Denny Hamlin wins for the sixth time at Darlington Raceway

Here are some takeaways from the Xfinity Series race at Darlington.

The situation has changed for Parker Kligerman

Kligerman entered the Xfinity race at Darlington with a simple objective — score points and keep above the cutline. He was not able to do that.

The driver of the No. 48 started 13th. He missed out on points in the first two stages, but he was within reach of a top-10 finish with fewer than 20 laps remaining.

The situation changed with fewer than 10 laps left in the race. Sam Mayer hit Kligerman from behind and sent him spinning down onto the apron. The veteran driver fell to 30th in the running order, and he was only able to finish 24th.

“I f’d up, and it sucks,” Mayer told NBC Sports’ Kim Coon after the race. “Obviously, the radio issues all day, got in the way of whatever that was.

“And we had brake problems in and out all day, and I could never relay that to the team to help fix it. The motor was hot all day. And there was nothing right all day. And it sucks, and I hate that it took our deal down and their deal down.”

Kligerman saw the incident a different way. He told NBC Sports’ Dustin Long that Mayer had the entire top of the race track. Kligerman expressed the opinion that he had gotten “run over” by his fellow Xfinity driver.

“I don’t know what the problem was,” Kligerman said. “I thought we were kind of friends.”

With the contact derailing the race, Kligerman now only has one more opportunity to reach the playoffs. He needs to finish ahead of Riley Herbst in points at Kansas Speedway, provided there is not a new winner from below the cutline that knocks them both out of the playoff picture.

Denny Hamlin hits a unique NASCAR milestone

The win at Darlington Raceway on Saturday was significant for Hamlin. It marked his sixth trip to Victory Lane at the South Carolina track. It also stood out as another NASCAR milestone in his career.

According to Racing Insights, the 42-year-old Hamlin was the oldest driver to win an Xfinity Series race at Darlington since Dick Trickle in September 1998. Trickle was 56 years old at the time.

“I will not break that record,” Hamlin told NBC Sports. “The series is just shaped so differently. When I first came in here and made my first start in 2004, I was running against 15 Cup guys. It was just so different, right? And then now it’s just as a lot of young up and coming guys, some that are resetting their career hoping to come back to the Cup Series. It’s just a lot different.

“I mean, I don’t know how many starts we’ve had since we’ve won here, like we haven’t won in a while here, so I don’t take for granted it’s just gonna be the easiest weekend by any means. And certainly when I saw the roster who’s starting in it, I knew it was gonna be very tough. I just certainly feel happy that at wherever my age is, I feel good as I’ve ever been.”

There were four open playoff spots before the green flag waved at Darlington on Saturday. Now, there are only two.

Josh Berry delivered a fifth-place finish at The Lady in Black. He did not win, but he clinched his spot in the playoffs by being more than 100 points above the cutline.

Here are the points reports:

Click here for the team owner standings

Sheldon Creed finished eighth after missing out on stage points. He also clinched his spot in the playoffs.

Daniel Hemric has yet to officially clinch, but he is close. He is 55 points above the cutline, so he just needs to start the regular-season finale at Kansas next week in order to secure a spot in the playoffs once again.

The playoff bubble also took another turn as Riley Herbst finished sixth and Parker Kligerman finished 24th. They swapped spots on the cutline once again.

Herbst was 20 points below heading to Darlington. He is now one point above. Kligerman is now one point below as he prepares for the regular-season finale.

The regular-season champion is yet to be determined. Austin Hill entered the weekend 28 points ahead of John Hunter Nemechek and 27 points ahead of Justin Allgaier.

Hill finished second behind Denny Hamlin after scoring 14 points in the first two stages. Nemechek finished third after winning the first two stages. Allgaier finished seventh after scoring 13 points in the first two stages.

Hill remains atop the point standings with one race remaining in the regular season. He is 23 points ahead of Nemechek.

Denny Hamlin won at Darlington Raceway after leading 14 laps. He now has six wins at The Lady in Black.

