Folks, the Cup Series is headed to Darlington Raceway next. Yup. The infamous ‘track too tough to tame.’ And taking the front-row seat is William Byron. But it’s Darlington, and just winning the pole is not enough here. This reminds us of Kasey Kahne’s statement from 2017: “I’ve been close to winning there but haven’t been able to pull it off yet. It’s a tough place because you run so close to the wall, and it’s slippery.” And this is a four-time Darlington pole winner talking! Yet Kahne’s best finish has never been more than a P3. So you can imagine how tough it is. But thankfully, Byron’s got a game plan.

Before the Cup Series takes the green flag here, there’s the Xfinity Series race. While the next-gen and the Xfinity cars are miles apart, it does give you an understanding of the track for the particular season. That’s probably why Cup drivers do double duty here. Like how Christopher Bell, Ross Chastain, and Chase Elliott did. And while Byron did not run the race, he did make notes from watching it, and he knows what to expect!

William Byron reveals why Darlington is so tricky!

Well, William Byron could not convert his 2019 pole into a win, but Byron’s got a checkered flag here under his belt, and not so long ago. He won the spring race of 2023! But sadly, Darlington is one track where records and runs are rendered useless. The track ages every year, quite a lot. Making it a different track almost every season. But that’s something that also makes the track worth winning. “Darlington commands a ton of respect. To qualify well requires a lot of bravery, to win there, you have to be smart,” This is what Jimmie Johnson had said back in the day. Johnson won the track thrice in his time. So clearly, he knows what he’s talking about.

William Byron has done half the job by winning the pole; now, he plans to take tips from the Xfinity Series race. “Every time like this [Darlington], is one of those places where you know when they roll out for practice in Xfinity I turn on the TV or look at the racetrack. When I come in a tunnel, I am always looking for little things that are different because it seems to just age like that. It’s a unique place, and it seems like there are some differences this year. So I’m intrigued to watch Xfinity and figure out what those differences are.”

But the Xfinity one seemed tamer than one would expect. 14 lead changes, without much aggression; most of it was clean passing. Well, Ross Chastain putting Christopher Bell in the wall and Leland Honeyman Jr. spinning himself into Anthony Alfredo are exceptions. However, the unpredictability of the track persists. In the race, Justin Allgaier looked like the driver with the fastest car. He won stage 2, led most laps (56). But in the end, it was Brandon Jones who took the win by leading just 24 laps, with Allgaier in 3rd behind Chase Elliott.

The tricky part of the race is that it’s very similar to Homestead Miami. This means drivers have to ride the wall. However, in Darlington’s case, the track is worn out, making it difficult to run close to the wall. As the car tends to slip and slide there. Even Byron talked about these challenges. He said, “Yeah. It’s just a tricky place. Like everything is changing every year. Just that little bit. I feel like when they put a patch down on Turn 2. That was a big difference maker. Definitely has something new to adjust for.” But according to him, it helps to lead the race. “Yeah, it’s cleaner. It’s nice here, for sure. It doesn’t usually last very long. You catch the back of the field. Somebody’s always in traffic here. So getting that clean air is huge.”

In 2021, Darlington Raceway repaved Turn 2 after underlying cracks had allowed water to seep in, as per NBC Sports. This change came 14 years after Darlington’s last repave! The new asphalt was contrasting hard with the old rough surface, making it a tricky task for drivers to get used to, making running that wall even more challenging.

But Byron’s got an even bigger challenge than the track itself: Darlington’s winningest driver! And he’s not starting too far back from Byron.

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Will Denny Hamlin get a back-to-back at Darlington?

Folks, Denny Hamlin happens to be the winningest active driver on the track, having won 4 times with 13 top 5 finishes. Hamlin is starting the race in P3, and we are sure that the pole start would not be feeling as safe now for Byron. And other than being the winningest driver, Hamlin is also the one with the most experience here. He’s run 25 races on the Darlington Raceway so far. The only active driver who has more is Kyle Busch with 26. But we know his recent form is struggling! And rather, Denny Hamlin is coming from a win after breaking a 10-year track drought at Martinsville. So, he’s also got momentum on his side.

However, Byron has one thing going for him. No one has been better than him in the Next-Gen car at Darlington. Not even Hamlin. Hamlin hasn’t won a single race since the car hit the track in 2022. But Byron, on the other hand, has one win and two top 5s. And he’s got the best average finish among the lot of 10.3. Hamlin is at 11.8. However, in the next-gen era, only once has a driver started from pole and gone to win the race, and it was Joey Logano in the spring race of 2022.

And to make matters worse for Byron, Denny Hamlin is extremely confident of his chances. And he doesn’t even need to watch the Xfinity tapes. Ahead of the race, Hamlin said, “The confidence I have is knowing exactly what I need at this track. I know how to enter the corner; I know how to exit it. I know how much gas and brake to apply to make good speed here. It’s just a matter of whether the car’s working directly on that day, and if it isn’t, we can get it pretty close, usually.” 

No matter what, it’s going to be an exciting race. Who do you think will win the Darlington Throwback Race? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.