The 2024 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 was the 23rd stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped racetrack. The race wass scheduled to be contested over 147 laps but was extended to 150 laps due to an overtime finish. Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would stay consistent throughout the race, after scoring the pole, leading 108 laps and winning after leading when A. J. Allmendinger got a flat tire on the final lap, bringing out the caution. This was Bell’s nineteenth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second of the season. To fill out the podium, Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Sheldon Creed, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.
| Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Race 23 of 33 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series | |||
 | |||
| Date | August 31, 2024 | ||
| Official name | 42nd Annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 | ||
| Location | Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina | ||
| Course |
Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km) | ||
| Distance | 150 laps, 204 mi (329 km) | ||
| Scheduled Distance | 147 laps, 200 mi (323 km) | ||
| Average speed | 110.94 mph (178.54 km/h) | ||
| Pole position | |||
| Driver | Joe Gibbs Racing | ||
| Time | 29.828 | ||
| Most laps led | |||
| Driver | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Laps | 108 | ||
| Winner | |||
| No. 20 | Christopher Bell | Joe Gibbs Racing | |
| Television in the United States | |||
| Network | USA | ||
| Announcers | Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte | ||
| Radio in the United States | |||
| Radio | MRN | ||
Report
editBackground
edit
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Surface issues
editDarlington Raceway was last repaved following the May 2007 meeting (from 2005 to 2019, there was only one meeting; the second meeting was reinstated in 2020), and from 2008 to 2019, there was one night race. In 2020, a day race returned to the schedule, and instead of two races (one Xfinity and one Cup) during the entire year, the track hosted six races (three Cup, two Xfinity, and one Truck). The circuit kept repairing the circuit with patches during each summer before the annual Cup race in September. The circuit's narrow Turn 2 rapidly deteriorated with cracks in the tarmac allowing water to seep in the circuit. In July 2021, the circuit repaved a six hundred foot section at the entrance of Turn 2 and ending at the exit of the turn to repair the tarmac and resolve the issue for safety and to reduce the threat of weepers and surface issues in that section of the circuit.
Entry list
edit- (R) denotes rookie driver.
- (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
editThe first and only practice session was held on Saturday, August 31, at 10:35 AM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.[9] Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.013, and a speed of 163.603 mph (263.294 km/h).
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 30.013 | 163.849 |
| 2 | 30 | Noah Gragson (i) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | 30.058 | 163.604 |
| 3 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 30.073 | 163.522 |
| Full practice results | ||||||
Qualifying
editQualifying was held on Saturday, August 31, at 11:05 AM EST.[9] Since Darlington Raceway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. Drivers will be on track by themselves and will have one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.[10]
Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.828, and a speed of 164.865 mph (265.324 km/h).[11]
Dawson Cram was the only driver who failed to qualify.
Qualifying results
editRace results
editStage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 2 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 9 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 6 |
| 6 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 |
| 7 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 14 | Chad Finchum | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 3 |
| 9 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 2 |
| 10 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 2 Laps: 45
| Pos. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 10 |
| 2 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 0 |
| 3 | 16 | A. J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 8 |
| 4 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 |
| 5 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 6 |
| 6 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart–Haas Racing | Ford | 5 |
| 7 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 4 |
| 8 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 3 |
| 9 | 30 | Noah Gragson (i) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | 0 |
| 10 | 17 | Chase Elliott (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 |
Stage 3 Laps: 57
| Pos. [12] | St. | # | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | 20 | Christopher Bell (i) | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 108 | Running | 0 |
| 2 | 21 | 00 | Cole Custer | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 42 |
| 3 | 2 | 18 | Sheldon Creed | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 30 | Running | 50 |
| 4 | 16 | 17 | Chase Elliott (i) | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 5 | 11 | 8 | Sammy Smith | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 44 |
| 6 | 23 | 2 | Jesse Love (R) | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 31 |
| 7 | 26 | 97 | Shane Van Gisbergen (R) | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 8 | 5 | 81 | Chandler Smith | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 30 |
| 9 | 6 | 21 | Austin Hill | Richard Childress Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 41 |
| 10 | 20 | 7 | Justin Allgaier | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 37 |
| 11 | 15 | 19 | Joe Graf Jr. | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 12 | 24 | 92 | Ross Chastain (i) | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 13 | 10 | 48 | Parker Kligerman | Big Machine Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 34 |
| 14 | 27 | 88 | Carson Kvapil | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 23 |
| 15 | 29 | 30 | Noah Gragson (i) | Rette Jones Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 16 | 30 | 11 | Josh Williams | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 21 |
| 17 | 17 | 27 | Jeb Burton | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 20 |
| 18 | 13 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 19 |
| 19 | 22 | 38 | Matt DiBenedetto | RSS Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 18 |
| 20 | 28 | 44 | Brennan Poole | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 17 |
| 21 | 34 | 43 | Ryan Ellis | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 16 |
| 22 | 31 | 28 | Kyle Sieg | RSS Racing | Ford | 150 | 0 | Running | 15 |
| 23 | 33 | 42 | Leland Honeyman (R) | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 14 |
| 24 | 35 | 35 | David Starr | Joey Gase Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 13 |
| 25 | 12 | 26 | Corey Heim (i) | Sam Hunt Racing | Toyota | 150 | 0 | Running | 0 |
| 26 | 14 | 5 | Anthony Alfredo | Our Motorsports | Chevrolet | 150 | 0 | Running | 11 |
| 27 | 4 | 16 | A.J. Allmendinger | Kaulig Racing | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 26 |
| 28 | 3 | 1 | Sam Mayer | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 149 | 11 | Running | 9 |
| 29 | 38 | 07 | Greg Van Alst | SS-Green Light Racing | Chevrolet | 149 | 0 | Running | 8 |
| 30 | 36 | 45 | Garrett Smithley | Alpha Prime Racing | Chevrolet | 148 | 1 | Running | 7 |
| 31 | 25 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Jeremy Clements Racing | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 6 |
| 32 | 7 | 9 | Brandon Jones | JR Motorsports | Chevrolet | 146 | 0 | Running | 5 |
| 33 | 37 | 14 | Chad Finchum | SS-Green Light Racing | Ford | 142 | 0 | Running | 7 |
| 34 | 32 | 29 | Blaine Perkins | RSS Racing | Ford | 133 | 0 | Running | 3 |
| 35 | 8 | 98 | Riley Herbst | Stewart-Haas Racing | Ford | 129 | 0 | Running | 2 |
| 36 | 9 | 31 | Parker Retzlaff | Jordan Anderson Racing | Chevrolet | 125 | 0 | Running | 1 |
| 37 | 19 | 91 | Kyle Weatherman | DGM Racing | Chevrolet | 54 | 0 | Accident | 1 |
| 38 | 18 | 15 | Joey Logano (i) | AM Racing | Ford | 12 | 0 | Engine | 0 |
Standings after the race
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References
edit- ^ "2024 schedule". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "Darlington Raceway". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Media Group, LLC. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Entry list" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 30, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Practice Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Qualifying Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Starting lineup" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Race Results" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "Points standings" (PDF). Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. August 31, 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series Darlington Raceway Summer Race Page". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. December 7, 2023. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ "2024 NASCAR Qualifying Procedures". Jayski.com. Jayski's Silly Season Site. Retrieved June 11, 2024.
- ^ Christie, Toby (August 31, 2024). "Christopher Bell Scores Pole in JGR Front Row Sweep for Xfinity Race at Darlington". TobyChristie.com. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
- ^ "2024 Sports Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 - Racing Reference". Racing-Reference.info. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. August 23, 2024. Retrieved September 1, 2024.