Darlington drama: Frustration, elation, irritation swirl at historic track

DARLINGTON, S.C. — One name was prominent Sunday night at Darlington. One performance was overlooked. One ruling was questioned.

There was much to dissect after more than 400 miles at one of NASCAR’s oldest tracks.

Ross Chastain didn’t win, but he was the talk of many after the race. William Byron won, and he made the case to be the early championship favorite. Other drivers questioned how NASCAR set the running order late.

Chastain again was the focus. Team owner Rick Hendrick rebuked Chastain for an incident in the final laps with Kyle Larson while racing for the lead.

“I don’t care if he’s driving a Chevrolet if he wrecks our cars,” Hendrick said of Chastain, who drives a Chevy for Trackhouse Racing. “I don’t care. I told Chevrolet that. If you wreck us, you’re going to get it back. If you don’t do it, they’ll run all over you.

“I’m loyal to Chevrolet, but when somebody runs over us, then I expect my guys to hold their ground. I’m not going to ask them to yield just because of Chevrolet.”

Hendrick’s voice was only the latest in a growing chorus in the garage against Chastain.

Consider the last four races for Chastain:

While Hendrick was upset with Chastain after the race, Hendrick still had reason to celebrate. Byron’s victory was his third of the season. All of Byron’s wins have come at what will be the most important tracks in the playoffs.

Byron has won at Darlington, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Byron also has placed in the top 10 this season at six of the seven tracks that will host a playoff race.

“I think we’re safely in a groove here where we’ve got to continue our processes, continue what got us here,” Byron said. “It definitely feels different than what we had last year — where I felt like after we won those