Click here for where everyone finished at Darlington.

Click here for the cumulative race report.

Click here for the penalty report.

Denny Hamlin has returned to Victory Lane at Darlington Raceway.

The Virginia native lined up second for the overtime restart. Austin Hill was the control car. He got a big restart, and he used it to jump to the front of the pack.

Hill challenged Hamlin before taking the white flag, but he was not able to get alongside the No. 19. Hamlin ultimately pulled away while Hill and John Hunter Nemechek battled for second.

Hill finished second while Nemechek crossed the line third. Cole Custer and Josh Berry rounded out the top five. Riley Herbst finished sixth, which was significant considering that he is battling Parker Kligerman for the final playoff spot.

Kligerman finished 24th after getting spun late by Sam Mayer.

The caution has flown at Darlington Raceway for a spinning Parker Kligerman.

Kligerman put himself in the 12th position before the restart with 10 laps to go. He kept moving toward a top-10 finish, but he suddenly spun toward the inside wall with six laps to go.

The reason for the spin was contact from another driver. Sam Mayer hit the No. 48 from behind and sent it sliding sideways.

While Kligerman avoided damage, he no longer had access to sticker tires. He had to head back to his pit stall for some scuffs so that he could make it to the end of the race. He fell to 30th in the running order.

The Xfinity Series field will line back up for a late restart at Darlington Raceway.

The caution flew with 16 laps to go. The reason was Ryan Sieg losing control and spinning.

This incident created an opportunity for the drivers to head down pit road for one final stop. They needed fresh tires for the late shootout.

John Hunter Nemechek had a dominant car early at Darlington as he swept the first two stages and led nearly 100 laps.

Another Joe Gibbs Racing driver had since taken over the Xfinity Series race. Denny Hamlin took the lead from Austin Hill on Lap 124, and he built up a half-second advantage over the Richard Childress Racing driver.

Hamlin entered his lone Xfinity start of the season with five Darlington wins. The late caution and the fresh tires put him in a position to potentially add to this total.

Over on the bubble, the battle continued between Riley Herbst and Parker Kligerman. Herbst remained in sixth as he headed down pit road. He gained two spots before heading back onto the track.

Kligerman, who fell to 19th at the end of stage 2, had worked his way up to 13th before the late caution. He moved up to 12th after his pit stop.

Kyle Larson finished the first two stages at Darlington in third despite dealing with a “stumbling” engine.

The situation has changed for the Cup Series regular. The No. 17 crew changed the carburetor during the stage 2 break in an attempt to resolve the power issue, but this did not work. The Chevrolet would not re-fire.

Despite the team’s best attempts, Larson fell a lap behind the leaders. He then lost more laps after getting pushed back to the garage.

John Hunter Nemechek has swept the opening two stages at Darlington Raceway.

The pole-sitter started stage 2 in second after Austin Hill’s pit crew turned in the fastest stop during the break. He did not remain in this spot for very long.

Nemechek took the lead on the restart and remained at the front of the pack until the end of the stage. Hill crossed the line second while Kyle Larson finished third. Denny Hamlin and Justin Allgaier rounded out the top five.

While Nemechek continued to dominate at Darlington Raceway, two drivers dealt with issues.

Parker Kligerman had a loose left-rear tire, which caused him to lose a position to Parker Retzlaff with 15 laps remaining in the stage. He then fell outside of the top 10 after contact with the wall on the final laps.

Kligerman started the final stage in the 19th position. Riley Herbst, the driver battling him for the final playoff spot, lined up sixth.

Larson said over the radio that his engine was stumbling. He was able to continue racing in the third position, but he told crew chief Greg Ives that he couldn’t win with the way his car was running.

One option mentioned over the radio was changing the carburetor under yellow. This would cause Larson to love numerous positions, but it would fix the problem ahead of the final stage.

The team decided to pursue this option. They told Larson to come down pit road under caution so that they could change out the carburetor. The goal was to keep him on the lead lap.

The second stage of the Xfinity race at Darlington has come to a halt due to a caution.

