Some people were not happy with the Southern 500 not being a playoff race but Christopher Bell is not one of them. It is one of the biggest races in the NASCAR Cup Series that everyone wants to win. If it was the first playoff race like it was in the past couple of years, drivers would race for points instead of going all out for a race win. But now since it is the last race of the regular season, he believes that the drivers will get a chance to race a little more aggressively.
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The Joe Gibbs Racing star is comfortably in the playoffs and has three race wins to his name already. A win in the final regular season race of the year will give him a lot of momentum and five more playoff points. However, it has been a while since he has visited Victory Lane. The last time he won this season was at the New Hampshire Motor Speedway before the Olympics break. He will be hoping to go out there and be as aggressive as possible to take home the checkered flag at the Darlington Raceway.
“It is actually nice to have a Southern 500 out of the playoffs…with it being the first race of the playoffs like it was the past couple of years, it did feel like you had to be a little bit cautious racing that event because points were so important whereas now it being the regular season finale…I do feel like we can be a little bit more aggressive and try to go all out for a race win,” he said in a media interaction.
It will certainly be intriguing to see who finishes where in the race on Sunday. NASCAR will crown a regular season champion at the end and the 16 playoff drivers will also be confirmed.
Jeff Burton keeps Darlington above Daytona
One of the reasons why the Southern 500 is as iconic as it gets is because of the track. The Darlington Raceway is one of the toughest tracks out there. It takes a lot of hard work and a bit of luck to win on the track. Interestingly, former Cup Series driver, Jeff Burton said that he would not swap his Darlington wins for a Daytona 500 win.
“The Southern 500 and winning at Darlington will always be up here for the crew chiefs, the drivers, the car owners, the people that know the sport. It’ll always be big. The Daytona 500 is clearly the Daytona 500 and it is our biggest race but if I never want a Daytona 500, and if you came to me and said, “I’ll give you a Daytona 500 for one of your Darlington wins,” I’m not taking it, I’m keeping my Darlington wins,” he said.
The track commands a lot of respect from everyone involved in the sport. Daytona is a fantastic track but the glamour aspect of it sometimes outshines the racing aspect. At Darlington, however, that has never been the case.
