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In the sport's infancy, NASCAR did not take a single step from the sands of Daytona Beach or the clay of the Carolinas to the biggest and fastest speedways on Earth. Once upon a time, before tracks like Daytona or Talladega could be conceived much less dreamed of, Darlington Raceway led the way as NASCAR's original speedway, establishing a lore and reputation that has lasted from 1950 onwards.

Over the course of 75 years, many drivers have tried to tame "The Lady in Black," but a select few have been able to charm her by riding the fine line between speed along the wall and a Darlington stripe left by those who got too close. This weekend, NASCAR returns to the track "Too Tough to Tame" for the first time this season, with the Goodyear 400 marking the first attempt by the Cup Series field in 2025 to cement their legacy at this tough old racetrack while also celebrating those who have come before.

Brad Keselowski 'not surprised' by Ryan Preece's hot start as RFK Racing expands to three cars
Steven Taranto
Brad Keselowski 'not surprised' by Ryan Preece's hot start as RFK Racing expands to three cars

Where to watch the NASCAR Cup Series at Darlington

When: Sunday, April 6 at 3 p.m. ET
Where: Darlington Raceway -- Darlington, S.C.
TV: FS1
Stream: fubo (try for free)

Starting lineup

William Byron won the pole for the Goodyear 400 in qualifying on Saturday, earning his second pole of the season and his first at Darlington since the 2019 Southern 500.

  1. #24 - William Byron
  2. #60 - Ryan Preece
  3. #11 - Denny Hamlin
  4. #19 - Chase Briscoe
  5. #23 - Bubba Wallace
  6. #2 - Austin Cindric
  7. #45 - Tyler Reddick
  8. #8 - Kyle Busch
  9. #12 - Ryan Blaney
  10. #71 - Michael McDowell
  11. #54 - Ty Gibbs
  12. #34 - Todd Gilliland
  13. #77 - Carson Hocevar
  14. #17 - Chris Buescher
  15. #9 - Chase Elliott
  16. #38 - Zane Smith
  17. #20 - Christopher Bell
  18. #22 - Joey Logano
  19. #5 - Kyle Larson
  20. #6 - Brad Keselowski
  21. #7 - Justin Haley
  22. #16 - A.J. Allmendinger
  23. #3 - Austin Dillon
  24. #21 - Josh Berry
  25. #1 - Ross Chastain
  26. #4 - Noah Gragson
  27. #42 - John Hunter Nemechek
  28. #47 - Ricky Stenhouse Jr.
  29. #10 - Ty Dillon
  30. #99 - Daniel Suarez
  31. #41 - Cole Custer
  32. #35 - Riley Herbst (R)
  33. #48 - Alex Bowman
  34. #43 - Erik Jones
  35. #51 - Cody Ware
  36. #88 - Shane van Gisbergen (R)
  37. #33 - Austin Hill
  38. #44 - J.J. Yeley

NASCAR Throwback Weekend

Introduced in 2015 as a formal way of celebrating the sport's heritage, NASCAR's annual Throwback Weekend returns with yet another wave of classic paint schemes, spanning across different eras of the sport and celebrating drivers from Hall of Famers and Cup champions, those who raced alongside them, and even some throwbacks that honor other racers and the old days of their sponsors.

Nineteen of the 38 cars entered in Sunday's race will be sporting a throwback paint scheme, which the following drivers will be carrying:

