Kevin Harvick wins at Darlington in NASCAR’s return to racing: NASCAR’s return to real-time action Sunday afternoon was a resumption of the close-quarter, high-action brand of racing that fans have long expected at historic Darlington Raceway, culminating with Kevin Harvick claiming his first trophy of the season in front of a robust television and radio audience eager to welcome sports back. The Real Heroes 400 was the first on-track activity in nearly two months after NASCAR suspended competition because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The return to track included specific guidelines unique to this unprecedented situation – no fans in the grandstands, temperature checks at track, a limit on number of team members and of course, social distancing. The competitive drama, however, remained as intense as ever.[Read More](5-17-2020)

#4-Kevin Harvick won The Real Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway. The win is his 1st of 2020, 2nd win at Darlington and 50th career win. Harvick is now tied with ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the all-time win list.
#88-Bowman finished 2nd followed by #1-Busch, #9-Elliott, #11-Hamlin, #19-Truex, Jr., #8-Reddick (career-best finish), #20-Jones, #38-Nemechek (career-best finish), and #42-Kenseth.
The race was the first for NASCAR since March 8 at Phoenix Raceway.
Pole sitter #2-Keselowski finished 13th.
Stage 1 was won by #24-Byron. Stage 2 was won by #2-Keselowski.
Some notes of interest:
#42-Kenseth, returning to the track for the first time since 2018, finished 10th
#6-Ryan Newman, in his first race since his accident at Daytona, overcame a late race spin to finish 15th.
#47-Stenhouse, Jr spun on lap 1 and was unable to continue.  He finished 40th.
#48-Johnson was leading the race coming to the end of stage one, but got into the rear of #17-Busch and spun out.  He made heavy contact with the inside wall. He finished 38th.
#24-Byron had a loose wheel on lap 110, while he was running 4th, and slapped the wall to bring out the caution.  He continued on to finish 35th.
There were 10 lead changes among 6 drivers and 10 cautions for 57 yellow flag laps.
The average speed of the race was: 115.815mph.
See race details at: Race Results, Drivers Points Standings, Owners Points Standings, Cumulative Report, Penalty Report.

Race Fast Facts – Darlington:
Kevin Harvick won the The Real Heroes 400, his 50th victory in 687 NASCAR Cup Series races. Harvick is now tied with NASCAR Hall of Famers Ned Jarrett and Junior Johnson for 12th on the series wins list.
This is his first victory and fifth top-10 finish in 2020.
This is his second victory and 13th top-10 finish in 25 races at Darlington Raceway.
Alex Bowman (second) posted his first top-10 finish in six races at Darlington Raceway. It is his second top-10 finish in 2020.
Kurt Busch (third) posted his 10th top-10 finish in 25 races at Darlington Raceway.
Tyler Reddick (seventh) was the highest finishing rookie.
Kevin Harvick leads the point standings by 28 points over Alex Bowman.
Kevin Harvick is the only driver this season to finish in the top-10 in all five races of 2020.
(NASCAR)(5-17-2020)

Cup Series Playoff Standings after Darlington (May 17):
1) #22-Joey Logano [2 wins], 185 pts
2) #4-Kevin Harvick [1 win], 218
3) #88-Alex Bowman [1 win], 190
4) #11-Denny Hamlin [1 win], 154
5) #9-Chase Elliott, 178
6) #2-Brad Keselowski, 158
7) #10-Aric Almirola, 151
8) #12-Ryan Blaney, 144
9) #21-Matt DiBenedetto, 141
10) #14-Clint Bowyer, 135
11) #19-Martin Truex, Jr., 135
12) #48-Jimmie Johnson, 132
13) #1-Kurt Busch, 129
14) #18-Kyle Busch, 122
15) #17-Chris Buescher, 107
16) #20-Erik Jones, 107
See the Drivers Points Standings and Owners Points Standings.

Cars to the rear: #18-Busch (failed pre-race inspection twice)

Paint schemes

Pit Stall Selections: The selections of pit stalls for The Real Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway have been released.
Selections were made based on on charter team owner points followed by open team owner points.
See all pit choices on Pit Stall chart.(5-13-2020)

#2-Brad Keselowski will start Sunday’s The Real Heroes 400 at Darlington Raceway from the pole. #88-Bowman will start second followed by #21-DiBenedetto, #18-Busch, #10-Almirola, #4-Harvick, #12-Blaney, #48-Johnson, #22-Logano, and  #11-Hamlin.
The starting lineup was set by a random draw Thursday evening shown on Fox Sports’ Race Hub.
See the complete The Real Heroes 400 Starting Lineup.

Crew Rosters

Pit selection process:

• Order based on charter team owner points followed by open team owner points. Pit stalls will be picked in advance and the pit boxes will be in the stalls when the teams arrive.

Starting lineup process:

• Positions 1-12: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 13-24: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 25-36: Random draw from charter teams in those positions in owner points
• Positions 37-40: Open teams in order of owners points in owner points

Modified Competition Caution Procedures:

With the absence of practice, NASCAR will be modifying its Competition Caution procedures to allow teams additional time for adjustments.

The competition cautions will occur at or around the following laps:

• NASCAR Cup Series
  • Darlington – May 17: Lap 30

Below are the procedures for the modified competition caution:

• Field will be frozen at the time of the competition caution
• Field will be assembled behind the pace car
• The running order lead lap / lap down will be established and the free pass sent
• Wave around rule is not in effect
• Pit road will open to the top 20 – car must beat the pace car off pit road to retain freeze position
• Pit road will open to the next 20 – car must beat the pace car off pit road to retain freeze position
• Above pit cycle repeats – each team allowed to pit two times
• Re-establish line-up per freeze and restart race

Infractions under modified competition caution:

• Not beating the pace car off pit road results in loss of lap and restarting at tail of the field
• Pitting more than twice or out of sequence results in restarting at the tail of the field
• All current pit road rules are in effect

The Entry List for The Real Heroes 400 NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington Raceway is posted, 40 teams/drivers [for 40 spots] are listed.
Some of the drivers entered include: #6-Newman, #7-Bilicki, #27-Yeley, #42-Kenseth, #51-Gase, #53-Smithley, #66-Hill, #77-Sorenson, #78-McLeod.
With 40 teams entered, everyone will run the race.
See the full entry list on the Entry List (pdf)