NASCAR Live Race Updates: Goodyear 400 at Darlington
Welcome to the Racing America On SI Live Race Updates page for the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway.
Be sure to refresh this post throughout Sunday's race, as the Live Race Updates story will be updated with the biggest moments from the 400-mile race including lead changes, crash replays, the winner of the race, finishing results, and more.
Stage 3 Updates
Lap 297: Denny Hamlin Wins the Goodyear 400 at Darlington
Pos | # | Driver |
|---|---|---|
1 | 11 | Denny Hamlin |
2 | 24 | William Byron |
3 | 20 | Christopher Bell |
4 | 45 | Tyler Reddick |
5 | 12 | Ryan Blaney |
6 | 17 | Chris Buescher |
7 | 1 | Ross Chastain |
8 | 9 | Chase Elliott |
9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs |
10 | 8 | Kyle Busch |
Lap 292: Denny Hamlin Wins The Race Off Pit Road
Denny Hamlin and the No. 11 Toyota Camry XSE team have won the race off pit road and will have the race-lead in NASCAR Overtime at Darlington Raceway. Tyler Reddick, William Byron, Ryan BLaney, and Christopher Bell are the top-five.
Lap 291: Kyle Larson Crashes Off Turn 2 at Darlington
Ryan Blaney has taken the race lead from Tyler Reddick after a little wheel-to-wheel contact sent the No. 45 Toyota Camry XSE into the outside wall. But, behind them, Kyle Larson spins off Turn 2 and hits the inside wall.
We are going to NASCAR Overtime.
Lap 287: Ryan Blaney is CLOSING
Ryan Blaney continues to drastically close in on Tyler Reddick, bringing the gap within two seconds with less than 10 laps remaining in the Goodyear 400. This is shaping up to be another exciting finish at Darlington.
Lap 280: Ryan Blaney Passes Christopher Bell and William Byron
Ryan Blaney is the fastest car on the racetrack, and has quickly gotten around second and third-place drivers Christopher Bell and William Byron. Blaney now sits in second-place, less than five seconds behind the race-leader Tyler Reddick.
Lap 255: Bell and Byron Chasing Reddick
Christopher Bell and William Byron have gotten around Joey Logano and now find themselves in secomnd and third. Tyler Reddick, who cycled out as the race leader, has about four to five extra laps on his tires than Bell and Byron, but he has a more than six second lead with 38 laps to go.
Lap 248: Tyler Reddick Takes Lead
Tyler Reddick, who short-pitted at Lap 239, has taken the race lead after Denny Hamlin pitted on Lap 248. Reddick has the lead over Joey Logano, Christopher Bell, and William Byron. Bell and Byron have the tire advantage over Reddick, and Logano, and will look to work their way back to the front.
Denny Hamlin has cycled out in ninth spot.
Lap 244: William Byron Finally Loses Lead
William Byron's race has been about as flawless as a race can be, but the driver of the No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has finally not led a lap. Byron took his car to pit road in the middle of a green flag pit sequence on Lap 244, and as he went to pit road, Denny Hamlin remained on track and assumed the lead on Lap 244.
Byron by remaining on the track so long has actually cyced behind Christopher Bell who already made his pit stop. That will be the battle for the lead if the sequence fully cycles out without a caution.
Lap 231: Preece Kicks Off Green Flag Pit Sequence
With 61 laps remaining, Ryan Preece has relinquished the 12th poition to go to pit road. Preece's pit stop will kick off a round of green flag pit stops, but Preece's team had toruble and the pit stop took more than 15 seconds.
Lap 221: Alex Bowman to Pit Road
Alex Bowman collided with the outside wall on Lap 221, which led to his right-rear toe link to break. Bowman brought his No. 48 Chevrolet to pit road, where his team began to make repairs. Bowman will lose some laps during this process.
Lap 201: Back to Green
Christopher Bell got a great restart, and actually poked the front bumper of his No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota ahead of William Byron's No. 24 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet for a brief moment, but Byron carried the momentum off of the high side of the track, and led Lap 201.
Byron has still led every lap of this race from the pole. 92 laps remain.
Lap 195: Berry Crashes After Contact with Reddick
Josh Berry had yet another good run going with the Wood Brothers Racing team, but after Tyler Reddick misjudged where Berry was on the exit of Turn 2, the two drivers collided, and Berry went spinning.
