NASCAR at Darlington: How to watch, schedule and favorites for throwback weekend (2024)

Kansas Speedway provided the closest finish in NASCAR Cup Series history last week. Now, drivers head to the track that previously held the record: Darlington Raceway.

Darlington has been a mainstay on the Cup schedule since 1950, with 125 races run over the past 75 years. Nowadays, there are two trips to the South Carolina track each season – the throwback race on Mother’s Day and the historic Southern 500 on Labor Day Weekend.

Teams will bring their best old school paint schemes to the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped oval and hope for a victory at the “Track Too Tough to Tame.”

What’s in store for Sunday’s race? Who are the favorites? What’s the schedule? And who has the best throwback design? Here’s everything you need to know for the 2024 Goodyear 400:

NASCAR at Darlington entry list

Thirty-six drivers will race at Darlington – the 34 full-timers, plus two others.

Kaz Grala will pilot the No. 15 for Rick Ware Racing as he continues his part-time effort and Derek Kraus will make his fourth start for Kaulig Racing. It’s also worth noting that Erik Jones will return after missing the last two races with a compression fracture from his crash at Talladega.

Here’s the full entry list for Darlington:

When is the NASCAR race this weekend in Darlington?

The Goodyear 400 at Darlington is set for Sunday, May 12, at 3 p.m. ET.

Before the race, there will be practice and qualifying sessions. The 36-car field will be split into two groups (found here), with each group practicing for 20 minutes on Saturday.

Qualifying starts immediately after practice. Each car from the two groups will make one lap in the first round, with the five fastest cars in each group advancing. In the final round, the remaining drivers each get one lap to set the top 10 starting order, with positions 11 through 36 set based on first round times.

NASCAR TV schedule this weekend in Darlington

Saturday, May 11 (FS1 and streaming online)

• Practice: 10:30 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
• Qualifying: 11:20 a.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com

Sunday, May 12 (FS1 and streaming online)

• NASCAR RaceDay: 1:30 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com
• Goodyear 400: 3 p.m. ET, FS1, FOXSports.com

NASCAR Darlington past winners, race history

There are eight former Darlington winners who will race on Sunday – but none have been more successful than Denny Hamlin. The veteran has four wins at the track to lead all active drivers.

Martin Truex Jr. (2) and Erik Jones (2) join Hamlin as the only other multi-time winners. The one-time winners include Kyle Busch (2008), Brad Keselowski (2018), Joey Logano (2022), William Byron (2023) and Kyle Larson (2023).

NASCAR at Darlington favorites, drivers to watch

It takes a special skill to win at Darlington.

The unique track design requires drivers to get as close to the wall as possible in the corners in order to maximize their speed. Plus, the aged track surface does damage on tires and forces everyone to manage their equipment.

So, as aforementioned, Hamlin is the best at doing those things. Not only does he lead the field with four wins, he also tops the chart in top-fives (12), top-10s (16), laps led (978), average finish (8.4), average start (8.8) and driver rating (107.2).

Larson, fresh off his win in Kansas, is another driver to watch. He won the Southern 500 last fall and is second to Hamlin in average finish (9.4), average start (9.3) and driver rating (106.7).

Beyond those two, Byron (defending race winner), Truex (seven stage wins) and Tyler Reddick (11.3 average finish) are three potential contenders. Jones is typically impressive at Darlington (11.8 average finish), but Legacy Motor Club hasn’t had top-end speed this season and it’s risky to expect his usual form in the first race back from injury.

NASCAR throwback paint schemes for Darlington

Here’s a look at all the throwback schemes for the Goodyear 400: