Kyle Larson Punches his Ticket to Round 2 of the Playoffs with Darlington Win

David Yeazell - USA Today Sports

DARLINGTON, SC – RIS – Early on, it looked like the NASCAR Cup Series Cook Out Southern 500 was going to be a repeat of Denny Hamlin’s win in the Xfinity Series race on Saturday, but a vibration during the race left him far behind, leaving it up to Kyle Larson to be the dominator and that’s the story of the day.  The driver of the No.5 Chevrolet held off Tyler Reddick and Chris Buescher for the victory.

“What a great way to start the playoffs,” Larson said after the race.

Reddick gave a hard effort at the end of the race. It just didn’t look like he had the air or the speed to catch Larson at the very end of the race. Reddick had a good points day but came up short of the win and will be wondering what more they could have done.  Obviously, nothing.

Larson started P18 and had to work his way through the field in the first stage. We’ve seen him do it in his best performances of the season and he did it today as well.

With a fast Chevy Camaro, it made it look like cars were standing still at times. However, Ross Chastain did give Larson fits when he was fighting for the free-pass position. Despite those early frustrations, which included light issues and shifting troubles, Larson went on to win at Darlington.

Hamlin was in the lead for a lot of the race tonight. Hamlin would go on to have a wheel issue that he had to pit under green to fix. It led to him going down a lap and he just never recovered. Eventually, Hamlin was involved in a wreck which all but ensured he wouldn’t advance much further than a lap down.

Larson locks his place into the Round of 12 with the victory, advancing from the first round of the postseason. The Hendrick Motorsports driver bested Tyler Reddick by 0.447 seconds with Chris Buescher third, William Byron fourth and Ross Chastain fifth.

Bubba Wallace recovered to finish seventh after a spin at Lap 115 as Stage 1 came to a close, with his No. 23 Toyota bouncing off Joey Logano and sliding sideways off Turn 4. Brad Keselowski was sixth ahead of Wallace, with Chase Elliott, Ryan Blaney and defending Southern 500 winner Erik Jones concluding the top 10.

Kevin Harvick finished 19th after a potential top-five run went awry at Lap 310. As the 2014 Cup champion came to pit road from the second place, race leader Tyler Reddick checked up to attempt to pit late. Ryan Newman was just behind Reddick and spun to avoid him, bringing out the caution flag. That closed pit road just before Harvick’s No. 4 Ford hit the pit-entry line, and the team incurred a penalty to restart at the tail of the field because it serviced the Stewart-Haas Racing entry under a closed pit road. An unlikely mistake.  He had been running in second place.

The race was red-flagged at Lap 188 during the race’s second caution period because lights on the inside of the race track in Turns 3 and 4 had not illuminated as the sun set.

Now, it’s off to Kansas for the Cup drivers next week as the battle for a championship continues.

Unofficial Results: Cook Out Southern 500, September 3, 2023 - Darlington Raceway
Fin, Str, Driver, Car, Laps, St1, St2, Tms Led, Laps Led, Playoff Pts, Pts, Status
1) 18, Kyle Larson (P), No. 5 HendrickCars.com Chevrolet, 367, 3, 1, 55, 5, 2, 57, Running
2) 3, Tyler Reddick (P), No. 45 Jordan Brand Toyota, 367, 2, 4, 90, , 4, 51, Running
3) 8, Chris Buescher (P), No. 17 BuildSubmarines.com Ford, 367, 9, , , , , 36, Running
4) 23, William Byron (P), No. 24 Liberty University Chevrolet, 367, , , , , 5, 39, Running
5) 27, Ross Chastain (P), No. 1 Unishippers Chevrolet, 367, , , , , , 32, Running
6) 5, Brad Keselowski (P), No. 6 Solomon Plumbing Ford, 367, 6, , , , 9, 38, Running
7) 19, Bubba Wallace (P), No. 23 McDonald's Toyota, 367, , , , , , 30, Running
8) 13, Chase Elliott (P), No. 9 NAPA Auto Parts Chevrolet, 367, 7, , , , , 33, Running
9) 4, Ryan Blaney (P), No. 12 Menards/Richmond Water Heaters Ford, 367, 5, , , , 7, 38, Running
10) 20, Erik Jones, No. 43 Allegiant Chevrolet, 367, , , , , 3, 35, Running
11) 11, Kyle Busch (P), No. 8 McLaren Custom Grills Chevrolet, 367, , , , , 6, 31, Running
12) 6, Joey Logano (P), No. 22 Shell Pennzoil Ford, 367, , , , , , 25, Running
13) 16, AJ Allmendinger, No. 16 Action Industries Chevrolet, 367, , , , , , 24, Running
14) 10, Aric Almirola, No. 10 Smithfield Ford, 367, 10, , , , , 24, Running
15) 12, Chase Briscoe, No. 14 HighPoint.com/Lady in Black Ford, 367, , , , , , 22, Running
16) 25, Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P), No. 47 Boost by Kroger/Irish Spring Chevrolet, 367, , , , , 10, 22, Running
17) 15, Carson Hocevar(i), No. 42 Sunseeker Resort Chevrolet, 367, , , , , , 0, Running
18) 31, Martin Truex Jr. (P), No. 19 Bass Pro Shops Toyota, 367, , , , , , 19, Running
19) 7, Kevin Harvick (P), No. 4 Mobil 1 Take 5 Ford, 367, 4, 1, 1, , , 25, Running
20) 28, Austin Dillon, No. 3 Morgan & Morgan Chevrolet, 367, , , , , 8, 20, Running
21) 17, Ty Gibbs #, No. 54 Monster Energy Toyota, 367, , , , , , 16, Running
22) 22, Corey LaJoie, No. 7 Gainbridge Chevrolet, 367, , 1, 3, , , 15, Running
23) 1, Christopher Bell (P), No. 20 Yahoo! Toyota, 366, 8, 3, 40, , , 17, Running
24) 29, Justin Haley, No. 31 LeafFilter Gutter Protection Chevrolet, 366, , , , , , 13, Running
25) 2, Denny Hamlin (P), No. 11 Sport Clips Haircuts Toyota, 366, 1, 3, 177, 2, 1, 32, Running
26) 30, Todd Gilliland, No. 38 Quincy Compressor Ford, 366, , , , , , 11, Running
27) 35, Ryan Newman, No. 51 Parts Plus/Biohaven Ford, 365, , , , , , 10, Running
28) 34, Ryan Preece, No. 41 HaasTooling.com Ford, 364, , , , , , 9, Running
29) 26, Ty Dillon, No. 77 Raze Energy Blue Shock Chevrolet, 364, , , , , , 8, Running
30) 33, JJ Yeley(i), No. 15 Ollie's Bargain Outlet Ford, 362, , 1, 1, , , 0, Running
31) 14, Austin Cindric, No. 2 Discount Tire Ford, 361, , , , , , 6, Running
32) 9, Michael McDowell (P), No. 34 StageFront.VIP Ford, 329, , , , , , 5, Accident
33) 24, Alex Bowman, No. 48 Ally Chevrolet, 322, , , , , , 4, Accident
34) 21, Daniel Suarez, No. 99 Freeway.com Chevrolet, 320, , , , , , 3, Accident
35) 32, Harrison Burton, No. 21 Motorcraft/Quick Lane Ford, 318, , , , , , 2, Accident
36) 36, BJ McLeod, No. 78 Affliction Chevrolet, 210, , , , , , 1, Engine
(i) Ineligible for driver points in this series, (#) Rookie, (P) Playoffs

Total Race Length: 367 Laps, 501.322 Miles
Time of Race: 4 Hrs, 8 Mins, 47 Secs.
Average Speed: 120.906 MPH
Margin of Victory: .447 Seconds

Stage 1 Top 10: 11, 45, 5, 4, 12, 6, 9, 20, 17, 10
Stage 2 Top 10: 11, 5, 43, 45, 24, 8, 12, 3, 6, 47

Comments: Kyle Larson won the 73rd running of the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway, his 22nd victory in the NASCAR Cup Series.

Prior to the start, the following cars dropped to the rear of the field under penalty for the reasons indicated: No. 8 (unapproved adjustments).

Cautions: 8 for 51 laps;
Laps: 117-122 (22, 23 Incident Turn 4 [1]);
180-191 (Light Power Outage in Turn 4 [22]);
217-221 (78 Stopped on Track  [47]);
226-229 (2, 54 Incident Turn 2  [7]);
232-236 (Stage 2 Conclusion [31]);
311-316 (51 Spin Turn 4  [47]);
320-327 (99, 21, 48 Incident Turn 1 [19]);
332-336 (8, 34, 38, 11, 20 Incident Frontstretch [None]).

Lead Changes: 13 among 7 drivers;
C. Bell (P) 1-33;
J. Yeley(i) 34;
T. Reddick (P) 35-62;
D. Hamlin (P) 63-67;
C. Bell (P) 68-71;
T. Reddick (P) 72-91;
D. Hamlin (P) 92-150;
T. Reddick (P) 151-153;
C. Bell (P) 154-156;
D. Hamlin (P) 157-269;
K. Harvick (P) 270;
C. LaJoie 271-273;
T. Reddick (P) 274-312;
K. Larson (P) 313-367.

