The 2023 Goodyear 400 was a NASCAR Cup Series race held on May 14, 2023, at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. Contested over 295 laps – extended from 293 laps due to an overtime finish, on the egg-shaped oval, it was the 13th race of the 2023 NASCAR Cup Series season. It was the 67th running of the event.
Report
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.
Since 2015, the race has hosted NASCAR's Throwback weekend, which features cars sporting paint schemes that pay homage to past teams and drivers. (The lineage of this race includes races billed as the Southern 500 from 2005 to 2020.)
Entry list
(R) denotes rookie driver. (i) denotes the driver ineligible for series driver points.
Practice
Chase Elliott was the fastest in the practice session with a time of 29.231 seconds and a speed of .
Practice results
Qualifying
Martin Truex Jr. scored the pole for the race with a time of 29.028 and a speed of .
Qualifying results
Race
Race results
Stage results
Stage One
Laps: 90
Stage Two
Laps: 95
Final Stage results
Stage Three
Laps: 108
Race statistics
Lead changes: 19 among 8 different drivers
Cautions/Laps: 8 for 47 laps
Red flags: 0
Time of race: 3 hours, 23 minutes, and 23 seconds
Average speed:
Media
Television
The race was carried by FS1 in the United States. Mike Joy and Clint Bowyer called the race from the broadcast booth. Richard Petty, Kyle Petty, Carl Edwards and Bill Elliott swapped through the booth in stage 1, 2, and 3. Jamie Little and Regan Smith handled the pit road for the television side. Larry McReynolds provided insight from the Fox Sports studio in Charlotte.
Radio
MRN had the radio call for the race, which was also simulcasted on Sirius XM NASCAR Radio.
Standings after the race
Drivers' Championship standings
Manufacturers' Championship standings
Note: Only the first 16 positions are included for the driver standings. . – Driver has clinched a position in the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs.