JGR AT DARLINGTON: Joe Gibbs Racing owns 12 NASCAR Cup Series victories at Darlington Raceway. In 140 combined starts at the Track Too Tough to Tame, the organization has tallied 42 top-five finishes, 78 top-10s, five pole awards, and 3,350 laps led. Chase Briscoe, Kyle Busch, Carl Edwards, Denny Hamlin, Erik Jones, Matt Kenseth, Bobby Labonte, and Martin Truex Jr. have all driven JGR entries to victory lane at Darlington.

DARLINGTON SWEEP: Joe Gibbs Racing won both Darlington races last season with Denny Hamlin winning in April and Chase Briscoe scoring a dominant victory in September. Hamlin and Briscoe also shared the front row after qualifying first and second for the Southern 500.

DENNY HAMLIN

No. 11 Sport Clips Toyota Camry XSE

LAS VEGAS WIN NOTES: Denny Hamlin captured his 61st career NASCAR Cup Series victory last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He is now 10th on the all-time wins list. It was the Virginia native’s first victory of the season and his third win at the 1.5-mile track. On the day, Hamlin led a race-high 134 laps on the way to victory lane.

ELITE COMPANY: By winning last weekend’s race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Hamlin became the fifth driver in Cup Series history to win in 20 different seasons. He joins NASCAR Hall of Famers Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, Dale Earnhardt, and Jeff Gordon on the esteemed list of drivers to reach the milestone.

250 TOP-FIVES: Hamlin’s win at Las Vegas was also the 250th top-five finish of his Cup Series career. He is only the 11th driver in history to reach 250 top-five results. His next top-five finish would tie him for 10th-most all time.

HAMLIN AT DARLINGTON: Hamlin leads all active Cup Series drivers with five wins, 14 top-five finishes and 20 top-10s at Darlington Raceway. His 7.9-average finishing position is the best all time for drivers with more than two starts at the facility. Last April, Hamlin won the Cup Series race at Darlington after a lightning-fast pit stop propelled him to the lead for an overtime restart where he held off the field. He has led 12 consecutive Darlington races dating back to May 2020. Hamlin’s Darlington resume also includes six NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series wins.

CHRIS GAYLE: Crew chief Chris Gayle is a two-time winner at Darlington Raceway. In 2019, he led Erik Jones to victory lane in the Southern 500 after leading 79 laps. Last spring, Gayle oversaw Hamlin’s race-winning performance at the Track Too Tough to Tame. Overall, Gayle’s drivers have recorded five top-five finishes, eight top-10s and one pole award in 11 starts at Darlington.

SPORT CLIPS: Sport Clips will be featured as the primary sponsor of Hamlin’s No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE for this weekend’s race at Darlington Raceway. The sports-themed haircutting franchise based in Georgetown, Texas is a longtime supporter of Joe Gibbs Racing dating back to 2009 and has nearly 1,900 stores in the United States and Canada. For more information, visit www.sportclips.com.

HELP A HERO: Sport Clips is proud of its relationship with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) and the Help A Hero scholarship program that was established in 2013. The program has awarded more than 3,500 scholarships totaling more than $16 million. The Help A Hero scholarship program is open to active-duty service members and veterans pursuing a variety of degrees. Learn more about the VFW’s “Sport Clips Help A Hero Scholarship” program, including details on eligibility, at www.vfw.org/scholarship.

CHASE BRISCOE

No. 19 Free Bird Southern Spring Water Toyota Camry XSE

BRISCOE AT DARLINGTON: Chase Briscoe has won two of the last three NASCAR Cup Series races at Darlington Raceway, including his dominant performance in last fall’s Southern 500. In September, Briscoe led 309 of 367 laps and won both stages on the way to his second Southern 500 victory in as many years. Overall, Briscoe has 10 Cup Series starts at the Lady in Black with three top-five finishes and 338 laps led. He also owns a NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series victory at the track.