The end result was a hard impact into the inside wall on the backstretch.
Here's what ended Josh Berry's hopes for another great run. Looks like the 45 just cleared himself into the 21 on the exit of Turn 2. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/6hNrGxaIdD
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 6, 2025
Berry had been running in the fifth position before Reddick made the move in an attempt to pass Berry for the position.
Lap 193: Back to Green
William Byron leads the field into Turn 1, yet again, but we have a new runner-up runner as Denny Hamlin has taken the second position from Joey Logano. Christopher Bell follows through to third, and Logano is now fourth.
Lap 189: Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road; Blaney Suffers Issues
William Byron is still the race leader as he won the race off of pit road under caution on Lap 189. By leading the opening 186 laps, Byron has now led the most consecutive laps to start a race since the debut of the Next Gen car in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022.
William Byron has led the first 186 laps of Sunday's #Goodyear400 without interruption, the most consecutive laps led to start a NASCAR Cup Series event since the introduction of the seventh-generation racecar.#NASCAR | 📸: @JonMcCoyPhoto, @TobyChristieCom pic.twitter.com/3pf0ZXU1ou
— Joseph Srigley (@joe_srigley) April 6, 2025
Stage 2 Updates
Ryan Blaney found trouble on pit road, as his team was stuck with apparent jack issues on the right side of his car during their pit stop. Blaney will restart 16th.
Lap 185: William Byron Remains Perfect Through Stage 2
William Byron's dominance in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway has continued, and the driver has now led the opening 185 laps from the pole position. Byron has now taken the Stage 1 and 2 wins in Sunday's race, and will look to lead the remainder of the race.
Stage 2 Results
Pos | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10 | 1 |
2 | 22 | Joey Logano | 9 | -- |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | 8 | -- |
4 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 7 | -- |
5 | 21 | Josh Berry | 6 | -- |
6 | 20 | Christopher Bell | 5 | -- |
7 | 54 | Ty Gibbs | 4 | -- |
8 | 10 | Ty Dillon | 3 | -- |
9 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 2 | -- |
10 | 48 | Alex Bowman | 1 | -- |
Lap 164: Potential Weather Rolling In
As William Byron continues to lead this race, some teams are starting to report slight raindrops from above. The radar is showing slight weather building around Darlington Raceway, and the clouds looming over the track certainly look ominous.
Kyle Larson has returned to the track after his Lap 4 crash. He is 160 laps down.
Lap 143: Back to Green
William Byron leads the field into Turn 1 as the race returns to green flag conditions on Lap 143. Joey Logano has the 1976 Cale Yarborough paint scheme up to the second position.
Lap 140: Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road
William Byron remains the leader of this race as he won the race off of pit road during this caution period for debris. Joey Logano will restart from the second position, while Denny Hamlin, Josh Berry, and Christopher Bell are the remainder of the top-five runners.
Tyler Reddick (11th) and Ryan Blaney (12th) are looking to come back after losing track position due to the caution coming out during their green flag pit sequence.
Lap 138: Debris Brings Out Caution
On Lap 35, Brad Keselowski had the right rear tire detach from his car, but it stayed inside of the wheel opening of his No. 6 car. The wheel detaching caused him to turn his No. 6 RFK Racing Ford Mustang sideway. Somehow Keselowski pulled off an incredible save. Unfortunately, he would lose several laps limping back to pit road.
Brad Keselowski goes around! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/xn02vNatBg
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025
Keselowski would lose four laps, but the caution would finally come out on Lap 138 due to debris.
Byron had still yet pit in the green flag pit sequence, and remains the leader as the caution begins.
Lap 130: Ryan Blaney Kicks Off Green Flag Pit Sequence
Ryan Blaney hits pit road from the third position, which kicks off the first green flag pit sequence of Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington. A lap later, Tyler Reddick pits from the second position. William Byron has remained on the track, but will need to pit soon or be at the risk of losing track position.
Lap 124: Bubba Wallace Fading
Bubba Wallace, who looked to have a shot to take the lead of this race on the most recent restart, has now fallen to eighth, and he sounds frustrated by the handling on his car in dirty air. Wallace and his team are trying to figure out hwo to adjust to the conditions he finds himself in now.