Report: Cook Out Southern 500, Darlington Raceway
Rank   Driver Car    Starts GL     Points Ldr    Nxt    Race Wins      Stage Wins     Playoff Pts
1) William Byron (P)  24     27     0      2075   0      0      5      8      36
2) Kyle Larson (P)    5      27     4      2074   -1     1      3      3      22
3) Tyler Reddick (P)  45     27     7      2060   -15    14     1      4      9
4) Chris Buescher (P) 17     27     0      2057   -18    3      3      1      21
5) Denny Hamlin (P)   11     27     -2     2057   -18    0      2      7      27
6) Martin Truex Jr. (P)       19     27     -4     2055   -20    2      3      6      36
7) Kyle Busch (P)     8      27     -2     2050   -25    5      3      2      19
8) Brad Keselowski (P) 6      27     1      2048   -27    2      0      4      10
9) Ryan Blaney (P)    12     27     3      2046   -29    2      1      3      8
10) Ross Chastain (P) 1      27     -2     2043   -32    3      1      5      11
11) Joey Logano (P)   22     27     0      2033   -42    10     1      3      8
12) Christopher Bell (P)      20     27     -5     2031   -44    2      1      2      14
13) Bubba Wallace (P) 23     27     3      2030   -45    1      0      0      0
14) Kevin Harvick (P) 4      27     1      2029   -46    1      0      1      4
15) Ricky Stenhouse Jr. (P)   47     27     -1     2027   -48    2      1      0      5
16) Michael McDowell (P)      34     27     -3     2012   -63    15     1      2      7
17) Ty Gibbs # 54     27     1      583    -1492  1429   0      0      0
18) Daniel Suarez     99     27     -1     576    -1499  7      0      0      0
19) Chase Elliott (P) 9      20     1      559    -1516  17     0      1      0
20) AJ Allmendinger   16     27     1      550    -1525  9      0      0      0
21) Alex Bowman       48     24     -2     536    -1539  14     0      0      0
22) Austin Cindric    2      27     0      487    -1588  49     0      1      0
23) Aric Almirola     10     27     0      471    -1604  16     0      1      0
24) Justin Haley      31     27     0      457    -1618  14     0      0      0
25) Corey LaJoie      7      27     0      446    -1629  11     0      0      0
26) Ryan Preece       41     27     0      438    -1637  8      0      1      0
27) Erik Jones 43     27     1      429    -1646  9      0      0      0
28) Todd Gilliland    38     27     -1     421    -1654  8      0      0      0
29) Austin Dillon     3      27     0      396    -1679  25     0      0      0
30) Chase Briscoe     14     27     1      355    -1720  41     0      0      0
31) Harrison Burton   21     27     -1     354    -1721  1      0      0      0
32) Ty Dillon  77     27     0      267    -1808  87     0      0      0
33) Noah Gragson             21     0      199    -1876  68     0      0      0
34) BJ McLeod  78     17     0      132    -1943  67     0      0      0
35) Cody Ware         7      0      65     -2010  67     0      0      0
36) Jenson Button            3      0      45     -2030  20     0      0      0
37) Ryan Newman       51     4      3      34     -2041  11     0      0      0
38) Andy Lally        4      -1     32     -2043  2      0      0      0
39) Mike Rockenfeller         2      -1     31     -2044  1      0      0      0
40) Travis Pastrana           1      -1     26     -2049  5      0      0      0
41) Jordan Taylor            1      0      16     -2059  10     0      0      0
42) Brodie Kostecki           1      0      15     -2060  1      0      0      0
43) Jimmie Johnson            3      0      12     -2063  3      0      0      0
44) Kimi Raikkonen            1      0      8      -2067  4      0      0      0
45) Jonathan Davenport        1      0      1      -2074  7      0      0      0
46) Shane Van Gisbergen(i)           2      0      0      -2075  1      1      0      0
47) Josh Berry(i)            10     0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
48) JJ Yeley(i)       15     18     0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
49) Zane Smith(i)            6      0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
50) Riley Herbst(i)           3      0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
51) Austin Hill(i)            4      0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
52) Chandler Smith(i)         2      0      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
53) Carson Hocevar(i) 42     2      9      0      -2075  0      0      0      0
54) Josh Bilicki(i)           8      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
55) Cole Custer(i)            5      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
56) Grant Enfinger(i)         1      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
57) Brennan Poole(i)          5      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
58) Conor Daly(i)            2      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
59) Gray Gaulding(i)          1      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
60) Anthony Alfredo(i)        2      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
61) Kamui Kobayashi(i)        1      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
62) Matt Crafton(i)           1      -1     0      -2075  0      0      0      0
 -Ldr/-Nxt = Points behind Leader/Next higher, (i) Ineligible for driver points in this series