The post-race loop data for the 2024 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway includes in-depth driver stats, average speeds, and key performance metrics from the NASCAR XFINITY Series race.
Saturday, August 31st, 2024
Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC
The cutoff race for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Playoffs won’t take place until Friday, Sept. 20 at Bristol Motor Speedway, leaving plenty of time for drivers to jockey for position on the Playoff grid.
That said, for practical purposes, the race to qualify for the Playoffs on points features a small field. Ryan Sieg leads Sammy Smith by 15 points for the final Playoff-eligible position entering Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway (3:30 p.m. on USA, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).
Among winless drivers in the series, Parker Kligerman leads Smith by 44 points, Sheldon Creed holds a 93-point edge, and AJ Allmendinger enjoys a 113-point cushion with four races left in the regular season.
Drivers below Smith in the standings are almost certainly in a win-or-bust position. Brandon Jones in 14th place trails Sieg for the last spot in the 12-driver Playoff field by 108 points.
Xfinity drivers hoping to advance to the Playoffs by winning a race, however, will face several substantial obstacles at Darlington. Full-time NASCAR Cup Series drivers Christopher Bell, Chase Elliott, Joey Logano, Ross Chastain and Noah Gragson are running both races this weekend.
At the top of the Xfinity standings, Justin Allgaier has seized control of the Regular Season Championship race on the strength of seven straight top-10 finishes, including an Aug. 17 win at Michigan.
Allgaier holds a 33-point lead over reigning series champion Cole Custer, who finished 30th at Michigan and 32nd last Friday at Daytona. Custer, however, has finished in the top-four in five of his six Xfinity starts at Darlington, including a win in 2019.
“Honestly, we just need to leave the bad luck behind us,” Custer said. “Michigan and Daytona were just miserable. In such a good season, we were forced to park our car early in incidents outside of our own doing. Those days are tough as a driver. You replay what you could’ve done differently in your head, but you can’t dwell on it too long.
“This stretch here is so weird, with so many superspeedway races in a month-and-a-half. We’ve got one of my best tracks with Darlington, though, and I’m planning to use that to my advantage.
“We lost the points lead last weekend, which is hard. We still have a shot to fight for it, though. We just need to get back to where we were. Luckily, we’re locked into the Playoffs, but I’m hoping to find our way back to the top of the leaderboard again.”
Technically, Custer isn’t locked into the Playoffs quite yet. With one victory to his credit this season, he will clinch a Playoff berth if he wins on Saturday or if another driver who already has a victory wins again.
The same scenario also applies to single-race winners Riley Herbst and Jesse Love.
Christopher Bell survived a near-disaster with Cole Custer on the first lap of overtime and held on to win Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 over Custer and snakebit Sheldon Creed.
During a green-flag run that started on lap 97 of 150, Creed caught and passed Bell for the lead on Lap 139 and was poised to claim his first NASCAR Xfinity Series victory after a record 11 runner-up finishes in the series.
But Kaulig Racing’s AJ Allmendinger slapped the outside wall on Lap 143, causing the sixth caution of the afternoon, and Creed lost the top spot with a slow 15-second stop on pit road, thanks to issues with the right rear tire.
Creed restarted third behind Bell in the outside lane. Contact between the cars of Bell and Stewart-Haas Racing’s Custer on the backstretch got both cars out of shape below the normal racing line, but the drivers recovered and held their positions.
“That was wild, for sure,” said Bell, who started from the pole and led 108 laps. “I thought I was headed nose-first into the inside wall… It’s a tough race track, and off of (Turn) 2, whether you’re on the bottom of the top, it flushes you to the wall, and then you kind of get a little bit of a wiggle coming down.
“Once again, I feel terrible for Sheldon, to essentially win the race on the long run there and then lose it on pit road. It’s a big bummer… It seemed like our car was really good on the short runs. Obviously, the 18, Sheldon, was really good on the long runs.
“Unfortunately for him, the race played out differently, and fortunately for us, we got another shot at it.”
The victory was Bell’s second of the season in as many starts, with the first victory having come at New Hampshire in June. But Bell’s triumph came at the expense of his Joe Gibbs Racing teammate.
