Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, May 13, 10:30 - 11:20 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Qualifying: Saturday, May 13, 11:30 a.m. ET on FOX Sports 1

Say What?!

"The biggest thing about Darlington is that it’s a very compromising racetrack. Turns 1 and 2 are so different than turns 3 and 4, so having a good compromise between the two ends of the racetrack really means a lot there to have a good day. You also have to search around and find different grooves throughout the race and what works for you and your car and also traffic. If you’ve got a guy in front of you that’s running your line, you’ve got to find another line that you can run just as well so you can get some clean air on your car in order to make a pass. With the fast speeds that you have at Darlington, even though it’s a tight mile-and-a third racetrack, aerodynamics is a huge factor. Getting clean air on your car, especially through the majority of the run, is important because now tire falloff is so big that you have to have that grip as much as you can have of it." - Kyle Busch

"It’s definitely really technical. It’s a track that is really fast but the two ends of the track are completely different, which makes the crew chiefs scratch their heads. It’s hard to get your car working right on both ends, so you have to compromise. It’s never going to be perfect. It’s never going to be comfortable, but you’ve got to figure out a way to be comfortable with it and that’s what I love about Darlington. You are on the ragged edge so much and the tires wear off the car so bad on the long run that you are just on ice. You are sliding and trying to keep the right rear from dragging against the wall and you are just sliding everywhere. I just think it’s so much fun. It’s been a great track for me, I think just because I like it so much. Hoping we can have a great run there this weekend with our Auto-Owners Insurance Camry and pick up where we left off in the fall there with having such a strong car." -  Martin Truex Jr.

"I always enjoy going to Darlington. It is a really tough racetrack – they call it ‘Too Tough Too Tame’ and that’s the slogan for a reason. The technicality of that racetrack is so difficult. It’s not like any other racetrack we go to and I know that each and every racetrack is unique, but Darlington is very unique. It has two corners that are very different and the racing surface is very narrow. We predominantly race up against the fence, so we’re at 180 miles an hour and you’re trying to run one to two inches off the wall with very little room for error. One little slip and one little slide and you’re in the fence, so it’s just a very difficult racetrack, but that’s why we all love it. You’ve got to make sure it stays good on long runs. Darlington is notorious for wearing out tires, so you’ve got to have a car that has good grip and not wearing out the tires. Qualifying is important, too. You’ve got to make sure you have a good day on pit road and make sure you’re not losing spots and just put together solid races on those types of tracks. You can’t really afford to lose any positions because it’s so difficult to make them back up." - Aric Almirola