2023 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200

The 2023 Sport Clips Haircuts VFW Help a Hero 200 was the 25th stock car race of the 2023 NASCAR Xfinity Series, and the 41st iteration of the event. The race was held on Saturday, September 2, 2023, in Darlington, South Carolina at Darlington Raceway, a 1.366 mi permanent egg-shaped racetrack. The race was scheduled to be contested over 147 laps, but was extended to 148 laps due to NASCAR overtime finish. Denny Hamlin, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would pull away with the lead on the final restart, and held off Austin Hill to earn his 18th career NASCAR Xfinity Series win, and his first of the season. John Hunter Nemechek, who finished in 3rd, would dominate the majority of the race, winning both stages and leading a race-high 99 laps. To fill out the podium, Hill, driving for Richard Childress Racing, and Nemechek, driivng for Joe Gibbs Racing, 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.

Surface Issues
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.

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 Saturday, September 2, at 10:35 AM EST, and would last for 20 minutes. Daniel Hemric, driving for Kaulig Racing, would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.672, and an average speed of 165.732 mph.

Qualifying
Qualifying was held on Saturday, September 2, at 11:05 AM EST. Since Darlington Raceway is an intermediate racetrack, the qualifying system used is a single-car, one-lap system with only one round. In that round, whoever sets the fastest time will win the pole. John Hunter Nemechek, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.804, and an average speed of 164.998 mph.

Race results
Stage 1 Laps: 45 Stage 2 Laps: 45 Stage 3 Laps: 58

Standings after the race

 * Drivers' Championship standings


 * Note: Only the first 12 positions are included for the driver standings.