2024 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200

2024 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200

Race details[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8]
Race 23 of 33 of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series
Date	August 31, 2024
Official name	42nd Annual Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200
Location	Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance	150 laps, 204 mi (329 km)
Scheduled Distance	147 laps, 200 mi (323 km)
Average speed	110.94 mph (178.54 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
Time	29.828
Most laps led
Driver	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	108
Winner
No. 20	Christopher Bell	Joe Gibbs Racing
Television in the United States
Network	USA
Announcers	Rick Allen, Jeff Burton, and Steve Letarte
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2024 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 was the 23rd stock car race of the 2024 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 42nd iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, August 31, 2024, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, a 1.366 miles (2.198 km) permanent egg-shaped racetrack. The race wass scheduled to be contested over 147 laps but was extended to 150 laps due to an overtime finish. Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would stay consistent throughout the race, after scoring the pole, leading 108 laps and winning after leading when A. J. Allmendinger got a flat tire on the final lap, bringing out the caution. This was Bell’s nineteenth career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his second of the season. To fill out the podium, Cole Custer, driving for Stewart-Haas Racing, and Sheldon Creed, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Darlington Raceway is a race track built for NASCAR racing located near Darlington, South Carolina. It is nicknamed "The Lady in Black" and "The Track Too Tough to Tame" by many NASCAR fans and drivers and advertised as "A NASCAR Tradition." It is of a unique, somewhat egg-shaped design, an oval with the ends of very different configurations, a condition which supposedly arose from the proximity of one end of the track to a minnow pond the owner refused to relocate. This situation makes it very challenging for the crews to set up their cars' handling in a way that is effective at both ends.

Darlington Raceway was last repaved following the May 2007 meeting (from 2005 to 2019, there was only one meeting; the second meeting was reinstated in 2020), and from 2008 to 2019, there was one night race. In 2020, a day race returned to the schedule, and instead of two races (one Xfinity and one Cup) during the entire year, the track hosted six races (three Cup, two Xfinity, and one Truck). The circuit kept repairing the circuit with patches during each summer before the annual Cup race in September. The circuit's narrow Turn 2 rapidly deteriorated with cracks in the tarmac allowing water to seep in the circuit. In July 2021, the circuit repaved a six hundred foot section at the entrance of Turn 2 and ending at the exit of the turn to repair the tarmac and resolve the issue for safety and to reduce the threat of weepers and surface issues in that section of the circuit.

• (R) denotes rookie driver.
• (i) denotes driver who is ineligible for series driver points.

The first and only practice session was held on Saturday, August 31, at 10:35 AM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.^[9] Austin Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 30.013, and a speed of 163.603 mph (263.294 km/h).

Qualifying was held on Saturday, August 31, at 11:05 AM EST.^[9] Since Darlington Raceway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. Drivers will be on track by themselves and will have one lap to post a qualifying time, and whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole.^[10]

Christopher Bell, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.828, and a speed of 164.865 mph (265.324 km/h).^[11]

Dawson Cram was the only driver who failed to qualify.

Stage 1 Laps: 45

Stage 2 Laps: 45

Stage 3 Laps: 57

Drivers' Championship standings Pos Driver Points 1 Justin Allgaier 843 2 Cole Custer 815 (-28) 3 Chandler Smith 761 (–82) 4 Austin Hill 745 (–98) 2 5 Sheldon Creed 704 (–139) 1 6 A. J. Allmendinger 700 (–143) 1 7 Riley Herbst 667 (–176) 8 Jesse Love 651 (–192) 9 Parker Kligerman 639 (–204) 1 10 Sammy Smith 605 (–238) 1 11 Ryan Sieg 595 (–248) 12 Shane van Gisbergen 562 (–281) Official driver's standings

Manufacturers' Championship standings Pos Manufacturer Points 1 Chevrolet 852 2 Toyota 823 (-29) 3 Ford 743 (–109) Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.