As expected, Creed was disconsolate as he reflected on the race that got away.
“I lost one the same way a few years ago here,” lamented Creed, who led 30 laps and was pulling away from Bell before the final caution. “This has been a really good place for me. I’ve always loved racing here. Man, I don’t know if we could be any better than that.
“I felt like I put in one of my best performances today… Man, it’s a bummer. I’m so proud of everyone at Joe Gibbs Racing on this 18 team. I took a chance on myself and brought all the money we could. I’m literally not even making a dollar this year.”
Creed will leave Joe Gibbs Racing to drive a Ford for the Haas Factory Team next year.
NASCAR Cup Series driver Chase Elliott finished fourth, followed by Sammy Smith, who leap-frogged Ryan Sieg into the final Playoff-eligible position on points. Smith leads Sieg by 10 points with three races left in the Xfinity regular season.
Jesse Love, Shane van Gisbergen, Chandler Smith, Austin Hill and Justin Allgaier completed the top 10.
Creed did pick up his first stage win of the season, beating Bell to the finish line in Stage 2. Bell won the opening 45-lap stage over Hill.
DRIVER | ST | MID | CLO | FIN | HI | LOW | ARP | PL DIF | GFP | GFxP | PD | QPS | % QPS | FST | % T15 | LED | % LED | LAPS | DR | TOT PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Christopher Bell | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1.3 | 0 | 8 | 9 | -1 | 8 | 100.00 | 32 | 100.0 | 108 | 72.0 | 150 | 150.00 | 0 |
Cole Custer | 21 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 21 | 7.9 | 19 | 32 | 19 | 13 | 26 | 81.25 | 3 | 93.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 104.50 | 42 |
Sheldon Creed | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 16 | 2.5 | -1 | 13 | 14 | -1 | 13 | 100.00 | 16 | 99.3 | 30 | 20.0 | 150 | 123.20 | 50 |
Chase Elliott | 16 | 13 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 21 | 11.6 | 12 | 34 | 32 | 2 | 25 | 73.53 | 0 | 86.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 92.50 | 0 |
Sammy Smith | 11 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 17 | 7.0 | 6 | 24 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 100.00 | 3 | 98.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 104.30 | 44 |
Jesse Love | 23 | 11 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 29 | 12.9 | 17 | 50 | 36 | 14 | 22 | 44.00 | 0 | 70.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 88.20 | 31 |
Shane van Gisbergen | 26 | 14 | 8 | 7 | 3 | 26 | 13.0 | 19 | 39 | 24 | 15 | 26 | 66.67 | 0 | 76.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 88.20 | 30 |
Chandler Smith | 5 | 9 | 12 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 9.0 | -3 | 22 | 34 | -12 | 22 | 100.00 | 0 | 100.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 91.30 | 30 |
Austin Hill | 6 | 6 | 10 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 5.6 | -3 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 21 | 100.00 | 4 | 100.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 104.30 | 41 |
Justin Allgaier | 20 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 20 | 6.6 | 10 | 35 | 20 | 15 | 29 | 82.86 | 3 | 95.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 102.30 | 37 |
Joe Graf Jr | 15 | 21 | 13 | 11 | 8 | 29 | 20.4 | 4 | 39 | 36 | 3 | 7 | 17.95 | 0 | 27.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 69.30 | 26 |
Ross Chastain | 24 | 17 | 15 | 12 | 9 | 24 | 16.4 | 12 | 34 | 24 | 10 | 14 | 41.18 | 0 | 41.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 74.70 | 0 |
Parker Kligerman | 10 | 8 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 17 | 8.6 | -3 | 26 | 27 | -1 | 24 | 92.31 | 0 | 99.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 91.20 | 34 |
