2023 Buckle Up South Carolina 200

The 2023 Buckle Up South Carolina 200 was the 9th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, and the eleventh Truck Series race at Darlington. The race was held on Friday, May 12, 2023, in Darlington, South Carolina at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 mi permanent egg-shaped racetrack. The race was increased from 147 to 158 laps, due to several NASCAR overtime attempts. Christian Eckes, driving for McAnally-Hilgemann Racing, would capture the win after leading when the final caution came out on the last lap. This was Eckes' third career NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series win, and his second of the season. Eckes and pole-sitter Corey Heim had dominated the entire race, leading 82 and 66 laps, respectively. To fill out the podium, Stewart Friesen, driving for Halmar Friesen Racing, and Tanner Gray, driving for Tricon Garage, would finish 2nd and 3rd, respectively.

Background
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.

Entry list

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

Practice
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, May 12, at 3:05 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes. Nick Sanchez, driving for Rev Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.301, and an average speed of 167.830 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, May 12, at 3:35 PM EST. Since Darlington Raceway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, single-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole. Corey Heim, driving for Tricon Garage, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.263, and an average speed of 168.048 mph.

Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 45 Stage 2 Laps: 45

Stage 3 Laps: 68

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 10 positions are included for the driver standings.