NASCAR Top-10 Power Rankings: Darlington

Note: The quotes in this article are fictional.

1. Denny Hamlin: Hamlin finished fourth at Darlington, posting his fifth top 10 of the year.

“It was throwback weekend at Darlington,” Hamlin said. “It’s pretty much ‘throwback weekend’ for me at every track I visit, because when I toss a Denny Hamlin souvenir to the fans, they ‘throw it back.'”

2. Kyle Larson: Larson won Stage 1 at Darlington but found trouble later on lap 254 when he blew a left rear tire and slammed into the wall. He eventually finished 34th.

“I won on a photo finish last week at Kansas,” Larson said. “If you wanted a photo of my finish at Darlington, you could have taken it well before the race ended.”

3. Brad Keselowski: Keselowski started second and took charge late to win the Goodyear 400 at Darlington, ending his 110-race winless streak.

“Ford’s winless streak is also over,” Keselowski said. “I’m really happy to take credit for ending that winless streak. I’m not so happy about taking credit for starting their next winless streak.”

4. Chase Elliott: Elliott was strong late at Darlington and finished 12th in the Goodyear 400.

“At Darlington,” Elliott said, “it’s important to stay away from trouble. And I was successful in doing that. On Sunday, that meant staying away from William Byron. I think we’ve all learned that if William’s not winning a race, he’s keeping you from winning it.”

5. Ty Gibbs: Gibbs took second at Darlington, scoring his fourth top-5 result of the season.

“My No. 54 Toyota had the ‘He Gets Us’ logo on it,” Gibbs said. “Would Jesus really be into the sport of NASCAR? If he was, I doubt anyone at these races would pass his inspection.”

6. William Byron: Byron finished sixth at Darlington, recording his eighth top-10 finish of the year.

“I may have made some enemies at Darlington,” Byron said, “but I still consider myself an ‘A-list’ driver. Others consider me an ‘S-list’ driver.”

7. Alex Bowman: Bowman finished eighth at Darlington.

“How about that Chris Buescher-Tyler Reddick confrontation after the race?” Bowman said. “It looked like their conversation was pretty spicy. Some would even call it ‘ginger spicy.'”

8. Martin Truex Jr.: Truex finished 25th in the Goodyear 400.

“I hit the wall on Lap 129 when me, Ryan Blaney, and William Byron went three wide,” Truex said. “As they say, Byron ‘ran out of talent’ and sent me and Blaney into the wall. Byron’s paint scheme put flames on both sides of his car. I put blame on just one side of his car.”

9. Ryan Blaney: Blaney was the first car knocked out of the Goodyear 400 when he was a casualty on a lap 129 restart. Blaney finished last in 36th.

“This is all William Byron’s fault,” Blaney said. “If you’re gonna run with the big dogs, please try not to wreck all of them when you do it.”

10. Ross Chastain: Chastain finished 11th at Darlington.

“They call Darlington ‘The Track Too Tough To Tame,'” Blaney said. “They call me ‘The Driver Too Stubborn To Tame.'”

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of SpeedwayMedia.com

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