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(Denny Hamlin celebrates with a burnout after winning the Southern 500) https://twitter.com/NASCARonNBC/status/1434730938529951744?s=20 Denny Hamlin, after coming up short all season finally earned his first win of the season at the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway. This marked his fourth win at Darlington he is now only the fourth driver in history to win the Southern 500 for a third time. With it being the first race of the 10 race playoffs, all 16 playoff drivers started in the top 16 starting positions with Ryan Blaney on the pole and Hamlin in second. Darlington, which is well known for being the track that's ''too tough to tame'', really lived up to it's name. Playoff contender Alex Bowman brings out the first caution of the night with a tire issue sending him into the wall on lap 17. Kurt Busch passes Blaney for the lead as Bowman brings out the caution. Although pit road was open, only takers this first time around are Bowman and William Byron. Busch brings everyone to the restart, the scheduled competition caution comes out at lap 26 and the entire field will come down for service. Kevin Harvick wins the race off pit road for the competition caution, but Erik Jones chooses to stay out and take over the lead for the restart on lap 30 with Harvick on his outside. Jones drops like a rock as drivers with fresh tires pass him with ease. Caution out again on lap 32 for playoff driver Michael McDowell as he gets loose off of the newly repaved turn 2 slapping the outside wall then hitting head on to the inside wall destroying his car and ending his day early. Harvick and Kurt Busch restart on the front row coming to lap 36. One of the underdog stories of the day is Corey Lajoie who had worked his way up into the top 10 during stage 1 but caution will come out for the Rick Ware Racing cars of James Davidson and Cody Ware on lap 48. Restart lap 54 with Hamlin and Blaney leading the field to green, the rest of the stage would stay green from here on out as we start our first set of green flag pit stops on lap 81. As pit stops cycle through, Hamlin will resume the lead with 20 laps to go in the stage. Denny Hamlin stretches his lead out to over 2.5 seconds to seal the deal for the stage one win. Hamlin will win the race off of pit road lining up alongside Kyle Larson for the restart and start of stage 2. Caution out for Kyle Busch on lap 123 as he comes down and makes contact with Austin Dillon sending him sideways into the wall and into the inside wall making hard contact similar to McDowell's earlier wreck. The race will restart on lap 129 with Larson and Ku. Busch in the front row. Caution for debris comes out at lap 165 in the middle of the cycle of green flag stops. The timing of this caution would prove vital with strategy as current leader Christopher Bell pits from the lead allowing drivers behind him take the wave around to gain back a lap or be back on the lead lap. With a restart on lap 168 only a handful of drivers remained on the lead lap as Larson and Busch leads them to the green flag. Green flag pit stops would start on lap 196 but again be shortened on lap 200 as William Byron has a tire go down bringing out a caution. Larson and now Ross Chastain will bring the field to the restart on Lap 206, Bell passes Hamlin on the final lap of the stage to take second while Larson with a 5 second lead holds on for the stage win. Larson and Bell will lead the field to the start of the final stage of the race with 130 laps to go in the Southern 500, unfortunately while under caution Ryan Blaney's crew could not keep a tire under control and is forced to take a penalty and restart at the tail end of the field. Bad luck continues late in the race for Blaney losing control of his car in turn one as brake issues plague the driver of the number 12 car with 49 laps to go birnging out the caution. Race restart with 42 laps to go with Larson and Hamlin pacing the field, another quick caution occurs this time for Chase Elliott on lap 327 with close contact in a three wide situation with Bell and Bubba Wallace cuts down one of his tires. Restart at 36 laps to go with Hamlin and Larson again sharing the spot light, Chastain in a griping battle for second harnesses the power of Scottie from Star Trek and gives it all he had with the laps winding down. Larson with better long run speed is able to gain on Hamlin and distance himself from Chastain but in a last last ditch video game effort, Larson dives almost head into the back of Hamlin trying for the outside wall riding but it's not enough! Denny Hamlin holds on for the win at the Southern 500 at Darlington. Finally getting that first win of the year with the hope of more to come looks to be the beginning of a strong playoffs for the Joe Gibbs Racing number 11 team as a championship bid for Denny Hamlin continues. Cook Out Southern 500 top 5: 1. Denny Hamlin 2. Kyle Larson 3. Ross Chastain 4. Martin Truex Jr 5. Kevin Harvick Cook Out Southern 500 Notables: 9. Chris Buescher 11. Cole Custer 12. Ryan Preece 13. Daniel Suarez 15. Corey Lajoie Written By: Matt Marr

