Cup Series drivers complimentary of new short-track package after Darlington

Ryan Blaney experienced something Sunday at Darlington Raceway that he rarely has in his NASCAR Cup Series career.

The Team Penske driver found himself letting other drivers go by throughout the afternoon, either on restarts or during long green-flag runs during the Goodyear 400. But he could race that way because Blaney was able to say to himself, “I’m going to see you in about 20 [laps], and that’s kind of the way it went today.”

That was a good thing for Blaney as it pertained to the package Cup Series teams used. NASCAR, at the urging of fans and drivers, relented in trying a low-downforce and high-horsepower package at the 1.366-mile track.

It left drivers with a “handful,” as Blaney described. “You could [expletive] the bed quickly if you were kind of rough on your stuff, which was good. So, that part was good. There was tons of fall off. I think you saw guys kind of get too much early, and then they were done.”

Sunday was not the first time NASCAR has used the package, or used it through the first six weeks of the season. But it was the first time that drivers and teams were able to race it and collect data on it from an intermediate racetrack.

“It was a lot of fun,” Brad Keselowski said. “The cars were a bear to drive. You really had to be careful. You couldn’t be a foot offline.”

Blaney finished third. Keselowski, who finished second, led a race-high 142 laps and swept the stages.

“Man, I was working hard in there,” said William Byron, who finished eighth. “That was tough. We’re still trying to figure things out with this body, but we definitely are making baby steps. That is just a tough race in general, though, but this No. 24 Raptor Chevy team fought hard.”

Carson Hocevar drove to fourth place in the final stint of the race. Hocevar said he had fun in tying his season-best result.

“Our Chevy was good,” he said. “It didn’t feel crazy different [with the rules package], but it seemed like it was way different for everyone else, and we were able to pass a lot of cars. That was beneficial for us, for sure.”

Ryan Preece also used the word “different” to describe his race-day experience compared to last year.

“I’d like to have the ability to do a tire test and see if we can tune in on a few things and get a little more aggressive on some wears and how soft they can be,” Preece said. “But I’ve loved what Goodyear has been doing this entire year, and really, what we’ve been doing for the Cup Series. It felt like once the tires got hot, you were, I don’t want to say stuck, but you were kind of up on top of the track.

“We’re all making gains. I don’t know what to say other than I’m sure the fans probably loved watching the 45 and the 6 and all those guys going at it.”

But even a driver who had an unfortunate end to his afternoon, Riley Herbst, had a positive reaction to the afternoon. Herbst posted on social media, “Most fun I’ve had in a cup car today! Running well, then got wrecked.”

The anticipation was high for both the drivers and NASCAR for Sunday’s race. In addition to hearing feedback from the garage and the fans, NASCAR will review various metrics (such as passes for the lead, passes in the field, and how far apart the field was) to assess how the race unfolded.

There are still 17 races left this season where the package will be run and data collected. Among those are repeat trips to certain racetracks, such as Phoenix, Darlington, Martinsville, and Bristol, as well as to larger tracks like Nashville Superspeedway and St. Louis.