The 2026 Goodyear 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on March 22, 2026, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 293 laps on the egg-shaped oval, it was the 70th running of the event, and the sixth race of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season.
Tyler Reddick won the race. Brad Keselowski finished 2nd, and Ryan Blaney finished 3rd. Carson Hocevar and Austin Cindric rounded out the top five, and Ty Gibbs, Daniel Suárez, William Byron, Chris Buescher, and Erik Jones rounded out the top ten.
Report
Background
Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.
Since 2015, the weekend has featured a retro-themed weekend. From 2015 until 2023, the race has hosted NASCAR's Throwback weekend, which featured cars sporting paint schemes that pay homage to past teams and drivers. In 2024, NASCAR changed the theme of the retro weekend to Alumni Weekend, featuring drivers, crew chiefs, and other personalities of the sport's past. The events feature the Legends Parade on Saturday morning, featuring cars, drivers, and other personalities from the sport's past. The 2026 Alumni Weekend will feature Kurt Busch and Harry Gant (2026 NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees) as the grand marshal, Mark Martin driving the safety car at the start of the race, and Dave Marcis presenting the winner's trophy.
During the offseason, NASCAR announced that Darlington would now get the short track package, as opposed to running the intermediate package from previous years.
Entry list (R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.
Driver Team Manufacturer 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 48 Justin Allgaier (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 66 Timmy Hill (i) Garage 66 Ford 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing ChevroletOfficial entry list
Alex Bowman, the original driver of the No. 48, was sidelined for the race due to vertigo sustained at Austin.
Practice Erik Jones & Riley Herbst were the fastest in the practice session, each with a time of 29.925 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.925 164.311 1 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 29.925 164.311 3 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 30.017 163.827Official practice results
Qualifying Tyler Reddick scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.072 and a speed of .
Qualifying results Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Time 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 29.072 169.152 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 29.196 168.434 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.319 167.727 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.377 167.396 5 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 29.424 167.129 6 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 29.443 167.021 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 29.476 166.834 8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.478 166.823 9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.500 166.698 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 29.538 166.484 11 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.550 166.416 12 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 29.570 166.304 13 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.601 166.130 14 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 29.613 166.062 15 48 Justin Allgaier (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 29.624 166.001 16 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.677 165.704 17 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 29.708 165.531 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 29.721 165.459 19 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.723 165.448 20 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 29.677 165.403 21 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.776 165.153 22 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.785 165.103 23 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.819 164.915 24 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 29.825 164.882 25 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 29.847 164.760 26 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 29.878 164.589 27 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 29.885 164.551 28 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 29.889 164.529 29 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 29.912 164.402 30 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.980 164.029 31 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 29.997 163.936 32 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 30.091 163.424 33 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 30.125 163.240 34 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 30.309 162.249 35 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 30.422 161.646 36 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 30.584 160.790 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) Garage 66 Ford 32.044 153.464 Official qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One Laps: 90
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 102 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 93 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 84 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 75 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 66 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 57 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 39 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 210 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Stage Two Laps: 95
Pos Driver Team Manufacturer Points1 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 102 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 93 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 84 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 75 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 66 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 57 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 48 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 39 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 210 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 1
Final Stage results
Stage Three Laps: 108
Pos Grid Driver Team Manufacturer Laps Points1 1 45 Tyler Reddick 23XI Racing Toyota 293 70 2 5 6 Brad Keselowski RFK Racing Ford 293 55 3 7 12 Ryan Blaney Team Penske Ford 293 42 4 16 77 Carson Hocevar Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 293 33 5 12 2 Austin Cindric Team Penske Ford 293 38 6 28 54 Ty Gibbs Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 33 7 11 7 Daniel Suárez Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 293 33 8 13 24 William Byron Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 293 34 9 6 17 Chris Buescher RFK Racing Ford 293 42 10 24 43 Erik Jones Legacy Motor Club Toyota 293 27 11 9 11 Denny Hamlin Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 26 12 23 19 Chase Briscoe Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 293 32 13 17 60 Ryan Preece RFK Racing Ford 293 29 14 33 97 Shane van Gisbergen Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 293 23 15 3 9 Chase Elliott Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 293 26 16 25 1 Ross Chastain Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 293 21 17 26 21 Josh Berry Wood Brothers Racing Ford 293 20 18 32 88 Connor Zilisch (R) Trackhouse Racing Chevrolet 293 19 19 22 20 Christopher Bell Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota 292 18 20 20 71 Michael McDowell Spire Motorsports Chevrolet 292 17 21 8 8 Kyle Busch Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 292 16 22 19 38 Zane Smith Front Row Motorsports Ford 292 15 23 31 34 Todd Gilliland Front Row Motorsports Ford 292 14 24 15 48 Justin Allgaier (i) Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 292 0 25 10 3 Austin Dillon Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet 292 12 26 30 4 Noah Gragson Front Row Motorsports Ford 291 11 27 21 42 John Hunter Nemechek Legacy Motor Club Toyota 291 10 28 35 41 Cole Custer Haas Factory Team Chevrolet 291 9 29 18 47 Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Hyak Motorsports Chevrolet 291 8 30 27 16 A. J. Allmendinger Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 291 7 31 36 10 Ty Dillon Kaulig Racing Chevrolet 291 6 32 4 5 Kyle Larson Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet 291 19 33 29 22 Joey Logano Team Penske Ford 290 4 34 2 23 Bubba Wallace 23XI Racing Toyota 288 11 35 14 35 Riley Herbst 23XI Racing Toyota 288 2 36 34 51 Cody Ware Rick Ware Racing Chevrolet 285 1 37 37 66 Timmy Hill (i) Garage 66 Ford 52 0 Official race results
Race statistics Lead changes: 16 among 8 different drivers Cautions/Laps: 4 for 26 Red flags: 0 Time of race: 3 hours, 4 minutes, and 56 seconds Average speed:
Media
Television The race was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy, Clint Bowyer, and Kevin Harvick called the race from the broadcast booth. Jamie Little, Regan Smith, and Josh Sims handled the pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight on-site during the race.
FS1Booth announcersPit reportersIn-race analystLap-by-lap: Mike JoyColor-commentator: Clint BowyerColor-commentator: Kevin Harvick Jamie LittleRegan SmithJosh Sims Larry McReynolds
Radio MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcast on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
MRN RadioBooth announcersTurn announcersPit reporters Lead announcer: Alex HaydenAnnouncer: Mike BagleyAnnouncer: Todd Gordon Turns 1 & 2: Dave MoodyTurns 3 & 4: Tim Catafalmo Steve PostKim CoonWendy Venturini
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Tyler Reddick 325 1 2 Ryan Blaney 230 (–95) 1 3 Bubba Wallace 205 (–120) 4 Denny Hamlin 203 (–122) 5 Chase Elliott 194 (–131) 2 6 William Byron 191 (–134) 2 7 Chris Buescher 188 (–137) 2 8 Christopher Bell 182 (–143) 3 9 Brad Keselowski 182 (–143) 3 10 Kyle Larson 176 (–149) 1 11 Ty Gibbs 173 (–152) 1 12 Ryan Preece 154 (–171) 2 13 Carson Hocevar 151 (–174) 3 14 Daniel Suárez 150 (–175) 1 15 Shane van Gisbergen 140 (–185) 5 16 Joey Logano 139 (–186)Official driver's standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Toyota 310 2 Ford 214 (–96) 3 Chevrolet 206 (–104)
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings.
References