NASCAR took on the track that’s “too tough to be tamed” this weekend at Darlington Raceway. Once again, a quality race was delivered with good, hard racing with an epic finale. I gave you a preview earlier this week of who I thought would perform here at Darlington. So, per usual, we’ll recap this race, and then take a look at how those drivers panned out. Let’s go stage by stage and deliver the highlights from the Goodyear 400!
STAGE ONE
The initial top five was star-studded. #19 Martin Truex Jr was the pole winner. Teammate #23 Bubba Wallace behind him with Daytona 500 winner #37 Ricky Stenhouse Jr, #24 William Byron, and #1 Ross Chastain.
First caution of the day for possible fluid on the track. https://t.co/VSi4RsX59o pic.twitter.com/6aHUqlTWZh
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
They’d race 38 clean laps with Truex taking the early lead and never looking back. The yellow flag would fly briefly and put a pause on the action, but they got back to it without too many major changes in the top five. The only change is #8 Kyle Busch entering the top five for Stenhouse. Daniel Suarez was among those in the top 10 before getting flagged for a speeding penalty down pit road.
Truex would win stage one by a country mile overall. Holding a lead by as much as five seconds over Byron and Wallace. The gap was closed after Truex got stuck behind Suarez staying on the lead lap. But Truex took the win, with Byron, Wallace, Chastain, and Busch rounding out the leaders. A nice and easy first stage at Darlington Raceway.
STAGE 2:
At the restart, Truex and Byron would take over as one and two. Wallace had an issue on pit road that would drop him all the way to 18th. This opened the door for #6 Brad Keselowski to enter third, with Chastain and Busch closing out the front five.
This stage would also be relatively clean, with green flag pit stops starting at lap 145 and after everybody cycles through, Truex had the lead with Byron catching up. Ross Chastain would also be in the mix and jump Truex at lap 151. #5 Kyle Larson would also make an appearance in the top five with just 20 laps left on the stage.
Martin Truex Jr. goes around at the end of Stage 2 in Darlington! Ross Chastain claims the stage win. #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/8ZbujKE599
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
On the final lap of stage two, Chastain and Truex were battling it out for the stage victory. And in the end, Truex would make a grave mistake, trying to get past Chastain, he would push the #1 into the wall, where it would bounce back and hit the #19 and send him spinning. Dropping the veteran from 2nd to 10th in the stage and gift-wrapping Chastain the stage win. Larson, Busch, Byron, and Keselowski would also get valuable stage points with a top-five stage finish.
STAGE 3:
This would be the first stage that Truex didn’t have the front spot. That would belong to Kyle Larson this time around. His new rival, Ross Chastain, would be right across from him in second. Kyle Busch and William Byron would continue the Chevy dominance upfront, with #4 Kevin Harvick breaking up the pack.
BIG TROUBLE. Erik Jones lost a tire to start this one. https://t.co/SKmJ7vSufC pic.twitter.com/JrEci473k9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
At the restart, there would be a huge wreck. It would involve nine cars total, and ultimately end the day of #99 Daniel Suarez and #3 Austin Dillon. They’d restart at lap 202 but eight laps later Ricky Stenhouse Jr would go spinning after his left rear tire would go flat. Ross Chastain held the lead, followed by Kyle Busch, William Byron, Kyle Larson, and #20 Christopher Bell. At this restart, Brad Keselowski would insert himself above Bell.
The green flag pit stops would cycle through again and Larson took command, with Bell chasing him hard. Chastain, Busch, and #22 Joey Logano would round out the leaders as the final stretch approached.
Ryan Newman goes around late at Darlington. https://t.co/LezaVY05yh pic.twitter.com/WnLOwbEBx9
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
With 18 laps to go, the returning Ryan Newman in the #51 car, as he fills in for Rick Ware Racing, would go spinning. After some much-needed pit stops the race would restart with Larson and Chastain side by side. Logano and Truex were behind them, and Chase Elliott made an appearance at the front lines. Christopher Bell’s chances would be shot after having to return to pit road for a loose lug nut.
