This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series returns to the oldest superspeedway on the schedule, Darlington Raceway, for their second visit of the year to start the playoffs.  Coverage will start with NASCAR RaceDay at 1:30 p.m. ET Sunday on FOX Sports 1. Race coverage will start at 3 p.m. ET. The green flag is scheduled to drop around 3:15 p.m. ET. The race can also be heard on MRN Radio and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio (Channel 90).
 

Records and facts

Last year's Goodyear 400 was not a good one for Kyle Larson. He spun exiting turn 2 and hit the inside wall head-on in the opening laps. After 160 laps in the garage, he came back out and drove competitively...only to spin and hit the inside wall in all but the same spot in the closing laps.

William Byron dominated the race, leading the first 243 laps. Tyler Reddick assumed the lead during a round of pit stops, but had just lost the lead to Ryan Blaney when the caution flew for Larson's second crash.

Everyone pitted here for fresh tires and Denny Hamlin won the race off pit road. From there, Hamlin held on during the overtime restart to take the win.

Hamlin won by .597 seconds over Byron. Christopher Bell was third, then Reddick and Blaney.

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 five different drivers (Bobby Allison, Bill Elliott, Denny Hamlin, Darrell Walrip and Cale Yarborough) have five each.
 

Among active drivers, Hamlin is the winningest driver with his five victories. Jimmie Johnson (not entered) has three victories, while Chase Briscoe, Erik Jones and Brad Keselowski have two wins each. Five more drivers have a single victory.
 

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, March 22, 2:35 - 3:25 p.m. ET on Prime Video

Qualifying: Saturday, March 22, 3:40 p.m. ET on Prime Video

Say What?

"Darlington Raceway is tough. It’s definitely one of the hardest tracks on the schedule with the way the asphalt is worn out. You’ve got to run right next to the wall at Darlington. Obviously, the place is famous for the ‘Darlington Stripe’ for a reason. One lap, you feel really good. The next lap, you're out of control, sideways, spinning out. You just never know. A lot of times you go through a lot of changes at that track. Starting out the track is always loose. It gets really tight during the middle part of the race and then starts to free up back up at the end. You’re always chasing it with the car." - Kyle Busch
 

"They call it the track ‘Too Tough to Tame’ for a reason. The way that place is built, it’s just tough, no matter how many times you’ve been there. There’s never a time where you unload off the trailer and fire off for practice and qualifying that you feel comfortable. Even if you have speed and you’re competitive, you’re still on edge. And when your car isn’t where you want it handling-wise, you’re even more on edge. You’re always white-knuckling it, sawing at the wheel, manhandling the racecar every lap.

"This year, for sure, is going to be more about racing the track and racing the tire. We have more horsepower, less downforce, and the tires are going to wear out faster. It’s going to make for a wild Sunday afternoon." - Cody Ware

"Darlington is very unique and fun to race at. It’s a driver’s track that takes a lot of perfection, and taking care of your equipment, to find success. I always look forward to coming here. I’ve been able to win at Darlington a few times and we had two solid runs here last year. We just really need one of those types of races to rebound after a challenging west coast swing." - Noah Gragson

Phil Allaway is the Frontstretch newsletter manager. He can be reached at phil.allaway@frontstretch.com.  Photo is courtesy of Nigel Kinrade Photography.