2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200

2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200

Race details[1][2][3]
Race 24 of 33 in the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season
Date	August 31, 2019 (2019-08-31)
Location	Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina
Course	Permanent racing facility 1.366 mi (2.198 km)
Distance	147 laps, 200 mi (323 km)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Blaney	Team Penske
Time	28.696
Most laps led
Driver	Tyler Reddick	Richard Childress Racing
Laps	70
Winner
No. 00	Cole Custer	Stewart-Haas Racing with Biagi-DenBeste
Television in the United States
Network	NBC
Radio in the United States
Radio	MRN

The 2019 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held on August 31, 2019, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 147 laps on the 1.366-mile (2.198 km) egg-shaped oval, it was the 24th race of the 2019 NASCAR Xfinity Series season.

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.

The entry list included semi-retired driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., who decided to participate in the race despite being in a plane accident in mid-August 2019.

Cole Custer was the fastest in the first practice session with a time of 29.340 seconds and a speed of 167.607 mph (269.737 km/h).^[4]

Noah Gragson was the fastest in the final practice session with a time of 29.575 seconds and a speed of 166.276 mph (267.595 km/h).^[4]

Ryan Blaney scored the pole for the race with a time of 28.696 seconds and a speed of 171.369 mph (275.792 km/h).^[5]

Ryan Blaney started on pole and led early, holding off Tyler Reddick. After John Hunter Nemechek spun and caused a caution, Blaney pitted and gave the lead to Reddick, who won Stage 1. After Brandon Brown spun and hit the inside wall, Blaney and Justin Allgaier caught up to Reddick, with Blaney taking the Stage 2 victory. Allgaier and Cole Custer battled Reddick for top positions, while Denny Hamlin (who started at the rear of the field) caught up to the top 5.

Blaney left pit road with Custer and Hamlin behind him. Hamlin got by Custer and then slid past Blaney for the lead with 27 remaining. The final caution occurred with around 15 laps remaining, stacking up the field. Hamlin stayed in the lead while Custer took the second position. The restart happened with 10 laps to go. Hamlin took off and retained the lead, while Custer chased him closely.

On the final lap, Custer got right up to Hamlin's back and dove into turn 3. Custer was unable to make it stick, causing Hamlin to cross the finish line in first place and take the apparent victory. Although Hamlin was later disqualified, which gave Custer the race win despite him not leading a single lap.^[6][7]

Stage One Laps: 45

Stage Two Laps: 45

Stage Three Laps: 57

Denny Hamlin was disqualified and stripped of his race win when his car failed a pair of height requirements, being deemed too low in the left front and too high in the right rear, ultimately giving the race win to runner-up Cole Custer.^[8] This was the first disqualification of an Xfinity Series race winner and the fourth overall disqualification in the Xfinity Series this season since the 2019 rules were established.