On Sunday, the NASCAR Cup Series regular season will end at Darlington Raceway. For the past several years, the Southern 500 has been the opening race of the Cup Series Playoffs. However, the Olympics paused the Cup Series for two weeks this year, so this year, the Southern 500 is the regular season finale.
When handicapping Darlington, we have a very good pool of races we can look back on. Darlington is a 1.333-mile long egg-shaped oval. The racing surface at Darlington is quite abrasive, causing tires to wear down quickly. This tire wear means there is a big gap between the lap times a driver can record just before and just after tire changes. NASCAR has allotted teams eight sets of tires for this 500-mile race, and we can expect teams to change tires as often as possible.
Historically track has been most comparable to Homestead-Miami Speedway. With increased tire wear at Las Vegas Motor Speedway and Kansas Speedway over the past several years those two tracks also have high correlation to Darlington. As such, although they were several months ago we have three highly comparable races from 2024 to use. In addition, a driver’s overall speed and performance at intermediate tracks is relevant data to consider.
This spring, Berry had a wild weekend at Darlington. In practice, he showed a great ability to manage his tires. Of the 24 drivers who made a 25-lap run in practice, he had the third-best average speed. He also had the lowest fall-off between his 5-lap and 25-lap averages. In qualifying, Berry had a disappointing run through turns 3 and 4 after starting strong and ultimately lined up 33rd to start the race.
The start of the Goodyear 400 was not great for Berry. He was buried in traffic and struggled. In the first quarter of the race, Berry’s average speed was more than two-tenths of a mile per hour UNDER the overall race average. However, Berry slowly made his way through the field and, on lap 79, entered the Top 20. At that point, his speed picked up considerably. For the second quarter of the race, Berry’s average lap time was 10th best. By the end of the race, Berry was one of the fastest cars on the track. In fact, over the last 20 laps, Berry was the fastest car, posting lap times nearly a tenth of a second faster than race winner Brad Keselowski over that time period.
Berry only has two starts here in the Cup Series but was solid here in the Xfinity Series. In five starts with JR Motorsports, he finished inside the Top 10 four times. Ultimately, this bet boils down to Berry having shown that he can work a car here into contention, even if he might not have the best speed to start with. Berry’s crew chief, Rodney Childers, also led Kevin Harvick to three wins at this track, so overall, the team has the experience to make a strong run. I wouldn’t take this bet under +1400, but at that price, I’m in for half a unit on Berry to end up as the Top Ford.
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Two NASCAR Cup Series crew members for Ross Chastain’s No. 1 team were suspended following the race at Circuit of the Americas
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On February 17, Ubisoft released a trailer that confirmed that NASCAR would be included in The Crew Motorfest’s next season update. Details were limited at the time, but in a press release issued today, Ubisoft revealed the full details of the update ahead of its March 4 launch.
Ubisoft says drafting will affect car speed and help save fuel, implying that drafting will be a huge factor in the game, at least with these cars. You can check out this and much more on Ubisoft’s official post linked below
Earlier this Tuesday, the official The Crew Motorfest account clarified confusion around the NASCAR bundles. The Crew Credit (CC) bundles only include cosmetic team liveries, not additional cars. The 3 base Next Gen cars (Ford Mustang Dark Horse, Toyota Camry XSE, and Chevrolet ZL1) are part of the free Season 9 update and can be purchased separately.
Mitch Rasmussen, NASCAR’s Senior Director of Interactive, said in the press release:
We’re excited to bring our iconic brand to life in The Crew Motorfest. This collaboration represents another important step in our strategy to bring NASCAR into the digital spaces and places where next generation fans spend their time, giving players new ways to interact with the culture and communities they love.
The content arrives as part of Year 3 Season 9 and is officially licensed by NASCAR. You can watch the first trailer and learn more in the article linked below
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Four road courses on the schedule, and somehow that’s enough to spark one of the biggest debates in the garage. After recent comments from Brad Keselowski questioning the business value of road racing, the conversation has picked up serious steam. Is NASCAR leaning too far into it, or is the current balance about right?
There are valid points on both sides, from sponsorship realities to fan traditions to competitive diversity. Some tracks have gained traction. Others have struggled. The question isn’t just whether road courses belong, but how many make sense within a 36-race season. It’s less about extremes and more about direction. And with future schedule changes always looming, this debate probably isn’t settled anytime soon.
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