Lap 106: Tyler Reddick to P2
Tyler Reddick gets around his 23XI Racing teammate Bubba Wallace for the runner-up spot, and he will now look to be the first driver to get around William Byron in the Goodyear 400 at Darlington. Byron continues to lead, but Reddick looks fast.
Lap 98: Back to Green
William Byron leads the field into Turn 1, as he has done all race long. Ryan Preece restarts from the runner-up spot, but Bubba Wallace moves past him in the opening lap of Stage 2.
Lap 95: Byron Continues to Lead As Majority Stays Out
The top-15 drivers stayed out under the caution between Stages 1 and 2, and a total of 12 drivers pitted for new tires.
This will again split the field on strategy. William Byron will continue as the race leader, and a slew of drivers will restart from the back half of the field, but will have drastically faster cars. Can someone finally get past Byron during Stage 2? We'll see.
Stage 1 Updates
William Byron prevails in a two-lap shootout to take the Stage 1 win over Bubba Wallace. Byron led every lap in the opening Stage, becoming the first driver to ever lead an entire Stage from open to close at Darlington Raceway.
Stage 1 Results
Pos | Car | Driver | Stage Points | Playoff Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | 10 | 1 |
2 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 9 | -- |
3 | 60 | Ryan Preece | 8 | -- |
4 | 17 | Chris Buescher | 7 | -- |
5 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 6 | -- |
6 | 6 | Brad Keselowski | 5 | -- |
7 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | 4 | -- |
8 | 2 | Austin Cindric | 3 | -- |
9 | 38 | Zane Smith | 2 | -- |
10 | 16 | AJ Allmendinger | 1 | -- |
Lap 88: Back to Green
It'll be a two-lap shootout for the Stage 1 win of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington. Everyone pitted under this most recent caution, and William Byron leads the field into Turn 1.
Lap 82: Hocevar Collides With Herbst to Bring Out Caution
Carson Hocevar's bad day has gone worse. On Lap 82, Hocevar was attempting to get a lap back from race leader William Byron when he collided with Riley Herbst on the exit of Turn 4. The contact with Herbst would send Hocevar skidding into the outside wall, and we would go under caution for the third time.
Eight laps left in Stage 1, William Byron continues to lead as he has done all day from the pole.
Lap 74: Chase Briscoe Fading
After running near the front for the majority of the opening Stage of Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington, Chase Briscoe has plummeted through the running order. Briscoe, who was mixing it up inside the top-five not long ago, now sits 23rd with 16 laps left in Stage 1.
Lap 71: Brad Keselowski Having a Decent Day
After starting in the 20th position, Brad Keselowski is attempting to secure his first top-10 finish of the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. Keselowski runs ninth with under 20 laps remaining in the opening Stage of the race.
Lap 65: Closing in on the end of Stage 1
Byron continues to set a blistering pace as he has nearly a five-second lead on Ryan Preece. Byron has led all of the opening 65 laps, and with 25 laps left in Stage 1, it looks like it's his Stage to lose.
Chris Buescher conitnues to run third behind his teammate Preece. Ryan Blaney has moved up to fourth, and he leads the 23XI Racing duo of Bubba Wallace and Tyler Reddick in fifth and sixth.
Lap 37: Buescher Moves to Third
Chris Buescher, who nearly won this event a season ago, has moved around Kyle Busch, Austin Cindric, and Chase Briscoe since the restart, and now finds himself in the third position. Buescher follows his RFK Racing teammate Ryan Preece, who is second.
William Byron has led every lap of this race, still.
Lap 29: Back to Green
William Byron continues to lead as the race goes back to green on Lap 29. After the restart, JJ Yeley cuts a right front tire down on his No. 44 NY Racing Team Chevrolet, but avoids any incident, and the race stays green.
Lap 26: William Byron Wins Race Off Pit Road
Under this caution, the entire field came down pit road for fresh tires, and fuel. William Byron, who has led every lap of Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, won the race off of pit road.
