps out in front to hold on to the lead. Brandon Jones takes second; Carson Kvapil, Christopher Bell, and Justin Allgaier round out the top five.
There is some serious cording on the tires taken off of Kyle Larson’s car.
Tire falloff over stage one was over four seconds.
Lap 60, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a lead of over a second on Brandon Jones.
Brandon Jones has some debris on his grille and lets Carson Kvapil around so that Jones can get the debris off.
Lap 62, the top five are Kyle Larson, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Christopher Bell, and Justin Allgaier.
Lap 65, Ross Chastain is on Justin Allgaier’s bumper and is challenging for fifth place. Kyle Larson has a near second and half lead.
Lap 67, Ross Chastain passes Justin Allgaier for fifth.
Lap 69, leading every lap, Kyle Larson has a two second lead on Carson Kvapil; Brandon Jones, Christopher Bell, and Ross Chastain round out the top five.
Lap 71, Parker Retzlaff comes up to challenge Justin Allgaier for sixth.
Lap 73, Kyle Larson has a two and a half second lead on Carson Kvapil; Brandon Jones, Ross Chastain, and Christopher Bell round out the top five.
Justin Allgaier passes Christopher Bell for fifth.
Lap 77, Kyle Larson continues to extend his lead and is now over three seconds out in front of Carson Kvapil.
Lap 80, The top five are Kyle Larson, Carson Kvapil, Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, and Ross Chastain.
Parker Retzlaff passes Ross Chastain for fifth.
The sun is becoming a glaring issue for the drivers.
Lap 84, Kyle Larson begins passing slower traffic again.
With five laps remaining in stage two, Kyle Larson is four seconds out in front of Carson Kvapil; Brandon Jones, Justin Allgaier, and Parker Retzlaff round out the top five.
Leading by nearly five seconds, Kyle Larson wins stage two for the stage sweep and has led every lap in the race so far.
The top 10 at the end of stage two:
Kyle Larson
Carson Kvapil
Brandon Jones
Justin Allgaier
Parker Retzlaff
Ross Chastain
Anthony Alfredo
Corey Day
Christopher Bell
William Sawalich
Josh Williams is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for service with Brandon Jones winning the race off of pit road with Kyle Larson coming out second. Ross Chastain gets spun on pit road after contact from Anthony Alfredo; causing an issue getting into his pit stall.
Ross Chastain was charged with having an uncontrolled tire on pit road and will have to restart the race from the back of the field.
Brandon Jones brings the field down for the green flag start of stage three with Justin Allgaier alongside on lap 99. Justin Allgaier gets out in front for the lead with Kyle Larson in second; Brandon Jones, Christopher Bell and Corey Day round out the top five.
With 45 laps remaining in the race, Justin Allgaier leads the race with Kyle Larson in second; Christopher Bell, Brandon Jones, and Corey Day rounding out the top five.
Sheldon Creed passes Corey Day for fifth after Day gets into the wall.
Forty laps round out the to the lead with Kyle Larson right behind; Christopher Bell, Brandon Jones, and Corey Day the top five.
With 37 laps to go, Kye Larson begins to challenge Justin Allgaier for the lead.
With 33 laps remaining in the race Kyle Larson passes Justin Allgaier for the lead.
The top five are Kyle Larson Justin Allgaier, Christopher Bell, Brandon Jones, and Corey Day.
Just outside the top 10, Anthony Alfredo battles with Jesse Love for eleventh.
With 27 laps to go, Kyle Larson has pulled out to a one second lead on Justin Allgaier
The caution flag comes out for the first on track incident when Kyle Sieg gets into the wall; Austin Hill, Lavar Scott, Alex Labbe, and Dean Thompson were also involved.
Jeremy Clements, making his 536th race start today, is the “lucky dog”.
Drivers come down pit road for fresh tires with Brandon Jones coming out first; Justin Allgaier comes out second with Kyle Larson coming out fifth.
Brandon Jones brings the field down for the green flag restart with Justin Allgaier alongside; there are just 15 laps remaining in the race. Jones and Allgaier go side by side with Allgaier taking the lead.
Drivers are getting three wide back in the field.
The top five are Justin Allgaier, Brandon Jones, Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Corey Day.
With 13 laps to go, Justin Allgaier just ran the fastest lap of the day.
Ten to go, Justin Allgaier has a one second lead on Brandon Jones; Christopher Bell, Kyle Larson, and Carson Kvapil round out the top five.
Six laps remain with Justin Allgaier over a second in front of Brandon Jones.
Drivers are very aggressive back in the field in a battle for position.
Four to go, Justin Allgaier holds on to a lead of over a second on Brandon Jones.
Justin Allgaier takes the white flag.
Justin Allgaier wins the race to become the first multi-race winner of the season and earns his fourth Darlington win.
Last week at Las Vegas, Allgaier dominated the race and Kyle Larson won the race; this week at Darlington, Kyle Larson dominated the race with Justin Allgaier winning the race.
Allgaier has his girls in the car as he drives to Victory Lane.
The unofficial results of the Sports Clips 200:
Justin Allgaier
Brandon Jones
Christopher Bell
Kyle Larson
Carson Kvapil
Corey Day
Sheldon Creed
Parker Retzlaff
Sammy Smith
Sam Mayer
Jesse Love
Anthony Alfredo
Ryan Sieg
Ross Chastain
Taylor Gray
Nick Sanchez
William Sawalich
Brennan Poole
Jeremy Clements
Josh Bilicki
Dean Thompson
Harrison Burton
Rajah Caruth
Josh Williams
JJ Yeley
Jeb Burton
Garrett Smithley
Austin Green
Patrick Staropoli
Blaine Perkins
Joey Gase
Ryan Ellis
Myatt Snider
Nathan Byrd
Austin Hill
Lavar Scott
Kyle Sieg
Alex Labbe