By Reid Spencer, NASCAR Wire Service

The Lady in Black is a mystery to NASCAR Cup drivers this year

DARLINGTON, S.C.—Chris Buescher summed up Sunday’s Goodyear 400 in one telling sentence.

“I’m glad I’m not a crew chief this weekend,” Buescher said of the upcoming event at Darlington Raceway (3 p.m. ET Sunday on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

The sixth race of the NASCAR Cup Series features a higher-horsepower, lower-downforce competition package that will be used for the first time at the 1.366-mile track for the first time in the era of the Gen 7 race car (2022 to present).

What that means with respect to tire wear on Darlington’s abrasive asphalt is anybody’s guess.

“To come here with more power and significantly less downforce, I just feel like we’re going to be out of control,” Buescher said. “And I think we’re going to be screaming and wanting tires a lot more than the physical allotment will allow us to put ‘em on…

“I know we’ve got a whole lot more questions than answers.”

Chase Briscoe, winner of the last two Southern 500s with a lower-horsepower, higher downforce rules package in place at Darlington, had a tongue-in-cheek reaction to the new configuration. 

“I mean, I don’t know what was wrong with the package here at Darlington before,” Briscoe quipped. “I think this is the one race is probably more wide-open than any other, just because it’s the first time we’re doing it.

“Nobody has a notebook on anything right now, where as we go throughout the year, with Dover and Darlington 2 and all these things, teams are just going to start getting better and better at understanding what we need.

“Right now, nobody has a clue what this thing’s going to do. So, yeah, I’m excited for this weekend. I’m always excited to come to Darlington, but certainly the more power, slipping, sliding around—it’s going be a lot of fun.”

Christopher Bell posts “Help Wanted” sign for tire management

For anyone who knows the secret to saving tires at Darlington Raceway—please tell Christopher Bell.

The driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing NASCAR Cup Series car would welcome any help he can get for Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at the 1.366-mile, egg-shaped track (3 p.m. ET on FS1, MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio).

To run 293 laps at The Lady in Black, Goodyear has provided 10 sets of new tires along with the set of scuffs drivers will use in qualifying. An abundance of cautions could place considerable stress on strategic tire decisions.

Bell is running all three NASCAR national races this weekend, and he got his first taste of tire management in Friday night’s CRAFTSMAN Truck Series event, which featured nine cautions and two overtimes.

Bell finished sixth in that event but indicated he wouldn’t have actionable information on the Cup car until Saturday afternoon’s practice.

“We’ll certainly learn more about the strategy piece whenever we get into practice and, like I mentioned before, nobody has any idea, it’s all speculation on what the tire degradation is going to be and what that means for the strategy on Sunday,” Bell said on Saturday morning at Darlington.

“But how do you save tires? I don’t know. I didn’t do it very well last night. That was my Achilles heel, so hopefully I can save tires better today and tomorrow. I’m still looking for that magic answer if anyone else has it.”

Denny Hamlin: Dale Earnhardt’s 76-win total is out of reach

Reaching 60 NASCAR Cup Series victories was a milestone of utmost importance to Denny Hamlin.

The driver of the No. 11 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota achieved that goal last October at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. With the victory, he tied Kevin Harvick for 10th on the career win list.

Last Sunday, again at Las Vegas, Hamlin won for the 61st time and now trails Kyle Busch for ninth all-time by two victories. One spot ahead of Busch on the career list is seven-time champion Dale Earnhardt, who won 76 Cup races.

Hamlin, who is signed to drive for JGR through 2027, doesn’t think Earnhardt’s total is within reach.

“I think it’s pie in the sky, realistically,” said Hamlin, who has estimated he’ll win 67 races by the end of his career. “I think that, given the runway, Kyle’s career—he’s still got more years to go than I will. He’s capable of running and winning long after I’m gone. I think I’m kind of where I’m at, and where I think I will be, but you just never know.

“I mean, each win stacks up and, you know, 50 was a goal at one point. So, you just keep moving, keep moving the bar as far as you can. I think that I’ve certainly got more wins than what I would have imagined.”

Hamlin does have specific goals that don’t involve a certain number of victories. He is still seeking a series championship after narrowly missing out in 2025. 

“It’s just now can we, can we get the big prize at the end of the year?” Hamlin said. “That’s the only goal left to have, other than the Brickyard (400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway) is certainly one that still is mindful (for) me personally.”