Three Up, Three Down: Drivers in focus leaving Darlington

Tyler Reddick’s dream start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season continued in Sunday afternoon’s 293-lap showdown at Darlington Raceway after finding Victory Lane in the Goodyear 400, which puts him in the history books alongside Bill Elliott (1992) and Dale Earnhardt (1987) as the third driver to win four of the first six races in a season.

A few setbacks along the way, such as a slow pit stop and issues with his alternator and cool suit in the opening stage, knocked the pole-winning No. 45 23XI Racing Toyota to the tail of the field for the Stage 2 restart after coming to the pits before it opened. Reddick put his “I know never to give up” attitude to the test, passing Brad Keselowski on Lap 266 to complete the epic comeback.

Other drivers found positives from the historic 1.366-mile South Carolina track, while others left the “Lady in Black” with Darlington stripes and wondered how it all went wrong. Here’s a glance at three drivers on the upswing, plus three more who hope to put a disappointing day in the rearview mirror in this Sunday’s Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway (3:30 p.m. ET, FS1, HBO Max, MRN Radio, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

RELATED: Race results | At-track photos: Darlington

THREE UP ⬆️

1. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Team Penske Ford

Started: 12th

Finished: 5th

What happened: Cindric finally got his first “long overdue” top five of the 2026 season after his No. 2 team fully executed the race from start to finish. He helped put two Team Penske Fords in the top five, with teammate Ryan Blaney finishing third in the 293-lap event. Before placing fifth at Darlington, Cindric’s first five races of the year were finishes of 19th or worse.

What’s next: The No. 2 Team Penske Ford driver’s top-five day at Darlington moved him up to 21st in the Cup Series standings. Cindric hopes to keep progressing until he is in the top 16 in points, but his eight career starts at Martinsville have produced mixed results. In those eight starts, he has finished 15th or better four times, with the other four races being finishes of 23rd or worse.

Austin Cindric drives at Darlington.

2. Daniel Suárez, No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 11th

Finished: 7th

What happened: Suárez’s No. 7 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet ran strong all weekend in South Carolina. He was fourth in practice, 11th in qualifying and seventh in the race. From the time the green flag waved, Suárez rarely fell out of the top 10 during the race, earning his second top-10 finish of the season. One week after a squabble on pit road at Las Vegas Motor Speedway with former Trackhouse Racing teammate Ross Chastain, the 34-year-old Mexican driver moved on from that incident pretty quickly and locked in for a great result at Darlington.

What’s next: Martinsville is not one of Suárez’s strongest venues, scoring only two top 10s in his Cup Series career. He has also finished outside the top 20 in his last five races at the Virginia short track. However, given how the move to Spire has seemingly given him a “pep in his step,” Suárez could be in line for another strong showing.

3. Erik Jones, No. 43 Legacy Motor Club Toyota

Started: 24th

Finished: 10th

What happened: Once again, the No. 43 Legacy Motor Club driver used his past Darlington success to his advantage to move from 24th into the top 15 early in the race. However, Jones’ progress was interrupted in Stage 2 when Denny Hamlin got into his rear on Lap 111, sending the No. 43 Toyota spinning in Turn 3. The 29-year-old Byron, Michigan, native rallied to collect a top 10, his 10th career top-10 finish at the track “Too Tough to Tame.”

What’s next: With two top 10s in the last three Cup Series races, “That Jones Boy” will look to build momentum and click off more strong results for the No. 43 team. Gaining three spots and moving up to 24th in the standings, Jones will look ahead to Martinsville, hoping for a better run at the Virginia short track after finishing outside the top 30 in both races last year.

THREE DOWN ⬇️

1. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Started: 4th

Finished: 32nd

What happened: With 10 laps to go, Larson was running 11th and seemed destined for a solid result and points day at Darlington. However, the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet smacked the Turn 1 wall and suffered damage. Larson spent the final laps nursing his car home and simply trying to finish the race. Scoring points in the first two stages allowed him to salvage 19 points in all in what turned out to be a frustrating ending in South Carolina.

What’s next: If the defending Cup Series champion wants to break his 30-race winless streak, Martinsville might be the perfect destination to return to Victory Lane. Martinsville is one of Hendrick’s most successful tracks as an organization, and Larson has not finished worse than sixth in his last seven races at the “Paperclip.”

Kyle Larson enters his car at Darlington.

2. Joey Logano, No. 22 Team Penske Ford

Started: 29th

Finished: 33rd

What happened: The No. 22 team’s entire weekend at Darlington was a major head scratcher. Logano was 35th in practice, 29th in qualifying and 33rd in the race, three laps down. Speed was nonexistent from the time the No. 22 Team Penske Ford rolled off the hauler, which is very uncharacteristic of the group led by crew chief Paul Wolfe. Watching teammates Ryan Blaney and Austin Cindric pick up a pair of top fives for Team Penske made Logano’s lackluster performance more shocking.

What’s next: With Darlington proving to be “Too Tough to Tame” for Logano this time around, he dropped from 11th to 16th in the Cup Series standings. Look for the No. 22 Ford driver to return to form at Martinsville, where he has an impressive streak of 13 consecutive top-10 finishes.

3. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 23XI Racing Toyota

Started: 2nd

Finished: 34th

What happened: Wallace got off to a strong start with a fourth-place result in Stage 1 before a slow pit stop during the stage break cost the No. 23 Toyota driver 12 spots. The lost track position put Wallace in a treacherous spot as he was caught in an incident involving Jones and Hamlin on Lap 111. The damage was too much to overcome, with Wallace settling for his first finish of the 2026 season lower than 11th place. In reference to the slow pit stop that put him in harm’s way, Wallace told his team over the radio: “That’s what we [expletive] get.”

What’s next: The 23XI driver’s bad day at Darlington only cost him a spot in the Cup Series standings, leaving South Carolina third in points behind teammate Reddick and Team Penske’s Blaney. Before the misfortune at the “Lady in Black,” Wallace had five straight finishes of 11th or better. With Martinsville next on the schedule, the chances of rebounding seem high; Wallace has two top fives in the last four races at the Virginia short track.