First off, Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms who are reading this. In honor of Mother’s Day, NASCAR decided to gift all the moms out there a NASCAR race. Not any NASCAR car, but throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway. NASCAR truly cares. All kidding aside, this Sunday’s Goodyear 400 is shaping up to be a great race. Both Darlington races last year were great races with exciting finished. For the Goodyear 400 in 2022, Joey Logano put the bumper to William Byron to secure the victory. Surely for some Jeff Gordon haters, there was something therapeutic watching the NextGen’s crap version of the famous DuPont flame paint scheme being put into the wall. That is the opportunity that throwback weekend gifts the fans: a chance to see classic paint schemes being dumped for victories.
With all the controversy surrounding the NextGen car still, Darlington Raceway should be a nice reprieve from the scrutiny. As mentioned earlier, the NextGen car raced really well at Darlington. There is no reason to expect anything different this year. When it comes to the Goodyear 400, who will be the drivers to watch all race long? Continue reading below to find out which five you should be keeping an eye on on Mother’s Day. If you want a statistical insight heading into Sunday, check out Daniel Smith’s notable starts and statistical outlook articles.
Denny Hamlin
Denny Hamlin seems to be hitting his stride in recent races. Not only did he win at Kansas last week, but has three Top-5s in the last four races. His lone non-Top 5 in that stretch came at Talladega. Even then, he ran well throughout the race. Based on his performance at Darlington last year, his hot streak should continue Sunday.
Between the two races last year, Hamlin led a combined 48 laps. The majority of those laps led came at the Goodyear 400. However, during the closing laps of the Southern 500, Hamlin was the one applying pressure to Erik Jones for the win. His finish for the Goodyear 400 would have been better had he not got caught in the last caution of the race.
This Sunday, Hamlin looks to be one of the contenders for the win. Toyota as a whole ran well at Darlington last year. Hamlin led the charge.
William Byron
Much like Denny Hamlin, William Byron ran really well at Darlington in 2022. He led a combined 72 laps between the two races. For the Goodyear 400, Byron looked to have the race won coming into the final lap. While Joey Logano was applying pressure, it did not seen that Logano had the ability to make the pass for the win. Well, a clean pass for the win at least. Heading into turn three, Logano bumped Byron out of the way for the win. The bump caused Byron to hit the wall hard enough to ruin his finish. Not only did Byron lose out on a win, he plummeted down the leaderboard to finish outside the Top-10.
This year, Byron has been one of the best drivers on the season. He has already collected two wins on the season. His car is usually Top-5 caliber throughout the race, if not the best car out there for large chunks. If Darlington is similar to the rest of the season, expect Byron to lead early and often, fall back to the tail end of the Top-5, then surge back ahead in the closing laps. With how Logano has been running recently, a Byron win might be a safer pick.
Brad Keselowski
Ford really could use a win on Sunday. The manufacturer is clearly lagging behind Chevy and Toyota in 2023. Kansas was a damning example of how the season has been going. Only one Ford finished in the Top-10, which was Joey Logano playing track position strategy. Darlington Raceway is an opportunity to for Ford to turn the season around. Brad Keselowski might be the driver to bring them back to victory lane. Kevin Harvick is also a good shout.
With how poorly Keselowski ran in 2022, Darlington was one track where he found speed (at least in the Fall). He led 11 laps during the race and managed to finish Top-10. While last year Keselowski looked slow throughout the season, 2023 has been vastly different. If there was an award for Comeback Driver of the Year, Keselowski would be the leading candidate to win it. With his new found speed, a Keselowski win feels realistic (on a non-superspeedway).
Erik Jones
What has happened to Erik Jones this season? Last year, Jones and the 43 team seemed to be shining stars as to what the NextGen car was all about. During certain races last year, Jones ran strongly within the Top-5. The speed out of the Petty camp was vastly improved. At that point, it seemed that the NextGen car actually improved the parity between the dominant teams and the lesser funded teams. However, 2023 has not been kind to Jones the Legacy Motor Club. At this point in the season, Jones only has two Top-10s, both coming at superspeedways. Last year at the same point, Jones had four (including a Top-5).
The reigning Southern 500 winner might look to Darlington to boost his performance in 2023. Jones wrecked out of the Goodyear 400 last year on the last caution of the race. Before that, Jones spent all of the racing running in the Top-15. His average running position was a solid tenth. With how this season has gone, running tenth for the entire race would feel like winning. If there was a track to get Jones’s season back on track, it would be Darlington. It is the only track where Jones has multiple Cup Series wins.
Michael McDowell
Looking for a longshot pick for this weekend? Look no further than Michael McDowell. McDowell finished in the Top-10 both races at Darlington last year. While his seventh at the Goodyear 400 might have been a bit of a fluke, his run at the Southern 500 was a strong showing. Similar to Jones, 2023 has not been as kind to McDowell as last year was. Especially lately, McDowell has struggled to match his career season from 2022. Perhaps that can be chalked up to his crew chief leaving for Hendrick Motorsports.
Though McDowell has been off the pace lately, the majority of the season has seen the driver run solidly in the Top-20. His Top-10 at Richmond was one of the few times this season where he ran better than expected. Darlington might be the second time based on his performances last year. Once again, Ford has been off the mark this season. McDowell has felt it seemingly more than his usual teammate Todd Gilliland. At Darlington, maybe McDowell can find some momentum for the rest of the season.
