Hamlin Wins Rain-Shortened Darlington Race

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DARLINGTON, SC – RIS – Denny Hamlin won the Toyota 500 NASCAR Cup race on Wednesday night in a rain-shortened event.  Hamlin was leading when late in the race, Kyle Busch clipped Chase Elliott, knocking him out of the race.  The ensuing rains came while the field was under caution when another cell of rain wet the racing surface.  There were 20 laps to go when the race was halted.

After exiting his car, an angry Elliott displayed his middle finger at Busch as he drove by the incident scene.  They were seen talking as the Fox Sports broadcast ended.

The race, second of the week at the historic speedway, was listed as a 500 km race.  It was the first time two Cup races had been run in only four days.

Clint Bowyer led a race-high 71 laps and won both stages but finished 22nd after he cut a tire and spun with 34 laps to go. Before tonight he had only led 17 laps in 15 career starts at Darlington.

Kyle Busch finished second with Kevin Harvick, Brad Keselowski, and Eric Jones rounding out the top 5. Joey Logano, Aric Almirola, Jimmie Johnson, Matt DiBenedetto made up positions 6-10. 

Hamlin sported a face mask with his face on it after the victory.

The Cup Series holds it third race in seven days with the Coca-Cola 600 at 6 p.m. ET Sunday on Fox.

Unoffical Results: NASCAR Cup Series Race Number 6, Darlington Raceway, Darlington, SC, 1.366, Mile Paved

Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1, 16, Denny Hamlin, No. 11 FedEx Delivering Strength Toyota, 208, 8, 7, 1, 12, 5, 47, Running
2, 26, Kyle Busch, No. 18 M&M's Fudge Brownie Toyota, 208, , , , , , 35, Running
3, 20, Kevin Harvick, No. 4 Mobil 1 Ford, 208, , 5, 1, 10, , 40, Running
4, 8, Brad Keselowski, No. 2 PIRTEK Ford, 208, , , 2, 7, , 33, Running
5, 13, Erik Jones, No. 20 STANLEY Toyota, 208, , 4, 1, 27, , 39, Running
6, 3, Joey Logano, No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 208, 5, 9, 1, 19, , 39, Running
7, 9, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 208, 6, , , , , 35, Running
8, 37, Jimmie Johnson, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 208, , , , , , 29, Running
9, 7, Matt DiBenedetto, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 208, , 10, , , , 29, Running
10, 15, Martin Truex Jr., No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 208, 2, 3, 1, 16, , 44, Running
11, 24, Christopher Bell #, No. 95 Procore Toyota, 208, , , , , , 26, Running
12, 34, William Byron, No. 24 Axalta Chevrolet, 208, , 6, , , , 30, Running
13, 14, Tyler Reddick #, No. 8 Caterpillar Chevrolet, 208, , , , , , 24, Running
14, 6, Ryan Newman, No. 6 Oscar Mayer Hot Dogs Ford, 208, , , 1, 5, , 23, Running
15, 18, Kurt Busch, No. 1 Monster Energy Chevrolet, 208, , , , , , 22, Running
16, 21, Bubba Wallace, No. 43 Victory Junction Chevrolet, 208, , , 1, 3, , 21, Running
17, 23, Michael McDowell, No. 34 CarParts.com Ford, 208, , , , , , 20, Running
18, 19, Alex Bowman, No. 88 ChevyGoods.com NOCO Chevrolet, 208, 4, 8, , , , 29, Running
19, 2, Ty Dillon, No. 13 GEICO Chevrolet, 208, , , 1, 8, , 18, Running
20, 10, Austin Dillon, No. 3 DOW/Keep America Beautiful Chevrolet, 208, , , , , , 17, Running
21, 5, Ryan Blaney, No. 12 Menards/Moen Ford, 208, 3, , , , , 24, Running
22, 4, Clint Bowyer, No. 14 Rush/Mobil Delvac 1 Ford, 208, 1, 1, 2, 71, 2, 35, Running
23, 32, Chris Buescher, No. 17 Fifth Third Bank Ford, 208, , , , , , 14, Running
24, 31, Corey LaJoie, No. 32 Keen Parts "Thank a Hero" Ford, 207, , , , , , 13, Running
25, 39, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., No. 47 Kroger Chevrolet, 207, , , , , , 12, Running
26, 35, Quin Houff #, No. 00 Good Greek Chevrolet, 207, , , , , , 11, Running
27, 25, * Daniel Suarez, No. 96 Today.Tomorrow.Toyota Toyota, 207, , , 1, 1, , 10, Running
28, 29, JJ Yeley(i), No. 77 Bon Secours #TheRealHeroes Chevrolet, 207, , , , , , 0, Running
29, 30, Joey Gase(i), No. 51 Agri Supply Ford, 207, , , , , , 0, Running
30, 11, Matt Kenseth, No. 42 Credit One Bank Chevrolet, 206, 9, , , , , 9, Running
31, 22, Cole Custer #, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 206, , , , , , 6, Running
32, 28, Gray Gaulding, No. 27 Panini America Ford, 206, , , , , , 5, Running
33, 33, * Timmy Hill(i), No. 66 RoofClaim.com Toyota, 204, , , , , , 0, Running
34, 36, Garrett Smithley #, No. 53 Trophy Tractor Chevrolet, 204, , , , , , 3, Running
35, 12, John Hunter Nemechek #, No. 38 SCAG Ford, 202, , , , , , 2, Running
36, 38, * BJ McLeod(i), No. 78 Christensen Arms Chevrolet, 202, , , , , , 0, Running
37, 27, Brennan Poole #, No. 15 SpartanGo Chevrolet, 201, , , 1, 1, , 1, Transmission
38, 17, Chase Elliott, No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 200, 7, 2, 3, 28, , 14, Accident
39, 1, Ryan Preece, No. 37 Tide Power Pods Chevrolet, 69, 10, , , , , 2, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie

Race Comments: Denny Hamlin won the Toyota 500 at Darlington Raceway, his 39th victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Time of Race: 2 Hrs, 42 Mins, 23 Secs.
Total Race Length: 208 Laps, 284.128 Miles
Average Speed: 104.984 MPH
Margin of Victory: Under Caution

Stage 1 Top 10: 14, 19, 12, 88, 22, 10, 9, 11, 42, 37
Stage 2 Top 10: 14, 9, 19, 20, 4, 24, 11, 88, 22, 21

Prior to the start, the following vehicle(s) dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: Nos. 78, 32 (Multiple Inspection Failures), Nos. 27, 77 (Driver Change), No. 20 (Unapproved Adjustments).

Caution Flags: 11 for 54 laps;
Laps: 4-7 (No. 38, 42 Incident Turn 4 [78]);
12-14 (No. 38 Incident Backstretch [None]);
27-30 (Competition Caution [38]);
62-68 (Stage 1 Conclusion [77]);
73-76 (No. 34, 17 Incident Turn 2 [00]);
83-86 (No. 47 Incident Turn 2 [15]);
109-112 (No. 41 Incident Turn 2 [77]);
127-132 (Stage 2 Conclusion [51]);
180-186 (No. 42 Spin Turn 2 [18]);
196-199 (No. 14 Incident Turn 3 [12]);
202-208 (No. 18, 9 Incident Fronstretch [17]).

Lead Changes: 17 among 13 drivers;
R. Preece 0;
T. Dillon 1-8;
J. Logano 9-27;
B. Wallace 28-30;
C. Bowyer 31-83;
M. Truex Jr. 84-99;
K. Harvick 100-109;
*. Suarez 110;
C. Bowyer 111-128;
R. Newman 129-133;
E. Jones 134-160;
C. Elliott 161-175;
B. Keselowski 176-181;
B. Poole # 182;
C. Elliott 183-190;
B. Keselowski 191;
C. Elliott 192-196;
D. Hamlin 197-208.

American Ethanol Green Flag Restart Award: Clint Bowyer, No. 14 

Sunoco Rookie of the Race Award: Christopher Bell, No. 95