DARLINGTON, S.C. (AP) — Darlington Raceway is known by many names, including "Too Tough To Tame" and "The Lady In Black." Drivers are told they need to race the track, and not each other.
Darlington showed why that's the case on Sunday, as a pair of multi-car crashes mired the NASCAR Cup Series race.
Martin Truex, Jr. won the first segment of the race, and was trying to make a pass on the final lap of the second segment on leader Ross Chastain when the two made contact, sending Chastain into the wall and Truex spinning.
Truex recovered to restart third with 13 lasp to go, but the day went south again when he turned into Joey Logano while the two were running third and fourth. That touched off an eight-car accident, scrambling the field.
“When we got into (Ross) Chastain there at the end of the second stage going for the win in that, it knocked the toe out so we were tight from there on out," Truex said. "Just an unfortunate deal. There was plenty of room there, but he just came off the wall and hit me. Like I said, knocked the toe out in the right front. Pretty crappy from there and then on that restart I guess I just got real tight and I don’t even know who I squeezed into the wall, but I apologize to them. Probably my fault, just got real tight and couldn’t stay down the track.”
That wreck followed an earlier dustup when Erik Jones, who won the Southern 500 at Darlington last Labor Day weekend, had his right, rear tire spin off the car on lap 193 and immediately got sideways with those behind him having almost no chance to escape the wreck.
Those caught up behind Jones included Noah Gragson, Daniel Suarez, Austin Dillon, Ty Gibbs and Ryan Newman, who was competing in his first race since the the 2021 season finale as he returned to NASCAR with Rick Ware Racing.
ALL-TIMERS
Darlington Raceway continued its celebration of NASCAR's 75th anniversary with a gathering of 33 of those named as its 75 greatest drivers. The honorees included 95-year-old Herschel McGriff. The Hall of Famer McGriff competed in the first Southern 500 in 1950, driving from his home in Oregon to rural South Carolina, running the race — and finishing ninth — before taking the car back home across the country.
“I can't get away from racing,” McGriff said Sunday. “I'm 95, so I've got a few years left.”
UP NEXT
Next week is the NASCAR All-Star Open at revamped North Wilkesboro Speedway in North Carolina. The 0.625-mile short track was a regular on the NASCAR schedule from 1949 through 1996 before the series left. But after a spirited effort to revive the old, country track, owner Speedway Motorsports would host the all-star race as part of NASCAR's 75th anniversary celebration.
