NASCAR teams experiencing technical difficulties, loss of SMT data during Goodyear 400

Several NASCAR Cup Series teams are experiencing technical difficulties in Sunday’s Goodyear 400 at Darlington Raceway. Some teams are currently without internet, per John Newby of Savage Ventures.

It’s throwback weekend after all, and with no internet, that means no SMT data. That’s troublesome for the teams who rely on the information they receive from SMT data, but it’s the hand they’ve been dealt until the internet issues are fixed.

On track, drivers are fighting the handling of their racecars, which is expected at The Lady in Black. She claimed her first victim on Lap 4 when Kyle Larson spun out on his own. Larson was side-by-side with Joey Logano before losing control of his Terry Labonte throwback The No. 5 team towed the car to the garage for repairs, and it’s clear he won’t be in Victory Lane later on Sunday.

NASCAR at Darlington: Trouble early for Kyle Larson

Not much to talk about when it comes to Larson’s weekend at Darlington. Good thing he has that win from Homestead-Miami to lean back on early in this season.

The biggest consequence of this, in the short term, is the points standings. Larson came into the weekend P2 behind William Byron.

Chase Elliott, Christopher Bell, Alex Bowman, Denny Hamlin, Tyler Reddick and Bubba Wallace are all between 16 and 35 points behind Larson right now. Depending on how the race plays out, a few or all of those drivers could pass him up.

Byron, Larson’s Hendrick Motorsports teammate, has been far and away the best car in Stage 1. The pole-sitter has led every lap and has opened a near five-second lead on the second-place car, Ryan Preece.

On3’s Jonathan Howard contributed to this report.