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Xfinity Series rookies rose to occasion at NASCAR's toughest track
Darlington is widely considered to be the toughest track on the NASCAR circuit, but several NASCAR Xfinity Series rookies had a solid showing in Saturday's race at the "Track Too Tough To Tame."
While the top four consisted of NASCAR veterans — race winner Brandon Jones, runner-up Chase Elliott, third-place finisher Justin Allgaier and fourth-place finisher Ross Chastain — fifth through eighth consisted of four Xfinity Series rookies, three of which had never turned a lap in an Xfinity Series car at Darlington prior to Saturday.
Carson Kvapil — who raced in both Xfinity Series races at Darlington in 2024 — led the way in fifth, with Connor Zilisch finishing sixth, Christian Eckes finishing seventh and Nick Sanchez finishing eighth.
Kvapil didn't earn any stage points in Stage 1, but finished sixth in Stage 2 and hung around the top 10 for the rest of the afternoon before ultimately finishing in fifth.
Like his JR Motorsports teammate, Connor Zilisch struggled early, finishing 17th in Stage 1 and even falling to 21st by the end of Stage 2. However, both Zilisch and his car got better as the race wore on, leading to a solid sixth-place finish in Zilisch's first trip to the 'Lady in Black.'
Eckes, meanwhile, may be the only driver of the bunch that should be disappointed. After finishing seventh in Stage 1, Eckes finished second in Stage 2 behind Allgaier, proving that No. 16 was one of the best cars. While he faded to seventh, it was still a great race for Eckes.
Sanchez finished 16th in Stage 1 and 15th in Stage 2, but his No. 48 came alive late in the race, lifting him to his fourth top-10 finish of the season.
Zilisch, Kvapil, Sanchez and Eckes are sixth, eighth, 15th and 16th in the Xfinity Series points standings after Darlington, respectively.
The towering high-banked half-mile of Bristol Motor Speedway on April 12 is the next challenge for the Xfinity Series rookie class, which had a few students pass a major test on Saturday.
Other rookies in Saturday's race weren't so fortunate, with Daniel Dye finishing 17th, Dean Thompson finishing 18th, Taylor Gray finishing 33rd and William Sawalich finishing 35th.
More must-reads:
- Brandon Jones wins Xfinity Series race at Darlington, breaks 98-race winless drought
- William Byron sets blazing pace to win Darlington pole
- The 'Daytona 500 winners' quiz
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Ryan Blaney lauds NASCAR's approach to scheduling, says he'd like to see Chicagoland return
Ryan Blaney has long been an advocate and supporter of NASCAR's modern scheduling approach. During a news conference at Michigan International Speedway on Saturday, the 2023 Cup Series champion said recent scheduling decisions — such as the additions of the Chicago Street Race and next week's race in Mexico City — prove NASCAR can race anywhere. "They've proven they can kind of do it anywhere if you put the resources and the time in it," Blaney said. "You can make a street course, you can go to different road courses that (already exist), maybe even (go to) some tracks that we don't go to anymore like Chicago(land), the Joliet (IL) race track." Blaney says his hat is in the ring for a return to the 1.5-mile oval located an hour from the Windy City. "I'd like to see it come back, because I think it'd be a great racetrack. It always was. If we're naming places, I'd love to see (Chicagoland) come back." Chicagoland last hosted a Cup Series race in 2019. It was slated to return in 2020, but did not host a race weekend due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has not held a NASCAR-sanctioned event since. "They (NASCAR) can choose where they go," Blaney continued. "They set the schedule, they can work with these cities to figure out where we can bring our show to a city near you." All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
Three burning questions about SEC's huge conference schedule change
The SEC is moving to a nine-game conference schedule, and we have questions. The conference answered some (the nine-game schedule will begin in 2026, each team will have three annual opponents), but others remain. Here are three we're particularly interested in: 1. What happens with the ACC? Earlier Thursday, Yahoo Sports college football reporter Ross Dellenger shared that momentum was building for the SEC to adopt a nine-game conference schedule after executives met this week. He added that a move by the SEC could force the ACC, which plays an eight-game conference schedule, to do the same. However, with the conference sitting at 17 teams, it's mathematically impossible for the league to schedule nine conference games per team. The conference likely wouldn't kick out a member. Instead, adding an 18th team would make more sense. Memphis threw itself at the Big 12 and fell on its face. Perhaps the ACC would be more interested? The ACC already has a scheduling agreement with Notre Dame, and it might also pursue strengthening those bonds by having the Irish play more conference opponents. 2. Will SEC still schedule FCS out-of-conference games? On the surface, the SEC adding more competitive games is a win for fans. That said, if the conference is adding one conference game, it's taking one out-of-conference game away. Depending on which one, a nine-game SEC schedule will hardly be worth celebrating. Instead of scheduling challenging out-of-conference games, SEC programs might be more inclined to ensure easy wins by paying overmatched FCS teams to get blown out by 50 points. Where's the fun in that? 3. How does a nine-game conference schedule impact College Football Playoff format? The Big Ten and SEC, college football's biggest conferences, have been at odds over the CFP's future, with the Big Ten favoring a 4-4-2-2-1 format that features four automatic qualifiers for it and the SEC, two for the ACC and Big 12, and one for a mid-major. At-large bids would fill the rest of the 16-team field. The SEC, meanwhile, has supported a format that rewards the five highest-ranked conference champions and 11 at-large teams. By moving to nine conference games, the SEC might be more receptive to the idea of automatic qualifiers as teams compete more intensely, ensuring that it gets a set number of seats at the CFP table each season. Last season, the first year of the expanded 12-team playoff, the SEC only landed two at-large berths. Nevertheless, it might still prefer a 5-11 CFP format, relying on the perceived strength of the SEC to gobble up more bids in future seasons. On Aug. 11, the Associated Press published its preseason top 25 poll, which featured 10 ranked SEC teams. There are a few things the conference loves more than "quality losses," and commissioner Greg Sankey will be able to champion even more with the expanded SEC schedule. While a lot remains uncertain, that's one thing we're certain of.