Contact between Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano triggers a huge pileup after a late restart at Darlington! pic.twitter.com/aP541AIpZg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) May 14, 2023
On the restart, Truex would get turned into the wall, causing the big one. Logano, #10 Aric Almirola, and #45 Tyler Reddick would take heavy damage. Although only Truex’s day would be over after this crash. Chastain would take the lead from Larson, who sat in second place. Behind Larson were two Hendrick Motorsports drivers with Byron and Elliott. The lone Ford in the mix was once again Brad Keselowski.
THE FINISH
With six laps to go, Chastain and Larson would go at it once again. Shades of their brewing rivalry from Talladega, and especially from Dover when Chastain wrecked a lapped car and sent it into Larson. In the least surprising way, the #1 would turn into the #5 and get pushed about 1,000 feet down the track. This set up the overtime finish.
Kyle Larson has had enough of Ross Chastain:pic.twitter.com/XBKrQHBTNg
— Always Race Day (@AlwaysRaceDay) May 14, 2023
For the overtime restart William Byron would take command. #4 Kevin Harvick would make another appearance with the front runners, alongside Chase Elliott, Brad Keselowski, and #21 Harrison Burton, looking to give the Wood Brothers their 100th win.
Ultimately, the overtime finish would just be a formality, the #24 would hit victory lane for the third time this season as he bolted away from the competition. Harvick maintained second place, with Elliott, Keselowski, and Bubba Wallace closing out the front runners. An eventful race at Darlington Raceway ends with a bang, as Byron does a burnout, and shakes hands with Rick Hendrick and a valuable member of the NASCAR 75 Jeff Gordon.
DRIVER SPOTLIGHT: #20 Christopher Bell
There were plenty of drivers to choose from for this spot. I could’ve handed it to one Billy Byron, but as the winner, there’s enough shine on him as is. Christopher Bell had a great day. He was consistently among the leaders all race long at Darlington Raceway, which is even more impressive when you see he started out at 16th. Unfortunately, his pit crew would be the ending of his great day, and Bell would only scrape together a 14th-place finish. But a really solid day for a young driver at a really brutal track. With a win already on the year at Bristol, he’s locked for the playoffs and he’s a driver I expect to see more of going forward.
Closing Thoughts
Per usual, I gave you all five drivers to look out for this race. So, let’s revisit and see who made me look smart, and who let me down here at Darlington Raceway.
#8 Kyle Busch
For most of the race, KFB was everything I thought he was going to be. He was competitive at the front lines and charged for top-five finishes in the first and second stages. Unfortunately for him, some pit troubles would keep him from the top five and he’d finish seventh. Not a bad day, just wish it could’ve been more for the sake of the pick.
#9 Chase Elliott
Right team, wrong driver. Elliott’s teammate William Byron would take the victory, but the #9 gets its highest finish of 2023 in third place. For Chase Elliott, the return from the broken leg has been hard. But late in races he returns to form and puts together a great end. He’ll get a win eventually. He’s too good not to. But it continues to elude him another week.
#11 Denny Hamlin & #19 Martin Truex Jr
A big nothing burger for the #11 car this weekend. His car wasn’t right from the jump and the only reason he led laps this race was a hail mary at the end praying for a caution that wouldn’t come. It wasn’t all bad as he got inside the top 15, which is better than what Truex can report. Sure, he got the first stage win and he stayed inside the top 10 at the end of stage two, but his own mistakes were the death of him. That and a pit crew that didn’t do him any favors. Joe Gibbs Racing didn’t have the day I thought they would. But it looked alright for a while.
#22 Joey Logano
Logano was good in spurts, but just never up front for too long. He finishes in 18th after the late incident with Truex that kept him out of the leaderboard, but it wasn’t a terrible day for him, just a rough finish. He’s got a win on the books already at Atlanta so he’s not worried on that end. But he disappoints here at a track he won last year.
#43 Erik Jones
My not-great week ends in not-so-great fashion, with a 25th place finish for Jones. He was involved in a caution where he lost a tire, and never hung around with the leaders. He beat out Hamlin for the victory here last year in the fall, but he can’t get a repeat performance here in the spring edition of Darlington Raceway. It happens, but a bad year continues for the #43 team.
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