Live updates from NASCAR at Darlington: William Byron wins third race of year

McClatchy has multiple reporters at Darlington Raceway, including Alex Zietlow (of The Charlotte Observer) and Lou Bezjak (of The State), to deliver live highlights throughout Sunday’s Cup race. Those updates will be posted in the section below and will be published frequently. Refresh this page for the latest news. Full results will be posted after the race.

Lap-by-lap highlights from Darlington

Stage 3

Lap 295: William Byron wins the Goodyear 400. He was the leader after the Ross Chastain-Kyle Larson caution and went on to hold off Kevin Harvick It was Byron’s third win of the year and first for a Hendrick Motorsports driver at Darlington since Jimmie Johnson in 2012. Harvick was second, Chase Elliott third, Brad Keselowski fourth and Bubba Wallace fifth.

Lap 287: Ross Chastain, you guessed it, was involved in another caution after he appears to run Kyle Larson into the wall. The two were battling for the lead. William Byron takes over the race lead.

“Three races the 1 car has taken us out of,” Larson crew chief Cliff Daniels said over the team’s radio.

Chastain was released from care center but his day is finished. Larson stays in and is 24th.

Lap 281: With 12 laps to go, chaos erupts! Martin Truex Jr. slides up the racetrack and hits Joey Logano, who ultimately turns Truex and then collects the field. Tough. Kevin Harvick. Tyler Reddick. So many cars involved. Some healthy contact between the two leaders — Kyle Larson and Ross Chastain — occurred too. Chastain ended up being a nose ahead when the caution came out, so he’ll start P1 on the new restart. Also... Bubba Wallace is somehow in fourth now?

Truex, who led a race-high 146 laps, went to the garage and is done.

Lap 275: Ryan Newman, who was three laps down spins and brings out a caution. Kyle Larson maintained lead after the pit stop. Christopher Bell was second, Brad Keselowski, Martin Truex fourth and Chase Elliott fifth. But Bell had to go back down pit road after a loose lugnut.

Lap 264: Less than 30 laps to go! Top 10: Kyle Larson, Christopher Bell, Ross CHastain, Kyle BUsch, Joey Logano, Brad Keselowski, William Byron, Tyler Reddick, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott.

Lap 210: Stenhouse! Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a left-rear flat tire and spins out and prompts a caution. A good day for the 47 has been foiled. The 2023 Daytona 500 winner was running in the Top 10 all day before that. Just about 80 laps to go.

Lap 194: The Big One on the frontstretch! Erik Jones’ wheel comes off, and he spins and collects practically everyone behind him. Caution out. The fourth caution of the day. Among the nine cars involved: Austin Cindric, Austin Dillon, Michael McDowell and Daniel Suarez. Dillon and Suarez headed to the garage and are done for the day.

Lap 191: Kyle Larson wins the race ofr pit road. The 5 car has had an up-and-down day, but you can never count Larson out. Behind him to start Stage 2: Chastain, Kyle Busch, William Byron, Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, Christopher Bell, Martin Truex Jr., Chase Elliott, Tyler Reddick.

Stage 2

Lap 185: Whoa! Martin Truex Jr. spins out on the last lap of Stage 2, prompting a caution and facilitating the singular blemish on what has been a great day otherwise. But that’ll be consequential. Wow. What happened: Truex was trying to pass Chastain on the inside on a turn — but Chastain got loose, slammed into the wall, ricocheted into Truex and then sent Truex spinning. That drops Truex down to 10th and delivers Chastain the Stage 2 win.

Watch the carnage here.

Lap 125: Ross Chastain battled with Martin Truex Jr. for the lead for a couple of laps before passing him on Lap 151. He is the fourth different leader in the race.

Lap 98: The race off pit road went pretty predictably with two notable exceptions: The big winner is Brad Keselowski, who found himself in P3 after a good pit stop, leap-frogging Kyle Busch and Ross Chastain. The big loser? Bubba Wallace. An issue with a lugnut moved him from third to 18th starting Stage 2. Top five running now: Martin Truex Jr., William Byron, Keselowski, Chastain, Kyle Busch.

Stage 1

Lap 90: It’s been all Martin Truex Jr. thus far. Truex takes the Stage 1 win without much of a fuss after sitting on the pole to start the race. He finished with a 3.6-second lead over the driver running P2, William Byron, and led all but one lap. Everyone earning stage points (in order): Truex, Byron, Bubba Wallace, Ross Chastain, Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Kevin Harvick, Tyler Reddick, Christopher Bell. (Worth noting: Kyle Larson moved from eighth to 24th because of a bad pit stop in Stage 1, but he finished Stage 1 in 12th.)

Lap 41: Brennan Poole is headed to the garage area because of a mechanical issue.

Lap 38: First caution of the day for fluid on the race track. Top five at the time of the caution were Martin Truex Jr., Bubba Wallace, William Byron, Ross Chastain and Kyle Busch. Denny Hamlin said over his radio that the fluid caused him to hit the wall. During the pit stop, Kyle Larson’s team had a problem with the jack, causing him to turn in a 17-second pit stop and go back from eighth to 24th.

Lap 5: Martin Truex Jr. and Bubba Wallace battling for the lead at the beginning of today’s race, as expected after each of their impressive qualifying runs. The Top 10 of the field is separated by less than five seconds five laps in.

Green flag! 3:14 p.m.: Let’s do this!

2:58 p.m.: Just about to the command! A few drivers you might’ve seen on the broadcast for those watching at home: Ryan Newman, a NASCAR great who retired after the 2021 season, is running for Rick Ware Racing while Cody Ware is still suspended indefinitely from NASCAR. It’s worth noting too that Alex Bowman, who suffered a broken vertebra in late April, is still out. (He provided a substantial update on his health and timetable to return on Sunday.) Josh Berry will run in the 48, as he has the past two weeks.

2:06 p.m.: Some timing housekeeping: Driver Intros: 2:25:00 p.m., Invocation: 2:54:20 p.m., National Anthem: 2:55:00 p.m., Command: 3:02:00 p.m., Green Flag: 3:12:00 p.m.

1:48 p.m.: Today’s Cup Series race will draw a large turnout, but perhaps the most dramatic portion of the weekend has already happened. At the end of the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, Kyle Larson and John Hunter Nemechek collided as they battled for the lead on the last lap — and it resulted in Larson winning and Nemechek spinning out and finishing fifth (crossing the finish line rear first). Was it hard racing? Was Larson’s contact intentional? Decide for yourself below.

1:45 p.m.: Paint schemes and fire suits and sponsors — oh my! It’s Throwback Weekend at Darlington Raceway, and NASCAR is pulling on a bunch of strings of nostalgia. Some muscle cars have run circles around the track. NASCAR’s 75 Greatest Drivers have been signing autographs since Saturday and talked to media earlier this afternoon. Check here for all the paint schemes today.

How to watch NASCAR spring race at Darlington

• Race: Goodyear 400

• Place: Darlington Raceway

• Date: Sunday, May 14

• Time: 3 p.m. ET

• Purse: $7,722,261

• TV: FS1, 1:30 p.m. ET

• Radio: MRN, SiriusXM NASCAR Radio

• Distance: 400.2 miles (293 laps)

• Stages: Stage 1 (Ends on Lap 90), Stage 2 (Ends on Lap 185), Final Stage (Ends on Lap 293)

Darlington Cup race starting lineup

The 7 car (Corey LaJoie) and the 15 car (Brennan Poole) will start at the rear, both due to unapproved adjustments.