  • Austin Cindric (Dale Earnhardt, Rod Osterlund Chevrolet circa 1980)
  • Noah Gragson (Dale Earnhardt Jr., 1996 Mom 'n Pops Chevrolet)
  • Kyle Larson (Terry Labonte, Kellogg's Chevrolet circa 2003)
  • Chase Elliott (Ken Schrader, 1994 Kodiak Chevrolet)
  • Ty Dillon (Patty Moise, 1989 Beaver Street Foods Buick)
  • Denny Hamlin (Carl Edwards, 2006-07 Office Depot Ford)
  • Ryan Blaney (Dave Blaney, 2006 Hass Avocados Chevrolet)
  • Christopher Bell (Tribute to Rick Ferkel, National Sprint Car Hall of Famer and Bell's mentor)
  • Josh Berry (Jim Clark, 1965 Indianapolis 500 winning car)
  • Joey Logano (Cale Yarborough, 1976-78 Holly Farms Chevrolet)
  • William Byron (Jeff Gordon, 2015 Axalta Chevrolet from Gordon's final race in the No. 24)
  • Todd Gilliland (Ray Fox Engineering No. 3, circa 1960s)
  • Zane Smith (1970s Long John Silver's branding)
  • Cole Custer (Jimmy Spencer, 2002 Target Dodge)
  • John Hunter Nemechek (Joe Nemechek, 1997-99 BellSouth Chevrolet)
  • Erik Jones (John Andretti, 1998 STP Pontiac)
  • J.J. Yeley (Bill Elliott, 1985-88 Coors Ford)
  • Alex Bowman (Jimmie Johnson, 2012 Kobalt Tools Chevrolet)
  • Cody Ware (Ward Burton, 2000-02 Caterpillar Pontiac/Dodge)

NASCAR news of the week

  • Legacy Motor Club has sued Rick Ware Racing over the pending exchange of a charter between the two teams, as Legacy M.C. claims that Rick Ware Racing is attempting to back out of an agreement to sell them one of their charters. According to The Athletic, the issue centers around the timing of the charter's transfer, with Rick Ware Racing having signed the agreement under the impression the sale would go into effect for 2027, only for Legacy Motor Club to purportedly change the year to 2026.
  • NASCAR has fined Xfinity Series driver Sammy Smith $25,000 and docked him 50 championship points for rough driving at the finish of last Saturday's race at Martinsville Speedway. Looking to settle a score with Taylor Gray, Smith drove into the final corner from two carlengths back to ram Gray's rear bumper, spinning him out of the lead and triggering a huge crash coming to the finish. Smith wrecked and finished 10th in the ensuing chaos.

    Gray was also fined $5,000 for confronting Smith at the infield care center, and Jeb Burton also earned the same penalty for his infield care center conduct towards another driver. In the Cup Series, two members of Trackhouse Racing's No. 88 pit crew (Aslan Pugh and Jonpatrick Kealy) have been suspended the next two races after an improperly installed wheel fell off Shane van Gisbergen's car at Martinsville.
  • NASCAR has named Steve Phelps to the newly created role of Commissioner of NASCAR, a promotion earned after 20 years at NASCAR and having served as the sport's president since 2018. Steve O'Donnell will succeed Phelps as president of NASCAR.

    In a company release, NASCAR stated that Phelps will now oversee all aspects of NASCAR, including the 15 racetracks it owns, as well as IMSA. Phelps "will work across the NASCAR ecosystem to provide value to all stakeholders while increasing global fan engagement," while O'Donnell will take over everyday management of the sport including operations, competition and commercial business.
  • Trackhouse Racing announced that Connor Zilisch will make his second career Cup start in the Coca-Cola 600 in May. Zilisch, an 18-year old phenom and full-time Xfinity Series competitor, qualified 14th for his Cup Series debut at Circuit of the Americas before being taken out in a crash midway through the race.

Pick to win

Tyler Reddick (+650) -- In the Darlington spring race a year ago, Reddick led 174 of 293 laps and was battling for the win in the closing laps when he failed to clear Chris Buescher, putting both himself and the No. 17 in the wall. That run put an exclamation point on Reddick's recent Darlington performances, which include two runner up finishes, three top fives and four top 10s in the track's last six races.

Reddick has led 265 laps in his last three Darlington races, and we arguably didn't get to see what he was fully capable of in last year's Southern 500, where Reddick labored through a stomach bug to earn a 10th place finish.