DARLINGTON, SOUTH CAROLINA (May 17, 2017) – NASCAR XFINITY Series rookie drivers William Byron (JR Motorsports), Tyler Reddick (Chip Ganassi Racing), Cole Custer (Stewart-Haas Racing) and Daniel Hemric (Richard Childress Racing) tested on the high banks of Darlington Raceway for the first time on Wednesday.
All four drivers are scheduled to compete in the track’s XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 on Saturday, Sept. 2.
In his first appearance at the Lady in Black, Byron was excited about attempting to tame Darlington. Byron pilots the No. 9 Liberty University Chevrolet.
“This track is unlike any place we drive at,” Byron said. “We’re getting some laps in and trying to find speed in the car as we prepare for Labor Day weekend. It’s been a lot of fun here at Darlington with great weather. This is a tough place, but we’ll be ready to race when we come back in September.”
Reddick, driving the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet, earned his Darlington Stripe early on during the test on Wednesday.
“I kind of got my Darlington Stripe a little earlier today, but we’re having a good test day regardless,” Reddick said. “Darlington is one of the iconic tracks in our sport so to be able to drive around here today is special and something I’m looking forward to racing at in September.”
The test session will continue on Thursday and is free and open to the public.
A section of the Colvin Grandstands, on the backstretch of the track, is open for fans to watch the test. Fans can use the Gate 3 entrance to the track off of Highway 151. The parking lot is located next to the track’s administration building.Fans can also get their picture taken with Darlington’s Chevy Impala pace car, which is located next to the ticket office.
The track’s gift shop and stock car museum is open from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. that day. An adult admission price for the museum will be just $5 for test days only.
Times of the test and driver participation are subject to change by the race teams, weather permitting.
ABOUT DARLINGTON RACEWAY
Darlington Raceway’s award-winning throwback campaign is the The Official Throwback Weekend of NASCAR, featuring the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Bojangles’ Southern 500® on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. The NASCAR XFINITY Series Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 will race on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2017. Tickets are on sale now by calling 866-459-7223 or visiting DarlingtonRaceway.com. You can keep up with all of the latest news from Darlington Raceway at DarlingtonRaceway.com, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DarlingtonRaceway and on Twitter at Twitter.com/TooToughToTame. Fans are encouraged to post their Bojangles’ Southern 500 stories and memories at #TraditionContinues, #BojanglesSo500 and #SportClips200.
