NASCAR’s 500 km race at Darlington: Who will win, how to watch, starting lineup
Sunday’s NASCAR race at Darlington went off without a hitch, in terms of the coronavirus event protocols put in place to resume the racing season amid the pandemic. NASCAR executive vice president Steve O’Donnell said the event went smoother than expected.
“I think everybody found their groove,” O’Donnell said. “Didn’t have to tell anyone or remind anyone to wear a mask. I think the industry really came together and did a tremendous job to enable us to get to the race.”
While surrounding procedures ran smoothly for the Real Heroes 400, won by No. 4 driver Kevin Harvick, the on-track action was less fluid as drivers returned to real racing for the first time in two months. Ten cautions were called over 57 laps of the 263-lap event, and more will come at Wednesday’s Cup Series race at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval deemed “Too Tough To Tame.”
The race will be slightly shorter — 228 laps (311.4 miles).
“The biggest thing is 300 miles for us is a short race,” Harvick said. “I think as you look at the weather, being at night, it’s going to be fairly cool. The 600 miles (at Charlotte) the next weekend will be the one that you really have to pay attention to as far as what you do (to prepare).”
Harvick said that drivers should be physically ready for the tight schedule after having time off. Their cars, on the other hand, might not suffer the beating as well. Harvick said he will bring back the same car he won with on Sunday, and the reliable ride could put the 50-time race winner back in Victory Lane.
Rain is in the forecast, which moved the race up from its original 7:30 p.m. start time to 6 p.m. If that race gets rained out, it will be moved to 7 p.m. on Thursday following the Xfinity Series race, which was rescheduled from its original Tuesday evening time slot to Thursday at noon.
Drivers we like to win at Darlington
No. 19 Martin Truex Jr. Truex Jr. finished sixth at Darlington on Sunday to secure his first top-10 finish of the year. He has previously won once at the track, and has compiled two top-five finishes at Darlington and seven top-10s. The inverted lineup of the top-20 finishers from the last race puts Truex Jr. in a 15th-place starting position, just in front of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Denny Hamlin. The tandem, along with Erik Jones starting in 13th, could work together to at least secure a stage win for JGR.
No. 88 Alex Bowman. The Hendrick Motorsports driver is off to an impressive start to 2020. Bowman finished in second place at Darlington on Sunday after winning a Cup race at Fontana earlier this season. He is ranked second in Cup points standings (190) behind points leader Harvick (218). The No. 88 driver, who announced a one-year contract extension with his team last week, will start 19th this Wednesday.
How to watch Wednesday’s NASCAR race at Darlington
Race: Toyota 500
Distance: 228 laps, or 311.4 miles (stage breaks on Laps 60, 125, 228)
Where: Darlington Raceway
When: 6 p.m. Wednesday
TV: FS1
Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio
Worth mentioning: NASCAR is continuing to modify its schedule based on inclement weather. If both Tuesday’s Xfinity race and Wednesday’s Cup race are postponed due to rain, both races will be rescheduled for Thursday — Xfinity at noon and Cup at 7 p.m.
Starting lineup for NASCAR Toyota 500 at Darlington
| Starting Position | Driver | Car No. |
| 1 | Ryan Preece | 37 |
| 2 | Ty Dillon | 13 |
| 3 | Joey Logano | 22 |
| 4 | Clint Bowyer | 14 |
| 5 | Ryan Blaney | 12 |
| 6 | Ryan Newman | 6 |
| 7 | Matt DiBenedetto | 21 |
| 8 | Brad Keselowski | 2 |
| 9 | Aric Almirola | 10 |
| 10 | Austin Dillon | 3 |
| 11 | Matt Kenseth | 42 |
| 12 | John Hunter Nemechek | 38 |
| 13 | Erik Jones | 20 |
| 14 | Tyler Reddick | 8 |
| 15 | Martin Truex Jr. | 19 |
| 16 | Denny Hamlin | 11 |
| 17 | Chase Elliott | 9 |
| 18 | Kurt Busch | 1 |
| 19 | Alex Bowman | 88 |
| 20 | Kevin Harvick | 4 |
| 21 | Bubba Wallace | 43 |
| 22 | Cole Custer | 41 |
| 23 | Michael McDowell | 34 |
| 24 | Christopher Bell | 95 |
| 25 | Daniel Suárez | 96 |
| 26 | Kyle Busch | 18 |
| 27 | Brennan Poole | 15 |
| 28 | Gray Gaulding* | 27 |
| 29 | J.J. Yeley* | 77 |
| 30 | Joey Gase | 51 |
| 31 | Corey LaJoie | 32 |
| 32 | Chris Buescher | 17 |
| 33 | Timmy Hill | 66 |
| 34 | William Byron | 24 |
| 35 | Quin Houff | 0 |
| 36 | Garrett Smithley | 53 |
| 37 | Jimmie Johnson | 48 |
| 38 | B.J. McLeod | 78 |
| 39 | Ricky Stenhouse Jr. | 47 |
* = Gray Gaulding and J.J. Yeley will drop to the rear of the field for Wednesday’s race because those teams made a driver change between the two races at Darlington this week.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 3:00 AM with the headline "NASCAR’s 500 km race at Darlington: Who will win, how to watch, starting lineup."
