News Director 
Story By: NASCAR – DARLINGTON, SC – With only two races left in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season, Clint Bowyer sits on the cusp of the playoff picture. Positioned 58 points behind Matt Kenseth, who’d be the last driver to make the playoffs if the season ended today, Bowyer is the first driver out.
He’ll try to cut in to the 58-point deficit in Sunday’s Bojangles’ Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway (6 p.m. ET on NBCSN), or better yet, win his way into the playoffs.
“We just have to win, a win and the points will take care of themselves,” said Bowyer when asked what his strategy would be to catch Kenseth.
Bowyer has struggled in his 11 Darlington starts. He has just one top-10 showing at the South Carolina track – a ninth-place finish in 2007.
The No. 14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford driver attributes his Darlington struggles to bad luck.
“I like the uniqueness of the track,” Bowyer said. “I’ve struggled to have good finishes there, but we’ve always raced well. We just can’t seem to seal the deal at the end. Something always goes haywire in the end but, sooner or later, we are going to overcome that and have a good weekend. Doing that this weekend would be perfect.”
Darlington will celebrate its third annual “Throwback Weekend” from Friday through Sunday. The festivities – paying homage to the 1985-89 era – include drivers sporting retro paint schemes, NASCAR Hall of Famers Bill Elliott and Richard Petty piloting the honorary pace car, Bret Michaels performing a pre-race concert and a litany of other activities linking the present to the past.
Bowyer’s No. 14 Ford will feature a paint scheme honoring NASCAR Hall of Famer Mark Martin, his teammate at Michael Waltrip Racing from 2012-13.
“The throwback program at Darlington is the coolest thing I’ve ever been a part of,” Bowyer said. “And seeing this car is really a time check, a time stamp for me.”
Sadler eyes Darlington repeat
Life is good for Elliott Sadler.
The No. 1 JR Motorsports Chevrolet driver sits atop the NASCAR XFINITY Series standings – 107 points above second-place William Byron. He also gets to return Darlington Raceway as the defending race winner for Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200 (3:30 p.m. ET on NBCSN).
Darlington has treated Sadler well throughout his career. In 13 starts at the South Carolina track, Sadler claims one win, five top fives, six top 10s and a 14.6 average finish. In his last four races at Darlington, he has one win and two runner-ups.
Sadler enters Saturday’s race coming off a 14th-place showing at Road America. He hasn’t won a race this season, but owns nine top-five and 17 top-10 finishes in 23 starts. The 42-year-old Virginian has a 9.0 average finish.
“This weekend’s race at Darlington is a big one for me,” Sadler said. “Not only am I returning as the race winner, but I am also running a throwback paint scheme driven by one of my all-time favorite drivers, Cale Yarborough. To win back-to-back throwback races, and to do it in the same scheme Cale won back-to-back Daytona 500s in, would be incredible for me.”
Nemechek readies for repeat in Canada
In one of the most dramatic finishes in the NASCAR Camping World Series last year, John Hunter Nemechek bumped Cole Custer in the final turn at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and the two barreled each other off the asphalt as they crossed the finish line. Replay showed that Nemechek barely beat Custer to the stripe for the victory.
Nemechek will try to defend his win in Sunday’s Chevrolet Silverado 250 at the 10-turn road course (2:30 p.m. ET on FS1) – the only track on the schedule where drivers go left and right.
In addition to his win, the No. 8 Chevrolet driver has showings of ninth (2015) and 25th (2014) at CTMP.
On the season, Nemechek boasts two wins, seven top fives and 11 playoff points in 14 starts. He has two more races to add playoff points before the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series postseason begins at New Hampshire Motor Speedway on Sept. 23.
“Going to a track we’ve won at before definitely gives us a boost of confidence,” Nemechek said. “I feel like going to Canadian Tire is definitely going to be a momentum builder as we inch closer to the playoffs.”
