By Roy J. Akers – wwww.skyviewsports.net
Much has been said about the ‘Lady in Black’ and the ‘track too tough to tame.’ Most likely, it will be a veteran driver who wins the race and managing tire wear the best will allow a driver and team to take home the checkered flag. Drivers will need to drive along the outside wall and picking up the Darlington stripe is a given. Just hope your tires don’t blow when driving to the outside wall.
It’s time to drop the green flag.
Stage One
Brad Keselowski leads under green flag conditions at the race’s quarter mark. The #6 Ford driver has moved up from his fifth starting position to lead 23 laps so far. Ryan Blaney runs second, 3.201 seconds behind, with Bubba Wallace in third.
The race has seen just one lead change between two different leaders, with no cautions through the first 68 laps. The field has maintained a clean race with an average speed of 150.331 mph.
Stage Two
The field is under caution at the one-third mark with Tyler Reddick leading in the No. 45 Toyota. This marks the first caution period of the day, with seven laps run under yellow so far. The race has seen just two lead changes among three different leaders.
Reddick, who started from the pole position, has led 45 laps and maintains a 0.715-second advantage over Kyle Larson in the No. 5 Chevrolet. Chris Buescher runs third in the No. 17 Ford, 1.538 seconds behind the leader.
By lap 132, RFK Racing now runs 1-2-3 with Brad Keselowski leading, followed by Chris Buescher in second and Ryan Preece in third position. All three Ford’s pit on lap 145, Elliott inherits the lead.
Chris Buescher has caught Brad Keselowski and is challenging for the lead. BK wins the stage. Four of the top eight drivers race for Ford. There has only been one caution for cause.
Final Stage
BK and Briscoe are running 1-2 to start the stage. Riley Herbst spins his 35 Camry with 98 to go, bringing the fourth caution of the race. Tire wear has taken all but three or four sets with 91 laps to go. Gibbs, Buescher, and Saurez are among six cars that do not pit and are running 1-2-3.
Brad Keselowski gets under Chase Briscoe in a battle for third, with both making contact between Turns 1-2 as Tyler Reddick closes behind them. Keselowski clears for the spot in Turn 4, while Reddick gets under Briscoe for fourth. BK now 1.08 seconds behind Buescher. The 17 is turned by Reddick and he slides into the wall but recovers. No caution with 51 to go. Reddick inherits the lead but has not pitted and his crew chief is splitting the stage.
Surprises. Ty Gibbs is 5th. Carson Hocevar is the leading Chevy racing 8th. Twenty-four drivers are on the lead lap. Reddick wins for the 4th time in 2026 after having an alternator problem. Ford has three in the top-five.
Checkered Flag
Reddick wins for the fourth time in 2026 after a two-race winless streak. Reddick had the best car all day and dominated after the final pit stop. Reddick on the win. “I know never to give up. I think it’s very fitting that when we finally get our first win here at Darlington that the lady in black would test us like that. We’ve been so close so many times. I mean, lap one we had the charging problem where the battery wasn’t charging at all. All day long just not running fans. Sweat my tail off inside the race car, and we knew it was going to be physical.”
Tale of the Tape
They Said It…
BRAD KESELOWSKI, No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford Mustang Dark Horse – WHAT DID YOU NEED AT THE END? “A lot. Tyler was really, really fast. Those problems earlier in the race that he got kind of buried and he was just methodical. He did a great job. He took the fastest car and ran an amazing race. When he was by me he was way faster. We had to fall into racing the track and even at the end I think he was managing it pretty hard, so, all in all, it’s a great day for us. We won two stages, led a lot of laps, scored a bunch of points, so a lot to be proud of.”
WHAT KIND OF ENERGY DOES THIS INJECT INTO THE TEAM? “It’s great. I was joking when we walked out of the garage area last night after qualifying that we’re on the right side of the garage area. Our hauler is parked to the right side and we’re just showing ourselves as a team that is highly capable.”
MJ just needs to show up to the racetrack and his driver overcomes everything. I don’t even know where to begin. All the issues for him that he overcame, MJ. What was that like watching from your perspective?
MICHAEL JORDAN: I’m pretty sure it’s frustrating for him because he had an unbelievable car. You know, you never know what’s going to happen, especially at Darlington. I think that the key to him winning was just keeping his head.
I think Billy did a good job of trying to keep him calm. We knew we had a fast car. We knew on a 30-lap run we were real good, on a short-lap run we were real good. We just had to get the car right. And he kept his composure, and he did an unbelievable job.
Fantasy
After the 269 point performance at LVMS, we still have a lot heavy hitters in the lineup. Recent Darlington Raceway NASCAR Cup Series winners include Chase Briscoe and Brad Keselowski (2024), Kyle Larson and William Byron (2023), and Erik Jones and Joey Logano (2022). Denny Hamlin holds the most wins among active drivers, while NASCAR Hall of Famer David Pearson holds the all-time record with 10 victories, according to the Nascar Hall of Fame
Another good day for the Sky View Sports team. 242 points including two matchup wins. Our best pick was Reddick and Keselowski who finished 1-2. Our worst pick was Bubba Wallace.
Factoids that may only interest me
Pole sitter Tyler Reddick has led laps in six consecutive Darlington races.
Six races and Chevy does not have a win in 2026. The longest drought since 2019.
