Ford Racing
| All three of NASCAR’s top national series will be in action this weekend as Darlington Raceway hosts a tripleheader beginning Friday night with the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series. Ford Racing has won two of the season’s first three races with F-150 drivers Chandler Smith and Layne Riggs while Mustang Dark Horse driver Ryan Blaney owns a win on the Cup side. |
 BLANEY THIRD IN STANDINGS Ryan Blaney continues to be the highest Ford Racing driver in the NASCAR Cup Series point standings as he sits third after five races. Even though he saw his streak of three straight top-10 finishes come to an end in Las Vegas, Blaney was more a victim of an ill-timed caution that resulted in a 16th-place result. In the last three weeks, Blaney has shown consistent speed, which includes being Ford’s best qualifier at Circuit of The Americas and Las Vegas, and a victory at Phoenix Raceway sandwiched .  RFK STILL ROLLING The RFK Racing trio of Brad Keselowski, Chris Buescher and Ryan Preece continued their solid start to the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season as all three finished 11th or better in Sunday’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Buescher finished a Ford-best sixth while Keselowski was 10th and Preece 11th. That marked the second time in five events that at least two RFK Mustangs finished in the top 10 (Daytona), which doesn’t include the Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium in which Preece won and Buescher was eighth. All three drivers are currently in the top 16 overall with Buescher ninth, Keselowski 12th and Preece 13th in the point standings. |
Chevrolet
BOWTIE BULLETS:
· Active Chevrolet drivers with a NASCAR Cup Series win at Darlington Raceway:
Kyle Larson – one win (2023 Southern 500)
William Byron – one win (May 2023)
Kyle Busch – one win (2008 Southern 500)
· In 129 NASCAR Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 44 victories. In eight events in the series’ Next Gen era, Chevrolet has earned three victories – recorded in consecutive events by Erik Jones (Sept. 2022), William Byron (May 2023) and Kyle Larson (Sept. 2023).
· With Kyle Larson and JR Motorsports win in the NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Chevrolet remains undefeated this season with five-straight wins – matching the series’ record for a season-opening streak by a single manufacturer, which Chevrolet previously set during the 1994 season.
· In 149 points-paying races in the NASCAR Cup Series Next Gen era, Chevrolet leads all manufacturers with 67 victories – a winning percentage of 44.9%.
· Chevrolet is coming off its 29th all-time sweep of the NASCAR Cup Series championship titles – capturing its 34th driver championship and 44th, and fifth consecutive, manufacturer championship in 2025.
NASCAR National Series – NCS/NOAPS/NCTS
Toyota takes four of first five races … With Denny Hamlin’s victory at Las Vegas Motor Speedway last weekend, Team Toyota has now captured four victories in the first five Cup Series races in 2026. Hamlin’s victory on Sunday also moved him solely into 10th on the all-time Cup Series wins list. Along with the victories, Toyota is well-positioned in the Cup Series points standings after five races, with five drivers inside the top-10, led by Tyler Reddick (first), Bubba Wallace (second), Hamlin (fourth), Christopher Bell (sixth) and Ty Gibbs (10th).
Toyota leading the way… Toyota drivers have now led the most laps in six consecutive races for just the second time in the manufacturer’s 20-year Cup Series history. Hamlin led the most laps in the 2025 finale at Phoenix Raceway and last weekend at Las Vegas. Bubba Wallace was the lap leader in the Daytona 500, while Tyler Reddick led the most laps in back-to-back races in Atlanta and COTA while Christopher Bell paced the most circuits in Phoenix two races ago. On the season, Toyota drivers have led more laps than Ford and Chevy drivers combined, with Toyota pacing 677 of the 1145 circuits completed this year – more than 59 percent.
Toyota searches for third consecutive Darlington win … Team Toyota enters this weekend at Darlington Raceway looking for its third straight win around the South Carolina oval. Hamlin captured victory in last year’s spring race, with Chase Briscoe following up the act with a win last fall in one of NASCAR’s crown jewel events, Southern 500. Overall, Toyota is seeking its 13th Cup Series win at Darlington on Sunday as the manufacturer celebrates its 20th season in NASCAR’s top series.
Bell doing triple header … Bell will have a busy weekend at Darlington Raceway, taking on the Cup Series, O’Reilly Auto Parts Series and Truck Series races. In the Cup Series with his normal Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) No. 20 Toyota Camry XSE team, Bell seeks his first win at Darlington after three top-fives and four top-10s in 13 career starts to-date. In the O’Reilly Series, Bell will pilot the No. 19 GR Supra for JGR, where he has a victory in 2024 and has been on the Darlington pole the last two years in the series. And in Trucks, Bell will be in the No. 62 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar-Friesen Racing, where he will make his first career Truck start at the 1.366-mile oval.
Catch the Race this Sunday on FS1.
