| Type: | CUST |
| Location: | Darlington Raceway, Darlington, South Carolina |
| Announcers: | Jamie Little, Phil Parsons, and Michael Waltrip |
| Year: | 2023 |
| Race Name: | Buckle Up South Carolina 200 |
| Scheduled Mi: | 200 |
| Course Mi: | 1.366 |
| Scheduled Laps: | 147 |
| Scheduled Km: | 323 |
| Avg: | 105.539mph |
| Car: | 19 |
| First Driver: | Christian Eckes |
| First Team: | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing |
| Most Driver: | Christian Eckes |
| Most Laps: | 82 |
| Most Team: | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing |
| Pole Time: | 29.263 |
| Pole Team: | Tricon Garage |
| Date: | May 12 |
| Network: | FS1 |
| Pole Driver: | Corey Heim |
| Description: | Race 9 of 23 of the 2023 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series |
| Official Name: | 4th Annual Buckle Up South Carolina 200 |
| Course Km: | 2.198 |
| Radio: | MRN |
| Distance Mi: | 215 |
| Distance Laps: | 158 |
| Distance Km: | 346 |
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 1.366miles 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.[1] 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.
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.
The first and only practice session was held on Friday, May 12, at 3:05 PM EST, and would last for 20 minutes.[12] 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 167.83mph.[13]
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Time | Speed | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 29.301 | 167.830 | |
| 2 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 29.612 | 166.068 | |
| 3 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 29.711 | 165.514 | |
| Full practice results | |||||||
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.[14] Corey Heim, driving for Tricon Garage, would score the pole for the race, with a lap of 29.263, and an average speed of 168.048mph.[15]
Stage 1 Laps: 45
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 10 | |
| 2 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 9 | |
| 3 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 8 | |
| 4 | 51 | William Byron (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 | |
| 5 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 6 | |
| 6 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 4 | |
| 8 | 1 | Bubba Wallace (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 0 | |
| 9 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 2 | |
| 10 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 1 |
| Pos. | Driver | Team | Make | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 51 | William Byron (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 0 | |
| 2 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 9 | |
| 3 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 8 | |
| 4 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 7 | |
| 5 | 1 | Bubba Wallace (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 0 | |
| 6 | 35 | Jake Garcia (R) | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 5 | |
| 7 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 4 | |
| 8 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 3 | |
| 9 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 2 | |
| 10 | 17 | Taylor Gray (R) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 1 |
Stage 3 Laps: 68
| Fin[16] | St | Driver | Team | Make | Laps | Led | Status | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 | 19 | Christian Eckes | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 82 | Running | 58 | |
| 2 | 6 | 52 | Stewart Friesen | Halmar Friesen Racing | Toyota | 158 | 0 | Running | 43 | |
| 3 | 11 | 15 | Tanner Gray | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 158 | 0 | Running | 34 | |
| 4 | 8 | 51 | William Byron (i) | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 7 | Running | 0 | |
| 5 | 18 | 42 | Carson Hocevar | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 44 | |
| 6 | 13 | 24 | Rajah Caruth (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 31 | |
| 7 | 15 | 1 | Bubba Wallace (i) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 158 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 8 | 1 | 11 | Corey Heim | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 158 | 66 | Running | 47 | |
| 9 | 25 | 5 | Dean Thompson | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 158 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 10 | 24 | 20 | Kaden Honeycutt | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 27 | |
| 11 | 3 | 2 | Nick Sanchez (R) | Rev Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 28 | |
| 12 | 19 | 88 | Matt Crafton | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 158 | 0 | Running | 25 | |
| 13 | 16 | 41 | Ross Chastain (i) | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 14 | 2 | 23 | Grant Enfinger | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 32 | |
| 15 | 17 | 16 | Tyler Ankrum | Hattori Racing Enterprises | Toyota | 158 | 0 | Running | 22 | |
| 16 | 29 | 7 | Corey LaJoie (i) | Spire Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 0 | |
| 17 | 36 | 9 | Colby Howard | CR7 Motorsports | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 20 | |
| 18 | 14 | 99 | Ben Rhodes | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 158 | 0 | Running | 19 | |
| 19 | 20 | 43 | Daniel Dye (R) | GMS Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 18 | |
| 20 | 26 | 13 | Hailie Deegan | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 158 | 2 | Running | 17 | |
| 21 | 12 | 17 | Taylor Gray (R) | Tricon Garage | Toyota | 158 | 1 | Running | 17 | |
| 22 | 22 | 38 | Zane Smith | Front Row Motorsports | Ford | 158 | 0 | Running | 15 | |
| 23 | 34 | 32 | Bret Holmes (R) | Bret Holmes Racing | Chevrolet | 158 | 0 | Running | 14 | |
| 24 | 23 | 56 | Timmy Hill | Hill Motorsports | Toyota | 157 | 0 | Running | 15 | |
| 25 | 7 | 25 | Matt DiBenedetto | Rackley WAR | Chevrolet | 157 | 0 | Running | 20 | |
| 26 | 5 | 35 | Jake Garcia (R) | McAnally-Hilgemann Racing | Chevrolet | 157 | 0 | Running | 16 | |
| 27 | 32 | 30 | Ryan Vargas | On Point Motorsports | Toyota | 156 | 0 | Running | 10 | |
| 28 | 27 | 04 | Johnny Sauter | Roper Racing | Ford | 156 | 0 | Running | 9 | |
| 29 | 35 | 02 | Kris Wright | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 155 | 0 | Running | 8 | |
| 30 | 30 | 45 | Lawless Alan | Niece Motorsports | Chevrolet | 126 | 0 | Accident | 7 | |
| 31 | 9 | 98 | Ty Majeski | ThorSport Racing | Ford | 123 | 0 | Running | 6 | |
| 32 | 10 | 4 | Chase Purdy | Kyle Busch Motorsports | Chevrolet | 100 | 0 | Accident | 6 | |
| 33 | 33 | 12 | Spencer Boyd | Young's Motorsports | Chevrolet | 78 | 0 | Fuel Pump | 4 | |
| 34 | 21 | 75 | Parker Kligerman (i) | Henderson Motorsports | Chevrolet | 48 | 0 | Oil Leak | 0 | |
| 35 | 31 | 47 | Dawson Cram (i) | G2G Racing | Toyota | 36 | 0 | Mechanical | 0 | |
| 36 | 28 | 46 | Brennan Poole (i) | G2G Racing | Toyota | 20 | 0 | Engine | 0 | |
| Official race results | ||||||||||
| Pos | Driver | Points | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Zane Smith | 338 | |||||||
| 2 | Ty Majeski | 329 (-9) | |||||||
| 1 | 3 | Corey Heim | 323 (-15) | ||||||
| 1 | 4 | Ben Rhodes | 301 (-37) | ||||||
| 1 | 5 | Christian Eckes | 299 (-39) | ||||||
| 1 | 6 | Grant Enfinger | 299 (-39) | ||||||
| 7 | Matt Crafton | 260 (-78) | |||||||
| 8 | Tanner Gray | 254 (-84) | |||||||
| 9 | Nick Sanchez | 233 (-105) | |||||||
| 2 | 10 | Stewart Friesen | 227 (-111) | ||||||
| Official driver's standings | |||||||||