NASCAR viewer’s guide: Darlington Raceway

NASCAR goes back in time this weekend at Darlington Raceway with the sport’s annual throwback weekend.

Paint schemes similar to those that raced years ago will be plentiful in the Cup, Xfinity and Camping World Truck Series this weekend. The Truck race is Friday (7:30 p.m. ET on FS1), the Xfinity race is Saturday (1:30 p.m. ET on FS1) and the Cup race is Sunday (3:30 p.m. ET on FS1).

Here is a look at the viewer’s guide for this weekend at Darlington:

There have been nine different winners in the first 11 Cup races. Among those who have yet to win this season are former champions Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr., Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano and Kurt Busch.

Drivers who won last year but remain winless this year are Ryan Blaney, Christopher Bell, Aric Almirola, Michael McDowell, Bubba Wallace, AJ Allmendinger, Kurt Busch, Logano and Keselowski.

In a season where Cup drivers under 30 have dominated, it is the veterans who could be the ones to watch at Darlington.

The win by the 26-year-old Chase Elliott at Dover on Monday marked the ninth time in 11 races a driver under 30 has won. The exceptions were Kyle Busch, who turned 37 this week, winning last month on the dirt at Bristol and 41-year-old Denny Hamlin winning at Richmond.

The last five Darlington races have all been won by a driver older than 35 years old. Denny Hamlin and Kevin Harvick have won twice each. Martin Truex Jr. won the other race in that stretch. The last driver under 30 to win at Darlington was Erik Jones, who won the 2019 Southern 500 at the age of 23.

For Hamlin to win again at Darlington, he’ll have to do so without crew chief Chris Gabehart and two pit crew members. They were suspended four races each after a wheel came off Hamlin’s car at Dover.

Kyl