XFINITY Series Darlington Raceway

NASCAR XFINITY Series

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Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200

Saturday, September 4th, 2021

Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC

  • 27 Chevrolet
  • 9 Toyota
  • 5 Ford

  • Darlington Raceway
  • Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
  • Pole Winner: Daniel Hemric
  • Age: 30
  • Team: No. 18 - Poppy Bank Toyota
  • Owner: Joe Gibbs Racing
  • Crew Chief: Dave Rogers
  • Start positions set by NASCAR's Performance Metrics Qualifying (PMQ).
  • Daniel Hemric won the Pole Award for the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 by having the highest total PMQ.
  • PMQ is a total number calculated on four performance metrics from the previous race:
  • 15% of the driver's fastest lap time position.
  • 25% of the driver's final race finish position.
  • 25% of the owner's final race position.
  • 35% of the Owner Points position.

  • Saturday, September 4th, 2021
  • NASCAR Wire Service - Reid Spencer
Noah Gragson snags first 2021 victory with strong run at Darlington

Fresh from the announcement of his return to JR Motorsports next year, Noah Gragson sped to victory at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, clinching a spot in the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs.

After pre-race favorite Denny Hamlin was sent to the rear under penalty for an equipment violation during a pit stop under caution on Lap 139, Gragson grabbed the lead from Daniel Hemric on Lap 143 and held it the rest of the way.

Gragson's victory in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at the 1.366-mile speedway was his first of the season, his first at Darlington and the third of his career.

After debris from a Hemric spin on Lap 144 caused the eighth caution of the afternoon and sent the race to overtime, Gragson surged ahead on the final restart and finished .218 seconds ahead of runner-up Harrison Burton.

Reigning series champion Austin Cindric ran third, closing to a single point his deficit to current series leader AJ Allmendinger, who finished 20th after pitting under the final caution because of a loose wheel.

"It's been way too long," said Gragson, who celebrated by climbing the frontstretch catchfence with his team after climbing from his car. "I hate that the 54 (Hamlin) ...something happened to him on pit road. It was pretty fun racing there.

"We made good adjustments on the pit stops ... And like you said, it's been way too long. A lot of frustration this year, and things haven't gone our way, but we're getting some momentum when we need to, and I just can't thank everybody enough on this No. 9 team."

Hamlin appeared headed for his sixth Xfinity Series victory at Darlington when Brandon Jones spun off Turn 4 on Lap 138 of a scheduled 147. On the ensuing pit stop for new tires, Hamlin's crew was penalized for bringing equipment over the wall too soon, ending the driver's chances for a win.

Gragson took the checkered flag on Lap 152 at the end of the only overtime attempt. The victory marked his fifth straight finish of seventh or better.

Cindric took advantage of Allmendinger's late issue to set up a tight battle for the regular-season championship with two races left before the 12-driver Playoff field is set.

"We did a solid job all day trying to execute but we weren't perfect," Cindric said. "I'm proud of what we gained today with the Snap-On Ford Mustang. It's definitely the best race I feel like I've had at Darlington, just having the strength and not having too many weaknesses.

"As a team, that takes a lot of conversations throughout the week to try to get that right, so we righted a lot of wrongs for me at this race track today. I feel good about that."

Justin Haley, last weekend's Daytona winner, finished fourth, followed by Kaulig racing teammate Jeb Burton. Justin Allgaier, Tyler Reddick, Jeremy Clements, Myatt Snider and Alex Labbe completed the top 10.

There were eight cautions for a total of 41 laps and 19 lead changes among eight drivers. Hamlin, who finished 12th, led a race-high 43 laps. Gragson was out front for 40 circuits.

According to Cindric, the fresh strip of pavement in Turn 2 seemed to gain grip throughout the race but did not play a significant role in the outcome.

"Today when we showed up it was a construction site, and now it's a race track," Cindric said. "That's the way I see it. It's dirty. It's new asphalt. We're the first cars to run on it. It gained grip throughout the day. It got cleaned throughout the day. It got more raceable throughout the day. I don't think it will be much of a story line tomorrow (in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series race)."

