Racing Insights: Should we expect a vintage Hendrick performance at Darlington?

Despite having all four of its drivers in the top five of the NASCAR Cup Series standings, Martinsville was something of a missed opportunity for the Hendrick Motorsports camp to track down the “perfection” Vice Chairman Jeff Gordon emphasized after Kyle Larson’s win at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET, FS1, MRN Radio, Sirius XM NASCAR Radio) is the perfect setting for Hendrick to bounce back and run the standings table.

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However, a better performance on pit road will be needed in order to put the team back in Victory Lane. At Martinsville, Chase Elliott, who finished fourth, had a Pit Crew Rating of 14. Similarly, William Byron and Alex Bowman had Pit Crew Ratings of 20 and 13, respectively, which was unusual given all four Hendrick teams have top-10 ratings on the season, according to NASCAR Insights.

Looking ahead to Darlington, it’s a track that puts more pressure on pit crews. There will be a lot of stops to service the car due to the track’s aged asphalt, meaning the race won’t just be in the driver’s hands.

Speaking of the drivers, Racing Insights’ early metric predicts all four Hendrick drivers to net top 10s — something the organization has already done twice this season. Byron and Larson have won at the iconic track already and are great candidates to win again this Sunday. Bowman has reeled in top 10s in the last two spring races at Darlington. Elliott failed to record top 10s in both trips to South Carolina last year, but he has a best finish of third in this race two years ago and has finished top 20 in all seven races this season.

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OTHER DRIVERS TO WATCH

TYLER REDDICK: Since the start of 2022, Reddick has been one of the best, if not the best, at Darlington. He has three top-three finishes, 275 laps led and an average running position of 6.8 at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”

CHRIS BUESCHER: Buescher could’ve won this race last year if he hadn’t collided with Tyler Reddick, which led to a fiery discussion. Not only has Buescher started the last three Darlington races in the top 10, but he’s also recorded five top 10s in the last eight races there.

KYLE BUSCH: It was the fall race, but Rowdy had one of the best cars when he finished second to Chase Briscoe in the 2024 Southern 500. Busch hasn’t won at Darlington since the spring of 2008 but has recorded 15 top 10s over 26 Darlington starts. Plus, the track has a history of ending long winless streaks.

ROSS CHASTAIN: He nabbed a seventh-place finish last week and comes to the “Lady in Black” this week, where he’s had three top-five performances in 11 starts. Sunday will be a great opportunity for Chastain to string solid weekends together.

RACING INSIGHTS’ PROJECTIONS FOR THE GOODYEAR 400 

Racing Insights’ advanced statistical formula includes current track, current track type, recent performance, team data and pit-crew data to arrive at a projected winner and full race results. Updated on race day with practice and qualifying factored in.

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