Ryan Blaney’s victory burnout at Phoenix Raceway – Team Penske Photo
DARLINGTON 1
Friday, March 20 – NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, 7:30 p.m. ET (FS1)
Saturday, March 21 – NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series, 5:30 p.m. ET (CW)
Sunday, March 22 – NASCAR Cup Series, 3 p.m. ET (FS1)
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.
RYAN 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 between.
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.
BRAD KESELOWSKI: “My eyes are wide open. The biggest thing I’m
thinking about at Darlington is to go 50 laps on a set of tires was
almost impossible with the Next Gen car in the last two or three
seasons, and now that we have more horsepower and less aero, I don’t
know if we’re gonna be able to go 35 laps. So, keeping up with the
tires is going to be a big challenge. The drivers managing it, the teams
putting our setups to where it can do it. Darlington is going to be a
heavy lift. It’s always a heavy lift, but it’s a heavier lift now, I
think, with these circumstances and a lot of unknowns entering the race
at Darlington. It might turn out no different, but I don’t think that
will be the case. I think it’s gonna be a really difficult race.”
KESELOWSKI SCORES FIRST WIN FOR MUSTANG DARK HORSE;
FIRST AS DRIVER/OWNER
Brad Keselowski passed Chris Buescher and Tyler Reddick with nine laps
to go after those two made contact battling for the lead to capture the
Goodyear 400 in 2024 at Darlington Raceway. It was the first race win
for the Ford Mustang Dark Horse. The win represented the first for
Keselowski since he became co-owner with Jack Roush and snapped a
110-race winless streak. Keselowski qualified second and was a fixture
at the front of the field all afternoon. He finished third in Stage 1,
second in Stage 2, and completed the progression as he led five times
for 37 laps on the day.
JOEY LOGANO PICKS UP FIRST DARLINGTON WIN
Joey Logano passed William Byron with two laps to go to win the Goodyear
400 in 2022 for his first NASCAR Cup Series victory of the season and
first at Darlington Raceway. Logano dominated the Throwback Weekend,
capturing the pole on Saturday and then winning the first stage before
green flag pit stops and race strategy took over. He went on to lead
eight times for 107 laps, most among all drivers, and dueled with Byron
for the win over the final 26 laps.
A TOP FOUR FORD SWEEP
Ford Racing is coming off a sweep of the top four positions in the
inaugural St. Petersburg Street Race two weeks ago in which Layne Riggs
drove his Love’s Travel Stops Ford F-150 to victory with Ty Majeski
second, Ben Rhodes third and Chandler Smith fourth. The last time Ford
achieved that kind of sweep was on Oct. 11, 1998 at Sears Point for the
Kragen/Exide 151 in which Boris Said won with Mike Bliss second, Tony
Raines third and Joe Ruttman fourth.
QUALIFYING HOT STREAK
Ford Racing has gotten off to a fast start in 2026, having won two of
the first three events with Front Row Motorsports teammates Chandler
Smith and Layne Riggs. But that also pertains to qualifying, where the
Blue Oval is 2-for-2 after ThorSport Racing teammates Ty Majeski and
Jake Garcia claimed the pole at Daytona and Atlanta, respectively.
Qualifying in St. Petersburg was canceled due to weather.
FOUR OF THE TOP FIVE
After three races, Ford F-150 drivers make up four of the top five spots
in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series point standings. Chandler Smith,
the only driver in the series who has posted top 10 finishes in all
three events, leads the way by 34 points over Ben Rhodes, who is the
only Ford driver with a series win at Darlington. Ty Majeski is third
while Layne Riggs is fifth.