  • Drivers Entered: 41 (3 drivers will not make the race)
  • Laps Scheduled: 147
  • Laps Actual: 152 - NASCAR OVERTIME!
  • Margin of Victory: 0.219 Seconds
  • Time of Race: 2 Hours 1 Minutes 38 Seconds
  • Average Speed: 102.422
  • Cautions: 8 for 41 laps
  • Lead Changes: 19
  • Green Flag Passes: 1,191 (10.7 passes per green flag lap)

  • Darlington Raceway
  • 39th Annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
  • Race Winner: Noah Gragson
  • Age: 23
  • Team: No. 9 - Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet
  • Owner: Rick Hendrick
  • Crew Chief: David Elenz
  • Noah Gragson won the 39th Annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200, his third victory in 93 Xfinity Series races.
  • This is his first victory and 15th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in five races at Darlington Raceway.
  • Harrison Burton (second) posted his third top-10 finish in four races at Darlington Raceway. It is his 17th top-10 finish in 2021.
  • Austin Cindric (third) posted his third top-10 finish in six races at Darlington Raceway.
  • Jade Buford (21st) was the highest finishing rookie.
Noah Gragson celebrates in victory lane
Darlington, South Carolina - September 4, 2021 : Noah Gragson, driver of the #9 Bass Pro Shops/TrueTimber/BRCC Chevrolet, celebrates in the Ruoff Mortgage victory lane after winning the NASCAR Xfinity Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway.
Jared C TiltonGetty Images

Race weekend links appear as data becomes available.

Add 'value' metric based on historical points earned at that salary compared to drivers performance in this race. Finish Salary and Points trend for the data access again.

Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway Draftkings results
FINISH & PLACE DIFFERENTIAL POINTS FAST LAP POINTS LAPS LED POINTS TOTAL POINTS
RNK SLRY DRIVER TEAM # MAKE LAPS DR ST FIN FIN PTS PD PTS FST % FST FST PTS LED % LED LED PTS TOT PTS
1 9,900 Noah Gragson JR Motorsports 9 Chevrolet 152 135.80 8 1 45 7 18 17.82 8.10 40 26.3 10.00 70.10
5 9,400 Harrison Burton Joe Gibbs Racing 20 Toyota 152 112.00 6 2 42 4 3 2.97 1.35 0 0.0 0.00 47.35
2 11,300 Austin Cindric Team Penske 22 Ford 152 104.80 24 3 41 21 1 0.99 0.45 1 0.7 0.25 62.70
9 8,400 Justin Haley Kaulig Racing 11 Chevrolet 152 105.30 3 4 40 -1 1 0.99 0.45 4 2.6 1.00 40.45
11 8,300 Jeb Burton Kaulig Racing 10 Chevrolet 152 89.00 5 5 39 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 39.00
6 9,700 Justin Allgaier JR Motorsports 7 Chevrolet 152 114.60 4 6 38 -2 12 11.88 5.40 19 12.5 4.75 46.15
3 10,200 Tyler Reddick Our Motorsports 23 Chevrolet 152 84.30 28 7 37 21 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 58.00
8 7,300 Jeremy Clements Jeremy Clements Racing 51 Chevrolet 152 84.20 15 8 36 7 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 43.00
14 8,000 Myatt Snider Richard Childress Racing 2 Chevrolet 152 96.00 9 9 35 0 1 0.99 0.45 0 0.0 0.00 35.45
7 6,300 Alex Labbe DGM Racing 36 Chevrolet 152 70.30 22 10 34 12 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 46.00
16 7,500 Ryan Sieg RSS Racing 39 Ford 152 85.80 12 11 32 1 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 33.00
4 10,400 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing 54 Toyota 152 124.50 14 12 31 2 24 23.76 10.80 43 28.3 10.75 54.55
21 0 Ty Dillon N/A N/A N/A 152 72.00 10 13 30 -3 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 27.00
15 8,100 Michael Annett JR Motorsports 1 Chevrolet 152 86.00 19 14 29 5 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 34.00
18 5,300 Josh Williams DGM Racing 92 Chevrolet 152 70.50 16 15 28 1 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 29.00
20 6,200 Landon Cassill JD Motorsports 4 Chevrolet 152 69.80 17 16 27 1 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 28.00
10 6,500 Colin Garrett Sam Hunt Racing 26 Toyota 152 52.80 31 17 26 14 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 40.00
16 4,500 Mason Massey N/A 17 Chevrolet 152 58.80 26 18 25 8 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 33.00
12 5,000 Joe Graf Jr N/A 07 Chevrolet 152 51.30 32 19 24 13 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 37.00
27 9,000 AJ Allmendinger Kaulig Racing 16 Chevrolet 152 107.40 2 20 23 -18 10 9.9 4.50 24 15.8 6.00 15.50
23 4,600 Jade Buford Big Machine Racing 48 Chevrolet 152 58.50 20 21 21 -1 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 20.00
12 6,700 BJ McLeod DGM Racing 90 Chevrolet 152 59.20 39 22 20 17 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 37.00
18 4,700 Matt Mills BJ McLeod Motorsports 105 Toyota 152 44.70 33 23 19 10 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 29.00
30 9,200 Daniel Hemric Joe Gibbs Racing 18 Toyota 152 98.20 1 24 18 -23 24 23.76 10.80 18 11.8 4.50 10.30
24 4,900 Ryan Vargas JD Motorsports 6 Chevrolet 152 48.30 27 25 17 2 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 19.00
28 5,500 Jeffrey Earnhardt JD Motorsports 0 Chevrolet 152 46.70 21 26 16 -5 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 11.00
25 7,100 Colby Howard JD Motorsports 15 Chevrolet 152 35.80 30 27 15 3 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 18.00
32 7,600 Brandon Brown Brandonbilt Motorsports 68 Chevrolet 151 63.20 23 28 14 -5 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 9.00
22 10,800 Austin Dillon Jordan Anderson Racing 31 Chevrolet 151 74.90 35 29 13 6 4 3.96 1.80 0 0.0 0.00 20.80
35 4,800 David Starr Hattori Racing Enterprises 61 Toyota 151 39.20 18 30 12 -12 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00
26 5,600 Carson Ware Mike Harmon Racing 74 Chevrolet 151 32.50 38 31 10 7 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 17.00
28 5,400 Jesse Little BJ McLeod Motorsports 178 Toyota 150 31.70 34 32 9 2 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 11.00
35 10,600 Brandon Jones Joe Gibbs Racing 19 Toyota 146 53.80 25 33 8 -8 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 0.00
31 6,000 Kyle Weatherman Mike Harmon Racing 47 Chevrolet 134 41.70 37 34 7 3 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 10.00
33 5,800 Ryan Ellis BJ McLeod Motorsports 199 Ford 133 35.40 36 35 6 1 1 0.99 0.45 0 0.0 0.00 7.45
37 5,200 Timmy Hill Motorsports Business Management 66 Ford 116 47.70 29 36 5 -7 0 0 0.00 3 2.6 0.75 -1.25
38 5,100 Tommy Joe Martins Martins Motorsports 44 Chevrolet 108 61.80 13 37 4 -24 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 -20.00
40 7,800 Riley Herbst Stewart Haas Racing 98 Ford 107 74.50 7 38 3 -31 2 1.98 0.90 0 0.0 0.00 -27.10
39 8,800 Sam Mayer JR Motorsports 8 Chevrolet 45 31.70 11 39 2 -28 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 -26.00
34 6,900 Gray Gaulding N/A 52 Chevrolet 2 23.20 40 40 1 0 0 0 0.00 0 0.0 0.00 1.00