(photo credit ESPN F1 on Twitter) After one of the biggest blunders of the 2021 season that saw the shortest grand prix ever recorded in Formula One history, the world's greatest drivers take on the legendary Zandvoort circuit for the first time since the 1980s as the championship battle between Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen reaches a fever pitch with only eleven races to go in this heavyweight bout. The Dutch Grand Prix has been off the calendar since 1985, when famed F1 driver Niki Lauda took his Ferrari to victory circle. Since then, the circuit has gone through some changes. With most drivers comparing this race circuit to a roller coaster that will challenge the likes of even the best drivers. This is the second attempt to bring this race back to the schedule as this race was canceled last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Zandvoort is a 4.259 KM or 2.646 mi, 14-turn permanent circuit located in North Holland, Netherlands. Very rarely do we see Formula One circuits with banking and this is going to be one of only two tracks this season with banking, joining the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix later this year. Due to the high speeds and narrow track, there will be no DRS zone coming off the final corner which is banked at 19 degrees. There will be only one DRS zone on track this weekend as drivers will be able to use it on the second longest straight at the circuit between turns nine and ten. While turn fourteen is a long sweeping right hand corner, the other banked corner at the circuit is turn 3. Which is probably the most difficult corner on the track as it is a downhill hairpin that makes the preferred line more diamond-like then hugging the bottom as you extend the turns four through six complex. While Lewis Hamilton may be the odds on favorite this weekend at Zandvoort, the real hero this weekend will be Max Verstappen as this is home race for the season. You thought Austria looked orange, just wait until you have seen 67,000 fans all screaming for Verstappen as he dives into the first turn; Tarzanbocht. As for some mid-field action, the only team to have both cars score points in the last two races has been Williams. Can the continue this hot streak? Can Lando Norris bounce back from a horrible weekend in Spa? How can I also forget the Kimi Raikkonen farewell tour begins as well. You can watch the Dutch Grand Prix at 9:00 A.M. this Sunday on ESPN. Stay up to date with RacingRefresh.com for more F1 news, analysis, and opinion for the rest of the 2021 season.

Unable to join the meeting at first due to a computer/phone error, Tyler Reddick humorously joked he was glad nobody could see him. He was smiling and energetic through his entire event with the press today. It didn't take long for him to get into the big details that make him feel like he is a true contender for the playoffs. In short, the first round of the playoffs which he states he believes will be good luck. "It’s good. The nice thing is that we’re going back to a venue — well, let me think about this. I mean, in a way we’ve been to all three of these tracks already this year, the third Bristol. Obviously a little dustier for some reason the first time we were there earlier this year.The speed we had early at this race at Darlington in the beginning of summer, if you will, was really promising to know we were that good and still have missed the mark on where our car needed to be by that much. Yeah, I’m excited for sure going into that race. But even more excited, after all the chaos and everything kind of had passed at Daytona, we knew we were in, that night leading into the next morning, Bob is taking a guess at where everyone is going to start. Oh, my gosh, this fifth-place finish was not only good to finally finish fifth, in the top 5 at Daytona, but it looks like it’s going to help our starting position at Darlington where there’s only I think 13 points between myself and sixth right now. I think we’re going to see a lot of shake-up just right away in how tight everybody is, how it’s going to spread out just in this first race at Darlington. We’re going to try to take advantage of that." He wasn't discouraged by any negative press that he has received, either. He had this to say when asked about his philosophy on being the 16th entry in the playoffs...of 16. "For most of this year, especially once we got it rolling the way it needed to be, we were running inside the top 10 a lot, having shots, one pit stop or one decision here or there away from top 5s, which unfortunately haven’t had a lot of those this year. But we’ve been right there. Little details will either make or break this Playoff run for us." His poise and great attitude will contribute to what I believe will be a strong run overall. His final thoughts on the day were the following. "I thought we handled that situation as well as we could. It makes us even more prepared and ready for this first round, the rounds after, if we can do our part and get there."

Brad Keselowski entered the playoff media availability with his trademark calm demeanor and a smile. His face was low, and he was sitting back comfortably in his chair with Apple Airpods in his ears as members of NASCAR's media interviewed him about his playoff chances. He was confident in his season and remained loyal to Team Penske. Despite having only one win combined between himself and previous cup champion and teammate Joey Logano in 2021, their younger teammate Ryan Blaney has been a three time winner this season. Brad emphasized his support of Blaney, stating ''He is on a wave of momentum and I am happy for him." He continued. “No, it doesn’t particularly stand out to me. I’m happy for him. I think Ryan has done an excellent job of putting himself in good positions and then executing around that. He’s certainly riding a wave of momentum that I think everyone should be proud of. I’m happy for him, so I don’t know if it particularly impacts me at all.” While many may have felt that Brad's largest playoff concern was his transition to Roush Racing in 2022, he stated that it was the lack of success for Ford at the 550HP race tracks. "[The] Combination of off-season rules enforcement changes and part freezes completely neutered us." This led to another compliment of his teammate Blaney and the #12 team, who Keselowski states is the only team currently competing for wins on those tracks. Off-topic to the playoffs, Brad who is known as one of the most patriotic members of the sport was asked about the upcoming 20th anniversary of the September 11th attacks. Initially, and nearly emotionally, Brad questioned if it has already been 20 years. “I was 17. I was a high school senior and it was a very interesting day to say the least, a sad day in a lot of ways. It was one I’ll never forget, that’s for sure. It’s hard to believe that was 20 years ago. When you first said that I said, ‘No, that’s wrong,’ but you’re right, it’s 20 years ago. It’s been a whirlwind for sure since then with all the different things that are going on worldwide, but it was a tough day for sure.” Brad was asked unable to comment on if #2 team is prepared to win the 2021 title. “I think there are aspects of the team that have historically shown some strengths, but it’s really irrelevant to what actually happens in the future in my mind, so I have no idea. I know that I’m gonna do all that I can to execute it and to put ourselves in a position to make the most of whatever we have at the racetrack on any given day, but I can’t quantify that to say that we’re here or we’re there. There’s just too many pieces outside of my control.” To sum up his season in one interview would be a challenge, but he was more than happy to finish his presser with a laugh, joking that he would stay for the day instead of the other driver's usual appearances.

Aric Almirola mett members of NASCAR media as one of less than a handful of drivers to have won at NASCAR's Cup level in 2021 representing the Ford Motor Company. He was happy to chat about his season overall, but has made it clear. From this moment forward, only the 10 playoff races matter. "The last 26 races no longer matter and now it’s about putting the best 10 weeks together that you possibly can. I relate it a lot to pro sports and football in general. You can be the wildcard team that squeaks into the playoffs and once the playoffs starts all that matters it the next week, winning the next week, and that’s how the playoffs are for us. The last 26 races do not matter anymore and all that really matters right now is Darlington and after Darlington all that will matter is Richmond and so on and so forth. So, yeah, we certainly are having that mentality.” said Almirola of his outlook on the playoffs. He was optimistic overall about the first round of the playoffs. His past success at tracks such as Darlington and Richmond make him feel that he has a great chance to contend. " You certainly lean on your notebook, especially without practice and qualifying. You certainly lean on your notebook, so that will be important to go back and read those races and look at the speed in our cars and those things, but also feel like we’ve made our cars better since then. So, as I look forward to those races, I know that we’ll bring better race cars back than we had there earlier in the year." Proud of his year, Almirola was not interested in entertaining that the newest package of NASCAR Cup racing contains a strong element of luck. He feels the drivers and teams should be recognized for what they are accomplishing on the track. "I would say that to get to this level it takes a tremendous amount of talent and driver skill, and to win at this level takes a tremendous amount of talent and driver skill and team, so, yeah, I wouldn’t say that much of our sport really adds up to luck. You certainly need things to go your way from time to time throughout the course of a race, make sure that you’re at the right place at the right time and not the wrong place at the wrong time, but it takes a great organization, a great team, a great driver and great pit crew. It’s a total team effort. I know the driver gets a lot of credit, but I wouldn’t discredit the fact that it is very much a team effort and you don’t really just fall into a win these days. It is certainly by design and talent and making the right choices and having a good day." As he preps for another opportunity in the playoffs, he intends on racing for points, and working each of the proper packages to the 10 team's best ability. “I’ve talked about it a lot in the last couple of weeks, but I would say the 750 package. Our short track program is really strong right now, and I feel like going into this first round of the playoffs that sets up well for us, so I would say we’ve got to play to our strengths and I would say that the 750 package is certainly where we’re excelling right now.”

Playoff racing has turned into points racing according to young NASCAR star Christopher Bell. Bell, who has one career cup series win at Daytona road course earlier this year says he is looking forward to the first round of the playoffs most, but he has several tracks overall that he is excited for. "I mean honestly the the first round here at Darlington, Richmond, and Bristol is going to be a really really good round for us. I think Richmond was a great racetrack and Darlington were both great race tracks for us early on in the year and Bristol is one of my favorites on the schedule so I think between that first round that's going to be one round that i really enjoy and then moving forward the Charlotte Roval is going to be another one that I look forward to. I mean I think the playoffs are littered with racetracks that could be great races for our organization." Despite having successful teammates overall, Bell states he is leaning more on his crew chief for support and advice at this time in his career than the other drivers that are on his stable. "I have relied a lot on my my crew chief Adam Stevens who's won this this championship twice now with Kyle Busch driving. Adam knows as well as any of them for sure. Higher downforce is gonna be easier to manage according to Bell. "...Is going to be easier to to manage. The direction that we're heading is trying to get all of the bigger race tracks to race like Daytona and Talladega. I'll let whoever decide if Daytona or Talladega is luck or skill [because] that's the direction that we're heading. When asked about his past opportunities in NASCAR's lower divisions' playoffs, Bell believed that this feels different because he is not necessarily a dominating force or a favourite. "Through the Xfinity and the truck series playoffs where I've been a part of in the past I've been on the favorite side of it or i've been able to accumulate bonus points at least through the regular season and be up on the on top of the leaderboard. This time around I'm at the very bottom with basically no points so instead of in the Xfinity series going into the playoffs with the mentality of just don't eliminate yourself now we have to be the aggressor and we have to be focused on doing well and winning points." Christopher Bell enters the playoffs in 12th of the 16 drivers that qualified for the post season.

In a presser with his NBC colleagues, Brad Daugherty was asked about the possibility of a second charter in 2022. He discussed where JTG Daugherty Racing currently is and what their long-term goals are with the team. Racing Refresh was on hand for the press conference. His comments are included in the video below. JTG Daugherty Racing will NOT pursue a second charter in 2022. pic.twitter.com/R4TqmjZnj3 — AJ Appeal - Racing Refresh (@RacingRefresh) August 31, 2021 Become a Patron! There were not additional comments on Ryan Preece's 2021 or 2022 season at this time. Follow Racing Refresh for all of your most up to date motorsports news.