The reason for the yellow flag was Anthony Alfredo hitting the wall. He moved up the track in the No. 78 and spun after contact with the left front of Sam Mayer’s No. 1.

Alfredo hit the wall, but he was able to get back going in the right direction. He headed back toward pit road. Mayer also continued moving forward, but he had damage. The lettering was also worn off of his left-front tire.

Mayer headed to his pit stall under caution so that the team could make repairs and ensure that there wasn’t a tire rub. The crew also had to diagnose a radio issue that kept Mayer from being able to hear.

Sammy Smith, who spun during the opening stage, was able to take advantage of the caution. He took the free pass and got back on the lead lap.

John Hunter Nemechek started Saturday’s race at Darlington from the pole. He went on to lead every lap before winning stage 1 under caution.

The reason for the caution was the No. 92 of Josh Williams. The Florida native was slow on the track with heavy damage to the right side of his Chevrolet. The cause was a flat tire that sent him into the wall.

Denny Hamlin finished the stage in second. He was followed by Kyle Larson, Justin Allgaier, Cole Custer, Austin Hill, Daniel Hemric, Kyle Busch, Chandler Smith and Riley Herbst.

The stage win was important for Nemechek as he continues to battle Hill and Allgaier for the regular-season championship. Every point matters at this point of the season.

Daniel Hemric remains in pursuit of a playoff spot, but he has come close to falling into must-win territory with multiple near-miss incidents.

The Kaulig Racing driver’s first incident occurred early at Darlington Raceway. He exited Turn 4 and lost control when he went back to throttle. His No. 11 made contact with Josh Berry’s No. 8, but they both continued moving forward.

The second incident occurred after a caution for Sammy Smith spinning. Once again, Hemric got loose exiting a turn. Contact from Austin Hill briefly turned him sideways, but he avoided a wreck.

Hemric is currently two spots above the Xfinity cutline with two races remaining in the regular season. He is 56 points ahead of Riley Herbst and 36 points ahead of Parker Kligerman.

The first caution flag of the day has flown at Darlington Raceway.

The Sammy Smith was the cause for the caution. The rookie lost control of the No. 18 in Turn 4 as he raced in front of Rajah Caruth. He spun toward the inside wall.

Smith made minor contact and avoided significant damage. Though he still needed to make a stop for four fresh tires.

According to NBC Sports’ Marty Snider, Smith said over the radio that he was already way too loose before the spin.

The incident dropped Smith to 38th in the running order. He also fell one lap behind the leaders.

The Xfinity Series race at Darlington is underway.

John Hunter Nemechek led the field to the green flag after winning the pole and then he quickly jumped to the top of the track. He put some distance between himself and Cole Custer, who passed Denny Hamlin for second.

The majority of the drivers quickly moved into single-file formation on the opening laps. Riley Herbst was an exception. He dove to the inside of Parker Kligerman, the driver he is battling for the final playoff spot.

There was a near-miss for the driver of the No. 98. He got loose on the inside of Kligerman, but he was able to continue moving forward without losing control.

The drivers have completed four laps. Nemechek remains in the lead.

DARLINGTON, SC – The Xfinity Series returns to Darlington Raceway for a Saturday afternoon race.

The 147-lap event at the 1.366-mile historic track is one of the two remaining races before the playoffs begin. Four spots remain open to new winners after Justin Allgaier won his second race of the season at Daytona.

There are several past winners in the lineup at Darlington. Kyle Larson will be back after winning the spring race. He will face off with other repeat winners in Denny Hamlin, Allgaier, Cole Custer, Brandon Jones and Kyle Busch.

There will be one other Cup driver suiting up alongside Busch, Larson and Hamlin. Ross Chastain will make his seventh Xfinity start this season, his sixth for DGM Racing.

The Xfinity Series coverage begins with Countdown to Green at 3 p.m. on USA Network. The pre-race coverage will continue on USA at 3:30 p.m.

Follow along for updates throughout Saturday afternoon from the racetrack.