DARLINGTON, S.C. - During a Friday question-and-answer session with reporters at Darlington Raceway, Denny Hamlin highlighted the grueling nature of the Bojangles’ Southern 500.
“I’ve fainted in the shower I think twice after this race, just because you just get so dehydrated,” Hamlin said. “I’ve run the Xfinity race on Saturday for the last handful of years, so it really drains you after the Southern 500.
“You’ve got to prepare for that. I’ll tell you, it’s definitely one of the most physical race tracks that I can think of. Way more than the Coke 600 or any other race track. I consider this the endurance test of all, and so you got to have it all put together.”
Two days before the Bojangles’ Southern 500, Hamlin already looked the worse for wear – as if he’d just gone 10 rounds with Manny Pacquiao. Hamlin’s left check was swollen, and there was a mouse under his left eye.
The injury, however, wasn’t the result of fisticuffs. Hamlin’s penchant for pick-up basketball was the culprit.
“My depth perception to someone’s elbow wasn’t very good in basketball,” said Hamlin, the defending winner of the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Darlington. “I caught an elbow.”
Kurt Busch’s Teams Takes A Page From The Driver’s Beloved Cubs
There’s no more ardent Chicago Cubs fan than Kurt Busch.
On more than one occasion, Busch has thrown the first pitch at Wrigley Field. And he has sung “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” from the press box during the seventh-inning stretch, in the tradition of legendary broadcaster Harry Caray.
As the Cubs’ streak without a World Series title grew to 108 years, Busch suffered. And when the North Siders finally broke the jinx in 2017, no one rejoiced more than the driver of the No. 41 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford.
On Aug. 18 at Bristol Motor Speedway, Busch ended a drought of his own when he took the checkered flag in the Bass Pro Shops NRA Night Race. The victory was Busch’s first since he won the season-opening Daytona 500 in 2017, a span of 58 races.
When Busch arrived at Darlington to prepare for Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500, he noticed an extra flag on his team transporter. Along with the American flag and the usual Stewart-Haas and Ford banners was a white flag sporting only a blue “W”—in other words, the same flag Cubs fans unfurl after a victory.
“Crew surprised me with the ‘W’ flag,” Busch posted on Twitter, along with photos of the flags. “Go @Cubs.”
WDUN will have live MRN Radio coverage of NASCAR's Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway with Sunday's Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Southern 500 beginning at 5 pm on 102.9 FM, AM 550 and streaming live on AccessWDUN.
Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series
Darlington Raceway – Darlington, SC
Bojangles’ Southern 500 – September 2, 2018
Sunday’s Starting Lineup
1. (11) Denny Hamlin, Toyota, 173.571 mph.
2. (42) Kyle Larson, Chevrolet, 173.411 mph.
3. (78) Martin Truex, Jr., Toyota, 173.204 mph.
4. (88) Alex Bowman, Chevrolet, 173.155 mph.
5. (18) Kyle Busch, Toyota, 173.064 mph.
6. (31) Ryan Newman, Chevrolet, 172.832 mph.
7. (20) Erik Jones, Toyota, 172.511 mph.
8. (22) Joey Logano, Ford, 172.505 mph.
9. (41) Kurt Busch, Ford, 172.336 mph.
10. (24) William Byron #, Chevrolet, 172.245 mph.
11. (9) Chase Elliott, Chevrolet, 171.381 mph.
12. (10) Aric Almirola, Ford, 170.030 mph.
13. (2) Brad Keselowski, Ford, 172.790 mph.
14. (21) Paul Menard, Ford, 172.517 mph.
15. (6) Matt Kenseth, Ford, 172.475 mph.
16. (19) Daniel Suarez, Toyota, 172.408 mph.
17. (14) Clint Bowyer, Ford, 172.263 mph.
18. (3) Austin Dillon, Chevrolet, 172.034 mph.
19. (37) Chris Buescher, Chevrolet, 171.818 mph.
20. (48) Jimmie Johnson, Chevrolet, 171.734 mph.
21. (12) Ryan Blaney, Ford, 171.566 mph.
22. (4) Kevin Harvick, Ford, 171.542 mph.
23. (38) David Ragan, Ford, 170.691 mph.
24. (47) A.J. Allmendinger, Chevrolet, 170.572 mph.
25. (17) Ricky Stenhouse, Jr., Ford, 172.917 mph.
26. (34) Michael McDowell, Ford, 172.881 mph.
27. (43) Darrell Wallace, Jr., #, Chevrolet, 172.614 mph.
28. (13) Ty Dillon, Chevrolet, 172.293 mph.
29. (95) Kasey Kahne, Chevrolet, 172.034 mph.
30. (32) Matt DiBenedetto, Ford, 171.812 mph.
31. (1) Jamie McMurray, Chevrolet, 170.637 mph.
32. (52) J.J. Yeley(i), Chevrolet, 170.430 mph.
33. (15) Ross Chastain(i), Chevrolet, 169.994 mph.
34. (72) Corey LaJoie, Chevrolet, 169.042 mph.
35. (00) Landon Cassill(i), Chevrolet, 167.665 mph.
36. (66) Timmy Hill(i), Toyota, 163.822 mph.
37. (51) B.J. McLeod(i), Chevrolet, 163.713 mph.
38. (99) Derrike Cope, Chevrolet, 160.381 mph.
39. (23) Joey Gase(i), Toyota, 154.734 mph.
40. (96) Jeffrey Earnhardt, Toyota, 0.000 mph.