Carson Kvapil | 27 | 18 | 11 | 14 | 6 | 27 | 17.1 | 13 | 34 | 29 | 5 | 6 | 17.65 | 0 | 39.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 72.70 | 23 |
Noah Gragson | 29 | 10 | 17 | 15 | 9 | 29 | 14.9 | 14 | 41 | 25 | 16 | 21 | 51.22 | 0 | 56.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 76.00 | 0 |
Josh Williams | 30 | 16 | 16 | 16 | 13 | 30 | 17.6 | 14 | 38 | 32 | 6 | 5 | 13.16 | 0 | 20.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 67.50 | 21 |
Jeb Burton | 17 | 19 | 22 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 21.5 | 0 | 23 | 36 | -13 | 2 | 8.70 | 0 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 57.80 | 20 |
Ryan Sieg | 13 | 15 | 18 | 18 | 11 | 23 | 15.3 | -5 | 36 | 36 | 0 | 23 | 63.89 | 0 | 60.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 69.30 | 19 |
Matt DiBenedetto | 22 | 20 | 20 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 22.2 | 3 | 50 | 23 | 27 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 56.80 | 18 |
Brennan Poole | 28 | 22 | 21 | 20 | 10 | 28 | 20.5 | 8 | 45 | 38 | 7 | 2 | 4.44 | 0 | 2.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 58.70 | 17 |
Ryan Ellis | 34 | 24 | 23 | 21 | 21 | 34 | 24.8 | 13 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 50.80 | 16 |
Kyle Sieg | 31 | 23 | 19 | 22 | 19 | 31 | 21.9 | 9 | 35 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 55.20 | 15 |
Leland Honeyman Jr | 33 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 36 | 26.3 | 10 | 24 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 46.00 | 14 |
David Starr | 35 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 35 | 27.2 | 11 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 42.00 | 13 |
Corey Heim | 12 | 12 | 27 | 25 | 8 | 28 | 16.9 | -13 | 37 | 54 | -17 | 25 | 67.57 | 7 | 51.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 73.80 | 0 |
Anthony Alfredo | 14 | 29 | 26 | 26 | 10 | 34 | 28.2 | -12 | 14 | 25 | -11 | 3 | 21.43 | 10 | 4.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 150 | 53.70 | 11 |
AJ Allmendinger | 4 | 3 | 5 | 27 | 2 | 29 | 5.3 | -23 | 16 | 19 | -3 | 14 | 87.50 | 6 | 94.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 149 | 96.40 | 26 |
Sam Mayer | 3 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 1 | 34 | 23.1 | -25 | 15 | 45 | -30 | 7 | 46.67 | 18 | 26.0 | 11 | 7.4 | 149 | 96.30 | 9 |
Greg Van Alst | 38 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 38 | 30.3 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 149 | 31.80 | 8 |
Garrett Smithley | 36 | 28 | 30 | 30 | 1 | 36 | 29.6 | 6 | 15 | 16 | -1 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 1.3 | 1 | 0.7 | 148 | 33.00 | 7 |
Jeremy Clements | 25 | 31 | 31 | 31 | 20 | 36 | 30.9 | -6 | 14 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0.00 | 9 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 146 | 37.80 | 6 |
Brandon Jones | 7 | 32 | 32 | 32 | 7 | 32 | 24.9 | -25 | 20 | 27 | -7 | 15 | 75.00 | 1 | 29.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 146 | 62.50 | 5 |
Chad Finchum | 37 | 33 | 33 | 33 | 6 | 37 | 28.7 | 4 | 34 | 25 | 9 | 9 | 26.47 | 2 | 12.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 142 | 39.50 | 7 |
Blaine Perkins | 32 | 34 | 34 | 34 | 30 | 37 | 34.9 | -2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 133 | 29.20 | 3 |
Riley Herbst | 8 | 35 | 35 | 35 | 7 | 35 | 32.7 | -27 | 3 | 31 | -28 | 2 | 66.67 | 0 | 8.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 129 | 40.50 | 2 |
Parker Retzlaff | 9 | 37 | 36 | 36 | 9 | 38 | 36.8 | -27 | 2 | 29 | -27 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0.0 | 125 | 31.50 | 1 |
Kyle Weatherman | 19 | 36 | 37 | 37 | 15 | 32 | 31.0 | -18 | 15 | 22 | -7 | 0 | 0.00 | 0 | 0.7 | 0 | 0.0 | 54 | 42.80 | 1 |
Joey Logano | 18 | 38 | 38 | 38 | 11 | 36 | 36.0 | -20 | 8 | 29 | -21 | 5 | 62.50 | 0 | 5.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 12 | 30.50 | 0 |