NASCAR Xfinity Series teams return to Darlington Raceway on Saturday afternoon while continuing the march toward the playoffs.
Four races remain in the regular season, and time is running out for the winless drivers this season to lock up one of the four remaining spots. These drivers will pursue this goal at one of NASCAR's most treacherous tracks.
Justin Allgaier is the defending winner at Darlington. He won this season's Throwback Weekend race at Darlington. Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson split last season's races at Darlington Raceway.
Darlington Xfinity race information
Weather: The WeatherUnderground forecast calls for partly cloudy skies with a possible stray shower or thunderstorm. A high of 90 degrees and a 15% chance of rain at the start of the Xfinity race.
Green flag time: The command to fire engines will be at 3:25 p.m. ET. The green flag will wave at 3:35 p.m. ET.
Starting lineup: Christopher Bell won the pole for Saturday's race. Full Xfinity lineup.
Pre-race: Driver introductions will take place at 2:50 p.m. ET. Pre-race coverage begins with "Countdown to Green" on USA Network at 3 p.m. ET. Race coverage continues on USA Network at 3:30 p.m. ET.
Stages: The race will consist of three stages. The first stage ends at Lap 45. The second stage ends at Lap 90. The scheduled end of the race is Lap 147.
Playoff picture: Eight drivers have locked up spots in the playoffs. Allgaier, Austin Hill, Sam Mayer, and Chandler Smith all have two wins. Riley Herbst, Jesse Love, and Cole Custer each have one win. Shane van Gisbergen leads the series with three wins.
AJ Allmendinger is in the best position among drivers seeking their first win this season. He is 113 points above the cutline after last weekend's race at Daytona. Sheldon Creed is 93 points above the cutline. Parker Kligerman (+44) and Ryan Sieg (+15) are the other two drivers currently in a playoff spot.
Sammy Smith is the closest driver to the cutline. He is 15 points out of a playoff spot. Brandon Jones is behind him at 108 points below the cutline.
Past winners: Allgaier leads the entry list with his three Darlington wins since 2021. Jones won at the South Carolina track in 2020 while Custer won in 2019. Noah Gragson, who makes another start for Rette Jones Racing, has two wins at Darlington in Xfinity.
The list of past winners continues with two other Cup drivers making one-off starts. Joey Logano, who will suit up for AM Racing, won at Darlington in 2012. Chase Elliott, who drives the Hendrick Motorsports Xfinity entry this weekend, won at Darlington in 2014.