While all of the anticipation is geared toward’s Sunday’s Bojangles Southern 500, the NASCAR Xfinity Series will put on a stellar 200-mile show of their own.
NASCAR released the entry list for the Sept. 5 VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 at Darlington Raceway on Monday morning. The list includes 39 teams, meaning everyone will make Saturday’s race.
Fresh off a triumph at Road America, Paul Menard will lead a field of Sprint Cup stars into Saturday’s race. Now a three-time winner in the NXS, Menard will be one of seven Cup stars in the field. Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, JJ Yeley, Kyle Larson, Kyle Busch and Kevin Harvick will also run the 200-lap event.
Josh Reaume and Carlos Contreras will return to the NXS. Reaume will pilot the No. 13 Braille Battery/Grafoid Chevrolet while Contreras will jump behind the wheel of the No. 15 BYBEXTREME.com Chevrolet.
The NXS championship battle will add another chapter starting on Friday, Sept. 4, when the field heads on-track for two practice sessions. Teams will then return on Saturday for Coors Light Pole Qualifying at 11:45 a.m. ET. Coverage of the VFW Sport Clips Help A Hero 200 will begin at 3:30 p.m. ET on NBC and MRN.
2015 VFW SPORT CLIPS HELP A HERO 200 ENTRY LIST
| Entry | Car# | Driver | Sponsor | Manu | Owner |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | Harrison Rhodes | teamjdmotorsports.com | 15 Chevy | Andrea Nemechek |
| 2 | 1 | Landon Cassill | Flex Seal | 15 Chevy | Johnny Davis |
| 3 | 1 | Elliott Sadler | OneMain Financial | 15 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 4 | 2 | Brian Scott | Safeway / Sanderson Farms | 15 Chevy | Richard Childress |
| 5 | 3 | Ty Dillon | Yuengling Light Lager | 15 Chevy | Richard Childress |
| 6 | 4 | Ross Chastain | teamjdmotorsports.com | 15 Chevy | Gary Keller |
| 7 | 6 | Darrell Wallace Jr | Scotchman | 15 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 8 | 7 | Regan Smith | TaxSlayer Bowl | 15 Chevy | Kelley Earnhardt-Miller |
| 9 | 8 | Blake Koch | LeafFilter Gutter Protection | 15 Toyota | Mark Smith |
| 10 | 9 | Chase Elliott | NAPA Auto Parts | 15 Chevy | Dale Earnhardt Jr |
| 11 | 13 | Josh Reaume | Braille Battery / Grafoid | 15 Chevy | Derek White |
| 12 | 14 | Cale Conley | IAVA | 15 Toyota | Mark Smith |
| 13 | 15 | Carlos Contreras | BYBEXTREME.com | 15 Chevy | Rick Ware |
| 14 | 16 | Ryan Reed | Lilly/American Diabetes Association | 15 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 15 | 18 | Daniel Suarez | ARRIS | 15 Toyota | Joe Gibbs |
| 16 | 19 | Jeff Green | TRISTAR MOTORSPORTS | 15 Toyota | Mark Smith |
| 17 | 20 | Denny Hamlin(i) | Sport Clips | 15 Toyota | Joe Gibbs |
| 18 | 22 | Joey Logano(i) | Hertz | 15 Ford | Roger Penske |
| 19 | 24 | Eric McClure | Reynolds Wrap | 15 Toyota | Mark Smith |
| 20 | 25 | John Wes Townley(i) | Zaxby's | 15 Chevy | Tony Townley |
| 21 | 26 | TJ Bell (i) | Straight Outta Compton | 15 Toyota | James Whitener |
| 22 | 28 | J J Yeley | JGL Racing | 15 Toyota | Gregg Mixon |
| 23 | 33 | Paul Menard(i) | Richmond / Menards | 15 Chevy | Richard Childress |
| 24 | 39 | Ryan Sieg | Uncle Bob's Self Storage | 14 Chevy | Rod Sieg |
| 25 | 40 | Carl Long | Braille Battery / Grafoid | 15 Dodge | Derek White |
| 26 | 42 | Kyle Larson(i) | 15 Chevy | Harry Scott Jr | |
| 27 | 43 | Dakoda Armstrong | Winfield | 15 Ford | Richard Petty |
| 28 | 44 | David Starr | ZACHRY | 15 Toyota | Mark Smith |
| 29 | 51 | Jeremy Clements | Allsouthelectric.com-RepairableVehicles.com | 15 Chevy | Tony Clements |
| 30 | 52 | Joey Gase | 15 Chevy | Jimmy Means | |
| 31 | 54 | Kyle Busch(i) | Monster Energy | 15 Toyota | J D Gibbs |
| 32 | 60 | Chris Buescher | AdvoCare | 15 Ford | Jack Roush |
| 33 | 62 | Brendan Gaughan | South Point | 15 Chevy | Richard Childress |
| 34 | 70 | Derrike Cope | To The Point Apparel | 14 Chevy | Mary Louise Miller |
| 35 | 74 | Mike Harmon | 14 Dodge | Mike Harmon | |
| 36 | 88 | Kevin Harvick(i) | Armour Sandwich Creations | 15 Chevy | Rick Hendrick |
| 37 | 89 | Morgan Shepherd | 15 Chevy | Morgan Shepherd | |
| 38 | 90 | Jimmy Weller | 15 Chevy | Michelle Gosselin | |
| 39 | 97 | TBA | VroomBrands | 15 Chevy | Victor Obaika |
About the author
A graduate of Ball State, Aaron rejoins Frontstretch for his second season in 2016 following a successful year that included covering seven races and starting the popular "Two-Headed Monster" column in 2015. Now in his third year of covering motorsports, Aaron serves as an Assistant Editor for Frontstretch while also contributing to other popular sites including Speed51 and The Apex. He encourages you to come say hi when you see him at the track.
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Six reasons not to bother wasting any time watching this race: Kyle Busch, Dennis-the-menace Hamlin, Kevin Harvick, Kyle Larson, Paul Menard, and Joey Logano.
Question to Roger Penske: Why Logano and not Ryan Blaney? Blaney is there, as the Wood brothers will attempt to make the race. As much as I’m a Logano fan, I would much rather see Ryan in the 22 for this race.
How far do you suppose the numbers have to drop before the NASCAR brain trust figures out that the Cup drivers are killing rather than generating interest?
JohnQ it doesn’t matter how bad the numbers get, the morons won’t ever stop telling us how many fans the cup guys attract as they stomp the living crap out of the small teams. I hope the finish is like always, the top 6 or 7 finishing positions are cup “superstars”. But you just have to wonder, how do they garner any satisfaction out of whipping the field in the lower series? I mean they scream over the radio, do their ridiculous burnouts, and celebrate like they really accomplished anything. Can you imagine the Yankees truly feeling gratified by destroying a minor league team?
Kyle will be as happy as a pig in sh*t when he beats the powerhouse Morgan Shepherd team!