Asterisk Mark Report – Darlington #2 2022
Kyle Busch – Last fall at Darlington over the course of the race, nobody was better than Kyle Busch. In the race, Busch finished 3rd in Stage #1, won Stage #2, led 155 laps, had a race best 4.0 average running position but while leading during the late Cody Ware caution, his engine blew up which led to his asterisk mark 30th.
Martin Truex Jr. – Last fall at Darlington, Martin Truex Jr. was poised to be the driver to beat at the end, but he finished an asterisk mark 31st. On lap 328 while leading, Truex developed water pump issues which ended his evening. In the race, Truex finished 5th in Stage #1, 2nd in Stage #2, led 48 laps, had the 2nd best Green Flag Speed and the 3rd best Total Speed Ranking. If his race would’ve been incident free, I think he would’ve won.
Ross Chastain – Last fall at “The Lady In Black”, Ross Chastain was a top five contender but finished an asterisk mark 20th. In the race, Chastain finished 6th in Stage #1, but then on lap 164 while running in 5th, Chastain made an unexpected pit stop and said something didn’t feel right. Then a few laps later he made another unexpected pit stop which sealed his fate into a poor finish. In terms of Total Speed Rankings he ranked 11th but take note his speed over the segments were 8th, 4th, 20th and 10th.
Kevin Harvick – Last fall at Darlington, Kevin Harvick had multiple problems and then during a late round of green flag pit stops, his evening went up in flames due to a rocker panel fire. On lap 275 at the time of his demise, Harvick was running in 9th just prior to the green flag pit cycle.
Chase Elliott – Chase Elliott had a tough/short evening last fall at Darlington and finished 36th. In the race, Elliott started 23rd, was running in 14th on lap 110, but then on lap 113 he spun and damaged the #9 which marked the end of his race.
Daniel Suarez – Daniel Suarez was a legit top five contender last fall at Darlington but he finished an asterisk mark 18th. In the race, Suarez started in the back, served a pass thru penalty under green at the start, finished 8th in Stage #2 but then on lap 267 while running in 4th, Suarez hit the wall hard and said he lacked grip. Then during a round of green flag pit stops after that, he was caught speeding and was never able to bounce back.
Kyle Larson – Kyle Larson had an eventful evening last fall at Darlington with his race being anything but incident free. In the race, Larson had some sort of issue under his hood which dropped him a handful of laps down around lap 79, and then later spun out on lap 192 and hit the wall. When the checkered flag waved, he finished 12th, but prior to having any sort of problem, I wouldn’t say he was anything more than just a top ten contender.
Chase Briscoe – Last fall at Darlington, Chase Briscoe struggled and finished 27th. That said, his race wasn’t incident free. On lap 110 while running back in 28th and then a few laps later he hit a spinning Chase Elliott.
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. – Last fall at Darlington, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. had a short race and finished 35th. I don’t know exactly what happened but on lap 49 he was running in 17th, but then somehow on lap 67 he was literally a few laps down in 32nd. I’m just choosing to imagine he got into the wall, but something clearly happened. Later on lap 172 when he was six-laps down, he slammed into the wall hard, and it marked the end of his race leading to his 35th.