Here is the running order after the pit sequence under caution:
Pos | Car | Driver |
|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron |
2 | 60 | Ryan Preece |
3 | 8 | Kyle Busch |
4 | 2 | Austin Cindric |
5 | 19 | Chase Briscoe |
6 | 23 | Bubba Wallace |
7 | 17 | Chris Buescher |
8 | 34 | Todd Gilliland |
9 | 54 | Ty Gibbs |
10 | 45 | Tyler Reddick |
Lap 24: Hocevar Brings Out Caution
Carson Hocevar cut down a tire after slapping the outside wall, and went for a spin in Turn 4 to bring out the second caution of the race on Lap 24. Fortunately, Hocevar was able to avoid additional damage to his No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet.
Caution No. 2: Trouble for Carson Hocevar! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/0eCFXymfM6
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025
William Byron continues to lead over Ryan Preece, while Bubba Wallace (eighth) is the highest running driver, who pitted during the opening caution of the race.
Lap 15: William Byron Extends Lead
William Byron has been dominant from the pole as he has led the opening 15 laps of the Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. At Lap 15, Byron has a 1.882 second lead on Ryan Preece in the No. 60 RFK Racing Ford. Austin Cindric, Kyle Busch, and Chase Briscoe make up the remainder of the top-five on Lap 15.
Lap 8: Back to Green
The race is back to green as Kyle Larson's No. 5 team continues to work on their car in the garage following the crash on Lap 4. William Byron leads this race, and he is followed by Ryan Preece, and Austin Cindric, who are side-by-side for the second spot.
Preece prevails to hang onto the second position.
We have a strategy split as the top-16 cars remained on track during the first caution period, while others like Denny Hamlin, and Ryan Blaney made their first pit stops of the day.
Lap 4: Kyle Larson Crashes to Bring Out First Caution
Driving the paint scheme, which Terry Labonte took to his final NASCAR Cup Series win in the 2003 Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, Kyle Larson lost control of his No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet on Lap 4. Larson would pound the inside wall on the backstretch at the end of the spin, and the race would go under the yellow flag for the first time.
Big trouble and heavy damage for Kyle Larson! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/E5Qgzbii0i
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025
Larson's car would be towed back to the garage.
Green Flag: 3:16 PM ET
The green flag is out for the NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Polesitter William Byron, driving a silver No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet throwback scheme to Jeff Gordon's car in the 2015 NASCAR Cup Series season-finale, leads the field into Turn 1 on the opening lap of the race. Ryan Preece slots into the second position from the outside of the front row.
Green. GREEN. GREEN!! We are underway at Darlington! #NASCARonFS1 pic.twitter.com/GLrvNXXrRP
— FOX: NASCAR (@NASCARONFOX) April 6, 2025
Byron will lead the opening lap while Denny Hamlin is applying pressure to Preece for the runner-up spot.
Pre-Race Updates
Engines Fired
All 38 drivers in the field for Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway have fired up their engines after a command to do so from the Wood Brothers family. The Wood Brothers Racing team is celebrating its 75th anniversary season in 2025.
A special command for a special anniversary!
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) April 6, 2025
The @woodbrothers21 family gets us started! pic.twitter.com/FAwNUIo7hG
Harvick and Bowyer Drive Classic Wood Brothers Race Cars Around Darlington
Ahead of the command to start engines for Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Kevin Harvick and Clint Bowyer got a chance to pilot two iconic race cars from the historical Wood Brothers Racing team.
Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick take David Pearson and Neil Bonnett's old Wood Brothers cars for a spin in pre-race pic.twitter.com/BY1P8eqZy2
— Steven Taranto (@STaranto92) April 6, 2025
Harvick was driving David Pearson's 1971 No. 21 Mercury, while Bowyer was driving Neil Bonnett's 1981 No. 21 Ford Thunderbird.
William Byron on the Pole, Red-Hot Ryan Preece to Start Second
William Byron took his 15th career NASCAR Cup Series pole position with an incredible 28.774 second lap time (170.904 mph) in Saturday's Goodyear 400 qualifying session at Darlington Raceway. Byron's lap was the fastest lap ever turned in the NASCAR Next Gen car (adapted in 2022) at the 1.366-mile egg-shaped oval.
Starting alongside Byron will be RFK Racing's Ryan Preece, who comes into this race on the first three-race top-10 finishing streak of his NASCAR Cup Series career.
