William Byron has proven he has what it takes to rise to the top again. The Hendrick Motorsports driver secured his 15th career pole and second of 2025 for the start at today’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington. Byron had tough competition in RFK driver Ryan Preece (P2), who edged 170.407 mph, and last week’s winner Denny Hamlin (P3), who clocked 170. 904. However, they were no match for No. 24 Byron (P1), crowned the winner at 170. 904 mph.
Following the trio are Chase Briscoe (170.283 mph) and Bubba Wallace (170.189 mph) to cap off Sunday’s top five starting positions. The remaining starting positions will go to Austin Cindric (P6) (169.877 mph), Tyler Reddick (P7) (169. 836 mph), Kyle Busch (P8) (169.824 mph), Ryan Blaney (P9) (169. 818 mph) and Michael McDowell P(10) (169.736). This concludes the top ten for today’s Cup Series throwback weekend at Darlington Raceway.
Starting Lineup for the Cup Series Goodyear 400 at Darlington
- 1. William Bryon, No. 24 Chevrolet (28. 774)
- 2. Ryan Preece, No. 60 Ford (28.857)
- 3. Denny Hamlin No. 11 Toyota (28.867)
- 4. Chase Briscoe No. 19 Toyota (28.878)
- 5. Bubba Wallace, No. 23 Toyota (28.895)
- 6. Austin Cindric, No. 2 Ford (28.948)
- 7. Tyler Reddick, No. 45 Toyota (28.954)
- 8. Kyle Busch No. 8 Chevrolet (28.957)
- 9. Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Ford (28.958)
- 10. Michael McDowell, No. 71 Chevrolet (28.972)
- 11. Ty Gibbs, No. 54 Toyota (28.975)
- 12. Todd Gilliland, No. 34 Ford (28.986)
- 13. Carson Hocevar, No. 77 Chevrolet (28.994)
- 14. Chris Buescher, No. 71 Ford (28.996)
- 15. Chase Elliott, No. 9 Ford (28.000)
- 16. Zane Smith, No. 38 Ford (29.008)
- 17. Christopher Bell, No. 20 Toyota (29.014)
- 18. Joey Logano, No. 22 Ford (29.038)
- 19. Kyle Larson, No. 5 Chevrolet (29.077)
- 20. Brad Keselowski , No. 6 Ford (29.172)
- 21. Justin Haley, No. 7 Chevrolet (29.185)
- 22. AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Chevrolet (29.230)
- 23. Austin Dillon, No. 3 Chevrolet (29.225)
- 24. Josh Berry, No. 21 Ford (29.265)
- 25. Ross Chastain, No. 1 Chevrolet (29.284)
- 26. Noah Gragson, No. 4 Ford (29.292)
- 27. John Hunter Nemecheck, No. 42 Toyota (29.315)
- 28. Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Chevrolet (29.318)
- 29. Ty Dillon, No. 10 Chevrolet (29.412)
- 3o. Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Chevrolet (29. 457)
- 31. Cole Custer, No. 41 Ford (29.483)
- 32. Riley Herbst, No. 35 Toyota (29.525)
- 33. Alex Bowman, No. 48 Chevrolet (29.572)
- 34. Erik Jones, No. 43 Toyota (29.617)
- 35. Cody Ware, No. 51 Ford (29.757)
- 36. Shane van Gisbergen, No. 88 Chevrolet (29.928)
- 37. Austin Hill, No. 33 Chevrolet (30.070)
- 38. JJ Yeley, No. 44 Chevrolet (30.314)
Drivers on the Field Donning Throwback Paint Schemes
The starting lineup for the eighth race of the 2025 Cup Series season may be set, but only 19 out of the field of 38 will honor NASCAR’s 75 years. The drivers who pay homage to NASCAR’s rich history will adorn their recycled paint schemes from days past. The schemes will honor legendary drivers like “The Intimidator” Dale Earnhardt Sr., Cale Yarborough, and Ken Schrader.
- Austin Cindric, No. 2 (Dale Earnhardt Sr.)
- Noah Gragson, No. 4 (Dale Earnhardt Jr.)
- Kyle Larson, No. 5 (Terry Labonte)
- Chase Elliott, No 9 (Ken Schrader)
- Ty Dillon, No. 10 (Patty Moise)
- Denny Hamlin, No. 11 (Carl Edwards)
- Ryan Blaney, No. 12 (David Blaney)
- Christopher Bell, No. 19 (Rick Ferkel)
- Josh Berry, No. 21 (Jim Clark)
- Joey Logano, No. 22 (Cale Yarborough)
- William Byron, No. 24 (Jeff Gordon)
- Todd Gilliland, No. 34 (Ray Fox)
- Zane Smith, No. 38 (Long John Silver’s)
- Cole Custer, No 41 (Jimmy Spencer)
- John Hunter Nemechek, No. 42 (Joe Nemechek)
- Erik Jones, No. 43 (John Andretti)
- JJ Yeley, No. 44 (Bill Elliott)
- Alex Bowman, No. 48 (Jimmie Johnson)
- Cody Ware, No. 51 (Ward Burton)
Final Thoughts
The cup series has finally reached mid-season, and drivers are prepared to go head-to-head at Darlington Raceway. William Byron, who captured the checkered flag in 2023 at Darlington Raceway, won Saturday’s Busch Light Pole. The Hendrick Motorsports driver has had a strong winning the Daytona 500 to open the season, but can he mirror this today? There’s some tough competition on the track, with No. 11 Denny Hamlin hoping to back up his Martinsville win with Darlington. Who will it be?
