Records and facts

Last year's Goodyear 400 was dominated by Tyler Reddick. Driving a scheme based upon a car that Tim Richmond drove for a couple of weeks in 1982, Reddick led 174 laps and was racing Chris Buescher for the lead with 10 laps to go when the two collided in turn 3. The contact resulted in both drivers cutting tires and having to make unscheduled pit stops.

Brad Keselowski inherited the lead when Buescher suddenly slowed. From there, he held on to take the victory, his first triumph since 2021. The margin of victory was 1.214 seconds over Ty Gibbs. Josh Berry was third, then Denny Hamlin and Chase Briscoe. Buescher ended up 30th, while Reddick was 32nd.

All-time, David Pearson has the most wins at the "Track Too Tough to Tame" with 10, the most recent of the wins coming in the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 in 1980. Dale Earnhardt has nine wins, including season sweeps in 1987 and 1990. Jeff Gordon is third with seven career wins, while four different drivers (Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Darrell Walrip and Cale Yarborough) have five each.
 

Among active drivers, Denny Hamlin is the winningest driver with four career victories. Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has three victories, while Erik Jones, Brad Keselowski and Martin Truex Jr. (not entered) have two wins. Five more drivers have a win each.

Track Facts
Track / Race Length:  1.366-mile egg-shaped oval, 367 laps (501.322 miles)
Banking:  25 degrees in Turns 1-2, 23 degrees in Turns 3-4
Frontstretch:  1,229 ft., banked 3 degrees
Backstretch:  1,229 ft., banked 3 degrees
Grandstand Seating:  47,000
Pit Road Speed:  45 mph
Pace Car Speed:  50 mph
Opened: 1950

Website: http://www.darlingtonraceway.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TooToughToTame

Pre-Race Schedule:

Practice: Saturday, April 5, 12:30 - 1:20 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video

Qualifying: Saturday, April 5, 1:30 p.m. ET on Amazon Prime Video

Say What?!

"It is a tough place. I think it’s one of the toughest places we go, more mentally than anything for me. I just feel like the mental mush that your brain is in after leaving that race is pretty high because your concentration level is at 110 percent the whole time. I kind of relate it to Homestead in a way, but Homestead is a lot wider. You have more room for error, unless you’re pinned on the fence, but Darlington it just sneaks up on you more. There’s less room to work, so I think that’s what makes that place so difficult and the two ends being vastly different is definitely a challenge. I haven’t finished a race at Darlington in about a year either, so I hope to do that." - Ryan Blaney

"To me, Darlington really kind of defines what you would think NASCAR is and should be in my eyes. I think from a driver’s perspective, it’s so difficult. It’s just such a tough place to navigate and drive, particularly for the fall race, being another 100 miles. I’ve always enjoyed going there. I hope one day, it enjoys having me more than it has … hopefully we can make a good gain [this] weekend. We’ve put a lot of work into it already." - Chase Elliott

"Darlington is always a tough one. If you have a good car, you look like a hero. If you have a bad car, you don’t. It’s that kind of thing. Last year, I had two really good cars there and ran really well. We didn’t get the finish we wanted in the Southern 500 with an accident there at the end, but I feel good about it. We ran third in the spring. If we can translate some of what I learned last year and apply it to the No. 21 car, hopefully we can have a good day." - Josh Berry

"You have to approach Darlington the same way every time. It’s been the same since forever. This is a place where you have to race the racetrack and keep your car clean, specifically keep it out of the fence. There’s a lot of areas where you can make mistakes at this racetrack. It’s about just keeping your car under the limit and figuring out what is too far. That’s the way you have to race Darlington. It’s been the same ever since they built it. This track is a battle and it’s tough, but it’s also a lot of fun." - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.

Phil Allaway is the Newsletter Manager for Frontstretch. He can be reached via e-mail at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com. Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.