Goodyear 400 Starting Lineup
Pos | Car | Driver | Team | Manufacturer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | William Byron | Hendrick Motorsports | Chevrolet |
2 | 60 | Ryan Preece | RFK Racing | Ford |
3 | 11 | Denny Hamlin | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
4 | 19 | Chase Briscoe | Joe Gibbs Racing | Toyota |
5 | 23 | Bubba Wallace | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
6 | 2 | Austin Cindric | Team Penske | Ford |
7 | 45 | Tyler Reddick | 23XI Racing | Toyota |
8 | 8 | Kyle Busch | Richard Childress Racing | Chevrolet |
9 | 12 | Ryan Blaney | Team Penske | Ford |
10 | 71 | Michael McDowell | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet |
Click here for the full Goodyear 400 starting lineup
Throwback Weekend Brings Back Iconic Paint Schemes
There will be a lot of classic looks in the field in Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway including Kyle Larson's No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, which will look like Terry Labonte's 2003 Kellogg's Chevrolet.
Click here to see what every throwback car will look like in Sunday's race, and learn each paint scheme's backstory.
Joey Logano/Ross Chastain Rivalry Not Settled
Joey Logano and Ross Chastain got together a few times toward the end of last Sunday's NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out 400 at Martinsville Speedway, and following the race, where Loganon rallied to finish eighth after a spin due to a shoving match between Chase Briscoe and Chastain, Logano had some choice words for Chastain in his post-race interviews.
In a mid-week media availability, Chastain indicated that he was confused by Logano's assessment of his driving after last Sunday's race.
"I am confused by what he said," Chastain explained. "I haven't heard since he got out of the car, had time to cool down and look at it."
When told that Chastain felt confused by his comments last week, in a media scrum on Saturday, Logano said, "That sounds about right."
Ross Chastain said he was confused that @JoeyLogano blasted him in interviews after Martinsville and hoped that Logano would change his mind after watching things back. Safe to say, that Logano feels the same this week. #NASCAR pic.twitter.com/Mesm3OdDAc
— Toby Christie (@Toby_Christie) April 5, 2025
Logano was asked if he had watched the incidents back, and if so, did he feel the same way about Chastain.
"Yeah, there's always a backstory, right? It's not just one occassion. That's usually what happens," Logano pointed.
That being said, it sounds like this feud could spill over into Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Logano will start from the 18th position in the No. 22 Team Penske Ford Mustang, while Chastain will begin the race from the 25th spot in his No. 1 Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet.
How Will Massive Changes Effect Justin Haley and No. 7 Spire Motorsports Team?
Heading into Sunday's Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway, Justin Haley and the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team will attempt to keep building momentum despite a slew of changes to the race team over the past week.
Robert "Cheddar" Smith, a championship-winning car chief, who followed crew chief Rodney Childers to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team in the offseason, abruptly left the organization this week to take on the same role with the No. 54 Joe Gibbs Racing team.
Robbie Fairweather, who was promoted from the interior specialist role within the No. 7 team, is serving as the team's car chief this weekend. Haley will start 21st in Sunday's race, while Ty Gibbs, the driver of the No. 54 Toyota claimed the 11th starting spot.
Prior to this weekend, Haley sits 26th in the championship standings while Gibbs is 31st. It'll be interesting to see where each team goes following the changes.
However, car chief wasn't the only change made to the No. 7 Spire Motorsports team this week. The team leases a pit crew from Hendrick Motorsports, and after some stumbles for Kyle Larson's No. 5 pit crew in the opening few races of the season, Hendrick Motorsports made a change and swapped the No. 5 and No. 7 pit crews heading into this weekend's race.
In a media scrum at Darlington Raceway on Saturday, Haley indicated that he was happy with the pit crew that had serviced his car this season, but also knows the crew that had been pitting the No. 5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet has also shown the ability to be among the best in the series.
"Obviously, I was really happy with the guys that were on our car and they did a great job at the start of the season. And yeah, I just don't know the internal workings of it, right, I just heard that we got the No. 5 [Hendrick] crew," Haley explained. "I know all of the Hendrick pit crews are really good, and obviously, they won a race, and did really well last season too, this 5 crew that is coming over."
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Toby Christie is the Editor-in-Chief of Racing America. He has 15 years of experience as a motorsports journalist and has been with Racing America since 2023.
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