LAS VEGAS RECAP: Briscoe started 18th last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. Briscoe spent much of the race a lap down after speeding on pit road early in the day. The No. 19 team eventually received the free pass on lap 212 to get back on the lead lap and Briscoe recovered to finish eighth for his second top-10 result of 2026.

JAMES SMALL: 2026 is James Small’s seventh season leading the No. 19 team and his second year with Briscoe behind the wheel. The first five years of his tenure as crew chief were spent with Martin Truex Jr. In 222 races atop the pit box, Small has led his drivers to 11 wins, 61 top-five finishes, 108 top-10s, 13 pole awards, and 4,735 laps led.

FREE BIRD: Sunday’s race at Darlington Raceway marks the on-track debut of the No. 19 Free Bird Southern Spring Water Toyota Camry XSE. Free Bird Southern Spring Water is about living freely and staying true to your roots. Whether you’re enjoying a backyard barbecue, heading to a job site, or taking a moment to recharge, Free Bird water is there to refresh and remind you of the things that matter most. To learn more, visit www.drinkfreebird.com.

CHRISTOPHER BELL

No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE

BELL AT DARLINGTON: Christopher Bell has had several strong performances over his 13 NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway, highlighted by third-place finishes in two of the last three races at the track. Overall, Bell has three top-five finishes, four top-10s, and one pole award at Darlington. He also has one win and two pole awards in NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series competition at the Track Too Tough to Tame.

TRIPLE DUTY WEEKEND: For the first time in his career, Bell will compete in all three NASCAR series on the same weekend. In addition to driving the No. 20 DEWALT Toyota Camry XSE in the Cup Series, he will also be behind the wheel of the No. 62 Pristine Auction Toyota Tundra TRD Pro for Halmar Friesen Racing in Friday night’s NASCAR CRAFTSMAN Truck Series race. On Saturday, Bell will pilot the No. 19 Sport Clips Toyota GR Supra for Joe Gibbs Racing in the Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help A Hero 200 O’Reilly Series race.

LAS VEGAS RECAP: Bell earned his third consecutive top-five finish with a fourth-place result last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. After starting on the pole, Bell led 31 laps and won stage one. He ran inside the top five throughout the race before ultimately finishing fourth.

MAKING HISTORY: The No. 20 pit crew made history last Sunday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The team consisting of Will Cooper (tire carrier), Derrell Edwards (jack man), Michael Hicks (front tire changer), Black Houston (rear tire changer), and Peyton Moore (gas man) achieved the first-ever sub-eight-second four-tire pit stop, clocking in a 7.98-second stop during the race.

TY GIBBS

No. 54 SiriusXM Toyota Camry XSE

GIBBS AT DARLINGTON: Ty Gibbs has made seven NASCAR Cup Series starts at Darlington Raceway with a career-best second-place finish in May 2024. Last April, he started 11th and finished ninth at Darlington. In three NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series starts at the 1.366-mile track, Gibbs’ best result was a sixth-place finish in September 2022.

LAS VEGAS RECAP: Gibbs kept his momentum going with his third consecutive top-five finish last weekend at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He started strong by qualifying third and finished fourth in stage one. Despite a setback from a speeding penalty, he methodically battled back through the field and secured a solid fifth-place finish.

THREE IN A ROW: Last Sunday, Gibbs (23 years, 5 months, 11 days) became the fifth-youngest driver in the Modern Era to put together three straight top-five finishes, according to NASCAR Insights. He kicked off the streak with back-to-back fourth-place finishes at Circuit of the Americas and Phoenix Raceway, then extended it with his fifth-place finish at Las Vegas.

TYLER ALLEN: Crew chief Tyler Allen is in his second season atop the pit box for Gibbs and the No. 54 team. Last year, Allen guided the group to five top-five finishes, 10 top-10s, and 304 laps led. In 2024, he also led JGR’s No. 20 NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts Series team to eight victories and a runner-up finish in the owners’ championship.

JGR PR