Milwaukee Brewers: 1 sleeper candidate if Joey Ortiz misses substantial time
The Milwaukee Brewers are currently awaiting further results as to the status of their starting shortstop Joey Ortiz’s hamstring. He injured his left leg running to first base on Thursday, August 21, which was a separate injury from when his entire right leg went numb a few days ago after he fouled a ball off of his knee. With an MRI pending, the Brewers will soon know the severity of Ortiz’s hamstring injury. If he is forced to miss substantial time, which is generally likely with this kind of soft tissue injury, then Milwaukee may soon be exploring ways to re-align and re-enforce their infield without their gold glove caliber shortstop. Here, we take a look at one sleeper candidate the Brew Crew may utilize if Ortiz is forced to miss substantial time. Raynel Delgado is having a tremendous season in the minor leagues 25 year old infielder Raynel Delgado was signed to a minor league contract with the Brewers last November and is enjoying another great season in Triple-A. Last year, at the Cleveland Guardians Triple-A affiliate, Delgado slashed .275/.365/.426 with 22 stolen bases and just a 24% strikeout rate while walking 11% of the time. This year has been more of the same, with a .271/.348/.370 slash line, 33 stolen bases, 21% strikeout rates, and 9% walk rate. Where would Delgado fit on the Milwaukee Brewers active roster? If the Brewers were going to promote Delgado in Ortiz’s presumed absence, second base would likely be where he lands, but he has played third base, shortstop, and the outfield this season. A move like this, would likely shift Brice Turang over to shortstop for the short term. A corresponding 40-man roster move would have to be made if Delgado was selected to join the Brewers. Taking Oliver Dunn’s spot is one possibility, as he has struggled mightily in his second season with the organization. With Ortiz potentially going to be sidelined, the Brewers will need to get creative to fill the void in the infield. Whether it’s moving Brice Turang to shortstop, promoting a versatile player like Delgado, or leaning on internal depth with someone like Monasterio, the club has options. With a playoff push in full swing, it will be interesting to see which direction Milwaukee goes and who ultimately gets the call to help hold down the fort should Ortiz miss time.
'Look out for this dude': Former NFL exec has warning about unexpected SEC quarterback
Quarterbacks like Texas' Arch Manning, Clemson's Cade Klubnik and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier are getting all the hype as the 2025 college football season quickly approaches, but don't sleep on South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback LaNorris Sellers. Sellers, a 6-foot-3, 240-pound redshirt sophomore from Florence, South Carolina, had an intriguing redshirt freshman season for the Gamecocks. So much so, that he very well could find himself listed among players like Manning, Klubnik and Nussmeier in the Heisman Trophy race by the end of this season. He's also the exact type of quarterback who will have NFL scouts raving. Louis Riddick is a former NFL player, scout and executive who is extremely high on Sellers heading into this season. He was recently on ESPN's "Get Up" and had many great things to say about South Carolina's young quarterback. “I’m just telling you, look out for this dude," Riddick said (h/t On3). "He can run. He has got a cannon. They have got a good program down there. He is everything that you’re looking for. Just look at some of this. Look how big this kid is. Look how fast and elusive he is.” Sellers is a classic dual-threat quarterback who fits the mold of a modern QB perfectly. Last season for the Gamecocks, he threw for 2,534 yards and 18 touchdowns (with seven interceptions) while rushing for 674 yards and seven touchdowns. Much like its quarterback, South Carolina is a bit under the radar in a stacked SEC, but head coach Shane Beamer went 9-4 last season, and his Gamecocks are ranked No. 13 in the preseason AP Top 25. South Carolina has a stretch in the middle of the season that will see it play consecutive games against No. 9 LSU, No. 18 Oklahoma, No. 8 Alabama, No. 21 Ole Miss and No. 19 Texas A M. Coastal Carolina is a respite on the schedule on Nov. 22, and the Gamecocks end their regular season against No. 4 Clemson. If the Gamecocks can pull off a few wins in that stretch, they very well could be a College Football Playoff team this season. In order to do that, though, they'll need Sellers to become a superstar, but listening to Riddick talk about the quarterback, it seems as if he's already on his way.
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