NASCAR Xfinity Series returns to action following 10-week hiatus
By Mark Kristl
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is set to return to action at Darlington Raceway. Here is what transpired this season before the hiatus due to COVID-19.
The NASCAR Xfinity Series is back! The series is scheduled to compete at Darlington Raceway on Tuesday, May 19 in its first race after sports shut down due to COVID-19. The pandemic forced NASCAR to postpone all sanctioned races and there was no live racing in April. NASCAR spent over two of the first four-plus months of the year without live racing.
Now that there is a definitive race on the schedule for the Xfinity Series, let’s take a look at what has transpired this season thus far. Moreover, what are the details surrounding the return of the series?
Noah Gragson won the season opener at Daytona International Speedway. Chase Briscoe then won the rain-delayed race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Joe Gibbs Racing teammates Harrison Burton and Brandon Jones won the races at Auto Club Speedway and Phoenix Raceway, respectively.
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Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASCAR postponed the Xfinity Series races at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Texas Motor Speedway, Bristol Motor Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway and Dover International Speedway.
On Thursday, April 30, NASCAR announced that the Xfinity Series would return at Darlington Raceway before another race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, with both races being weekday races. Additionally, neither race will have fans in attendance.
To minimize costs to teams and to prevent someone from contracting the coronavirus, neither race will have a practice or qualifying session attached to it. The first time drivers will drive on the race track will be in the race itself.
So how will the starting lineups be determined? For both races, positions 1 through 12 will be randomly drawn for the teams in those positions in the owner standings. Positions 13 through 24 and positions 25 through 36 will use the same format. The last four positions, 37 through 40, will simply be set via the owner standings.
Yes, NASCAR increased the field size to 40 drivers for the Xfinity Series races for which there will be no qualifying.
Without qualifying, NASCAR also announced that there will be competition cautions during those races. The race at Darlington Raceway is set to have a competition caution at lap 15.
The race at Darlington Raceway, the Darlington 200, is set to consist of 147 laps around the four-turn, 1.366-mile (2.198-kilometer) oval in Darlington, South Carolina, with the first stage set to end at lap 45 and the second stage set to end at lap 90.
The Xfinity Series traditionally races at the egg-shaped oval on Labor Day weekend. Those plans haven’t changes, so the series is slated to race at the track twice this year for the first time since the 2004 season.
Kyle Busch is the only driver entered in Tuesday evening’s race who has won at the track before. Of the 39 drivers entered in the race, Justin Allgaier, Michael Annett and Brandon Jones have scored the most points there in the past three races.
Ross Chastain will be another driver to keep an eye on. He took the pole position for the 2018 race at Darlington Raceway and led 90 of the147 laps. Rest assured, he’ll have a fast #10 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet.
The race at Charlotte Motor Speedway is the Alsco 300. It is set to consist of 200 laps around the four-turn, 1.5-mile (2.414-kilometer) oval in Concord, North Carolina, with the first two stages set to end at lap 45 and lap 90, respectively.
In the past three races there, Brandon Jones, Ryan Sieg and Daniel Hemric have scored the most points. Busch is also slated to compete in that race.
In his lone Xfinity Series start at the track, Justin Haley started in 35th place and finished fifth. Without qualifying, Haley is set start toward the front, as his #11 Kaulig Racing Chevrolet sits in seventh place in the owner standings. He drew the third position, so he will also be a driver to watch.
Whoever wins these two races will go to victory lane, but it will a mild celebration.
Have had questions about Victory Lane ... The winning driver will do live TV and radio interviews near the start/finish line with use of a boom mic. The driver will go to victory lane for photos with trophy & winner sticker but no other team members.
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 11, 2020
NASCAR recently announced the schedule for the Xfinity Series after the races at Darlington Raceway and Charlotte Motor Speedway as well. It includes one race at Bristol Motor Speedway, one race at Atlanta Motor Speedway, two races at Homestead-Miami Speedway and one race at Talladega Superspeedway. The Xfinity Series has returned!
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The 2020 Darlington 200 is scheduled to take place on Tuesday, May 19 beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET with live TV coverage provided by Fox Sports 1.